Croatia’s Fashion Mavericks Taking Over the Cyber World
Che Che, Yo Soy Yuanita, PixelMySmile, Sex In Bauhaus, Little Wonder, Zanzibarka, Jane Doe, Trantinchica, LA!… These catchy names are just a small part of the creative designer wave that’s been spreading among social networks for some time now. Your search for purchasing original handmade jewelry, bags, illustrations or toys are just a click away. You’ll find anything and everything you’ve always been searching for just by logging onto your Facebook page. These young people – architecture students, visual artists, graphic designers, clothes and furniture designers all started out playing with design as a hobby, but are now maximally playing up various social networks’ potential as free advertising, direct communication with consumers, as well as the expedience of it all…
* Sex in Bauhaus
– We love Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Flickr. Each and every comment or like on our picture makes our day. We think there’s no better way of advertising today – said architecture students Maja Merlić and Ivan Zaninović, the founders of a creative collective with quite the intriguing name – Sex In Bauhaus. Although it was organized as a band in the beginning, the collective first started creating jewelry, more precisely necklaces with Polaroid pictures of various motifs captured with the One Step SX-70 Polaroid camera, and which will shortly be in stock at one of Belgrade’s conceptual stores.
– They contain spontaneous motifs bordering on recognizability from our everyday life with pastel and washed-out tones, which gives the necklaces a touch of retro within their new modern plexiglass edition – they explain. Websites such as Krpe.hr along with fairs such as the ArtOmat within the HDLU-u and Moda sa šlagom – whose biggest edition was recently held at the Europa Movie Theater, have served as an incentive to this newfound scene which has been trending worldwide for a while now. The set-up at the Europa Movie Theater was swamped with people jostling around the stand with captivating pixel art jewelry created by trained designer and photographer Damira Kalajžić from Omiš. Her pixelized motifs of computer games heroes, icons, discs and mustaches already count over 1600 likes on her fan page PixelMySmile, most probably due to their affordable prices, the possibility of ordering any kind of motif and excellent presentation.
* PixelMySmile
– Try and make something interesting out of anything and everything. Make it with a smart name and logo. Don’t make it about the product itself, but make it tongue in cheek so the public you’re addressing gets the joke – Damira explains her approach. Yet another self-made designer toying with pixels is Marita Stanić, the author of the Yo Soy Juanita, project, jewelry made out of LEGO® which rarely goes unnoticed. Her LEGO® hearts are a hit, while the idea itself, as this Visual Arts student explains, came to her while playing, proceeding to take over her Facebook page and soon it’ll be stocked in a store. Making that leap from the cyber world to being stocked in stores is a great success for these creative mavericks. High margins, trade registration fees, taxes, contracts, setting retail prices and competition are all obstacles they encounter.
* Yo Soy Juanita
– We’ve had offers, but as we don’t have a registered trade, we don’t have legal protection in view of the product we’re placing in any given store will be paid for – designers at the Kiwi art collection, which counts seven members who create bags, jewelry and brooches. They too, as do numerous designers we’ve talked to, believe that seeing a product up close, touching it, feeling it up and trying it first-hand still offer an incomparable experience but so far, there just hasn’t been enough stores and people to give this scene a push in the right direction.
* Kiwi
When, a few years ago, the ‘character design’ trend took over, it was a deciding incentive for journalist and copywriter Ivana Štrukelj to let the monsters of her imagination loose and bring them out to play. So the little monsters, as she says, were created, colorful paper toys that following Facebook occupied the website Tratinchica as well as Prostor (Space), MSU’s museum gift shop as well as the Comic Museum in San Francisco.
* Tratinchica
– However, due to margins, taxes and my personal belief that paper shouldn’t cost an arm and a leg, at the end of the day, this type of selling covers my workmanship expenses. If that – says Ivana. Sculptor Ana Horvat sews equally captivating good-natured stuffed animals. Rag sheep, pigs, rabbits, brooches and sculptures can be found on Facebook under the name of Zanzibarka, while the goal of her simple design is, says Ana, to touch that primal and naïve part of both kids and adults alike. Karla Vaso also creates in the spirit of childish absorption in play and a sunny disposition. An old left-behind sewing machine in the corner of her closet inspired her to start sewing bags and satchels for tobacco and cell phones, complete with various badges and buttons. Karla, a graduated graphic design artist, is very attuned to detail and the presentation of her brand LA! so every product has a specifically designed tag and is carefully packaged prior to delivery.
* Zanzibarka
A photo of a product as the strongest visual incentive to buy online is especially important to Lidija, the author of |’joō∂ls| (welovejewels).- Considering it’s very important to me personally that everything I buy has to have a story behind it and look good to boot, that’s the way I approach my jewelry designing. In regard to design/packaging, I wanted to combine something elegant and classic, such as black and white photos of long-necked elegant beauties with urbane and off-the-wall jewelry – says Lidija who processes metalized plastic with a laser and creates jewelry inspired by pop-art as well as prosaic everyday moments. Placing jewelry as the most common object on her fan pages is also the favorite medium of Split-based Selma Štrkljević. Her brand Little Wonder is famous for its statement necklaces made out of cloth, leather, rope, chains, lace and various additions. She signed on photographer and professional model Bruna Kazinoti to present her jewelry line.
* Little Wonder
As is the case with her colleagues, prices are affordable, up to 200 HRK, and they’re measured by an optimized ratio of invested time, effort and material. Although her jewelry pieces are unique items, Tihana Barzić also keeps her prices affordable. Her colorful Che Che jewelry, as she notes, is best suited for optimistic and brave girls that don’t shy away from color. She’s also among those who got noticed on Facebook by Darko Dominik, owner of the store Prostor and was offered the chance to collaborate with him. In addition to adorning yourself or your bag with an original design, one’s most hidden thoughts can be written in it or it can be worn as comfortable old slippers. Thus furniture designer Maja Zrna thought to create unique leather volumes under the name of Yamma. Creative work is something that makes her feel more useful, at the same time making money from her passion in a society with so many unemployed.
* Yamma
Future costume designer Matea Pasarić wowed the crowd with her comfy Jane Doe slippers and skirts at this year’s ArtOmat, which served as a further incentive to ponder on serious rebranding and changing her ‘mysterious name’, what’s set to come about shortly. When serious thought is put into all aspects of a brand and its presentation, the brilliant Iva Stojković most certainly deserves a mention (we already covered her here) Her high-tech jewelry is featured in fashion editorials on a regular basis. Her visual identity and the quality of her workmanship attract audiences and stores that believe in their style, but those are, as Iva says, few and far between.
* Iva Stojković
As opposed to the majority of the mentioned designers, the rise of her brand started in stores and subsequently moved online, the same thing happening to the Rijeka duo, creators of the Micica line of fashion accessories; the Micica broš, with its retro ladylike appearance, being the most famous accessory. Sculptor Stefano and a student of the Rijeka Academy of Applied Arts Doris created Micica in search of a seasonal job and ended up opening their own atelier in Rovinj. Despite regularly updating all ‘marketing Bibles’ (Etsy, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr), they also showcase in stores, magazines, while also manage their own campaigns and photo shoots, holding that the experience of personally meeting and getting to know customers in their own store is priceless. In an attempt to take their brand up a notch, Micica and Iva Stojković have, as have the unavoidable Đuveđ and Oh!Tiger stopped viewing their creating as a hobby. The recently launched possibility of paying via PayPal in Croatia will certainly nudge this kind of Croatian design towards foreign countries, and then it’ll be interesting to see what happens. For starters, you’ll be able to feel up and buy some of the mentioned products on Saturday, April 16 at yet another edition of the Moda sa šlagom, at the café ‘Kvart‘ in the Zagreb Trešnjevka Quarter..
* Micica
* LA!
* |’joō∂ls| (welovejewels)
* Jane Doe
* Che Che
Maja Gujinović
Che Che, Yo Soy Yuanita, PixelMySmile, Sex In Bauhaus, Little Wonder, Zanzibarka, Jane Doe, Trantinchica, LA!… Ova zanimljiva imena samo su mali dio kreativnog dizajnerskog vala koji se već neko vrijeme širi socijalnim mrežama. U potrazi za originalnim, hand made nakitom, torbama, ilustracijama, igračkama i za njihovu kupnju postalo je dovoljno samo se ulogirati na Facebook. Redom mladi ljudi, studenti arhitekture, likovnjaci, grafičari, dizajneri odjeće, namještaja koji su se dizajnom počeli baviti iz hobija maksimalno iskorištavaju potencijal besplatne reklame, izravne komunikacije s kupcima, brzine… – Volimo Facebook, Twitter i Tumblr i Flickr. Svaki komentar i lajk na sliku nam uljepša dan. Mislimo da danas ne postoji bolji način oglašavanja – tvrde studenti arhitekture Maja Merlić i Ivan Zaninović, osnivači kretivnog kolektiva intrigantnog imena – Sex In Bauhaus. Iako u početku osmišljen kao bend, kolektiv je prvo počeo izrađivati nakit, točnije ogrlice s polaroid fotografijama motiva uslikanih One Step SX-70 polaroid fotoaparatom, a koje će se uskoro naći u ponudi jednog beogradskog concept storea.- Sadrže spontane motive na granici prepoznatljivosti iz našeg svakodnevnog života s pastelnim i ispranim tonovima, što pridonosi retroefektu ogrlica u njihovu novom modernom plexi izdanju – objašnjavaju. Poticaj novonastaloj sceni, koja je već neko vrijeme trend u svijetu, dale su i internet stranice poput Krpe.hr te sajmovi kao što su AtrOmat u HDLU-u i Moda sa šlagom, čije se najveće izdanje nedavno održalo u Kinu Europa. Upravo se tamo stvorila gužva oko štanda sa simpatičnim pixel art nakitom školovane dizajnerice i fotografkinje iz Omiša Damire Kalajžić. Njeni pikselizirani motivi junaka kompjutorskih igrica i ikona, disketa, brkova već imaju 1500 lajkova na fan pageu PixelMySmile. Među ostalim zbog pristupačnih cijena, mogućnosti narudžbe bilo kojeg motiva i odlične prezentacije. – Potrudite se da napravite nešto zanimljivo od svega. Da to bude pametno ime i logo. Da to ne budu fotke isključivo samog proizvoda, nego da publika kojoj se obraćate shvati zezanciju – objašnjava Damira svoj pristup. Još jedna samouka dizajnerica koja se poigrala pikselima je Marita Stanić, autorica projekta Yo Soy Juanita, nakita sastavljenog od lego kockica koji rijetko prođe neopaženo. Njena lego srca su postala hit, a sama ideja je, kako objašnjava ta studentica ALU, došla kroz igru, zatim je okupirala njen Facebook profil, a uskoro će se naći i u jednoj trgovini. A napraviti korak od interneta do prodaje u trgovinama veliki je uspjeh za ove kreativce. Visoke marže, registracije obrta, porezi, ugovori, određivanje cijena, konkurencija zapreke su na koje nailaze.
– Imali smo ponuda, no kako nemamo registriran obrt, nemamo ni pravnu zaštitu da će nam se proizvod koji stavljamo u dućan platiti – objašnjavaju dizajneri art kolektiva Kiwi koji ima čak sedam članova koji svaki sa svojim potpisom izrađuju torbe, nakit, broševe. I oni, kao i većina dizajnera s kojima smo razgovarali, vjeruju da je vidjeti proizvod izbliza, opipati ga, isprobati ipak neusporedivo iskustvo, ali jednostavno još ne postoji dovoljan broj dućana i publike koja bi pogurala ovu scenu.
Kada je u svijetu prije par godina zavladao trend ‘character designa’, bio je to konačan poticaj novinarki i copywriterici Ivani Štrukelj da stvorenja iz svoje mašte pusti da se malo poigraju vani. Tako su, kaže, i nastala njena mala čudovišta, šarene papirnate igračke koje su nakon Facebooka okupirale internet stranicu Tratinchica te Prostor, muzejski dućan MSU-a i Comic Museum u San Franciscu.- Međutim, zbog marži, poreza i mog osobnog uvjerenja da se papir ne smije prodavati po cijeni suhog zlata, kad se sve zbroji i oduzme, ta prodaja taman pokriva troškove izrade. Ako i to – kaže Ivana.Jednako simpatična dobroćudna stvorenja, ali plišana, šije kiparica Ana Horvat. Krpene ovce, svinje, zečeve, broševe i skulpture na Facebooku se mogu naći pod imenom Zanzibarka, a cilj je njezina jednostavnog dizajna, kaže Ana, dotaknuti iskonski, naivni dio u djeci i odraslima. U duhu dječje zaigranosti i vedrine stvara i Karla Vaso koju je na šivanje torbi, ‘buksalica’ za duhan, mobitele, izradu bedževa potakla jedna šivaća mašina u kutu špajze. Karla, diplomirana grafičarka, jako pazi na detalje i prezentaciju svog branda LA! pa tako svaki proizvod ima dizajniranu etiketu i posebno se pakira prije isporuke.
Fotografija proizvoda kao najjači vizualni poticaj za kupnju preko interneta posebno je bitna za Lidiju, autoricu nakita |’joō∂ls| (welovejewels).- S obzirom na to da je meni osobno važno da ono što kupujem ima neku priču i uz to izgleda lijepo, tako sam postupila i sa svojim nakitom. Kad je riječ o dizajnu/ambalaži, htjela sam spojiti nešto elegantno i klasično kao što su crnobijele fotografije elegantnih ljepotica dugih vratova s urbanim i otkačenim nakitom – kaže Lidija koja laserski obrađuje metaliziranu plastiku i stvara nakit inspiriran pop-artom i svakodnevnim trenucima. Nakit kao najčešći proizvod koji se može pronaći na fan pangeovima omiljeni je medij i Splićanke Selme Štrkljević. Njezin brand Little Wonder najprepoznatljiviji je po statement ogrlicama od tkanine, kože, konopa, lanaca, čipke i raznih dodataka, za čiju je prezentaciju angažirala profesionalni model i fotografkinju Brunu Kazinoti. Kao i kod njenih kolega, cijene su pristupačne, do 200 kuna, a određuje ih idealnim omjerom uloženog vremena, truda i materijala. Iako su joj komadi nakita unikatni, cijene ne nabija ni Tihana Barzić, čiji šareni Che Che nakit, kako kaže, najbolje pristaje optimističnim i hrabrim curama koje vole boje. I ona je jedna od onih koje je na Facebooku primijetio vlasnik shopa Darko Dominik Prostor i ponudio joj suradnju.Osim što se originalnim dizajnom može okititi ili ponijeti ‘na torbi’, u njemu se mogu zapisati najskrivenije misli ili ga se može nositi kao kućne papuče. Tako se dizajnerica namještaja Maja Zrna dosjetila izrade unikatnih kožnih svezaka imena Yamma. Za nju je kreativni rad jedan od načina kako se osjećati korisnijim, a i ponešto zaraditi u društvu s tolikim brojem nezaposlenih. Buduća kostimografkinja Matea Pasarić svojim je udobnim Jane Doe papučama i suknjama na ovogodišnjem ArtOmatu oduševila publiku, što joj je i bio poticaj za ozbiljniji rebranding i promjenu ‘misterioznog imena’ koja će skoro uslijediti. Kad je riječ o ozbiljnom promišljanju svih aspekata branda i njegove prezentacije, tu svakako briljira Iva Stojković sa svojim high-tech nakitom koji se redovno pojavljuje u modnim editorijalima. Njezin vizualni identitet i kvaliteta izrade privlače publiku i dućane koji vjeruju u svoj stil, a kojih je, kako Iva kaže, i dalje premalo. Za razliku od većine spomenutih, uspon njezina branda je počeo u dućanima i onda se preselio na internet, a tako se dogodilo i dvojcu iz Rijeke, tvorcima Micica modnih dodataka i najpoznatijeg među njima, Micica broša, retro, damskog izgleda. Kipar Stefano i studentica riječke Akademije primijenjenih umjetnosti Doris stvorili su Micicu u potrazi za sezonskim poslom i odmah otvorili vlastiti atelijer u Rovinju. Iako redovno osvježavaju sve ‘marketinške biblije’ (Etsy, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr), pojavljuju u dućanima, časopisima, rade vlastite kampanje i photoshootinge, kažu da je neprocjenjivo osobno upoznavati kupce u vlastitom dućanu. Micica i Iva Stojković su, kao i nezaobilazni Đuveđ i Oh!Tiger u brizi za brand već otišli stepenicu više i prestali na svoje stvaranje gledati kao na hobi. Nedavno pokrenuta mogućnost naplate PayPala i u Hrvatskoj sigurno će ovakav hrvatski dizajn pogurati prema inozemstvu, a onda će biti zanimljivo vidjeti što slijedi. Za početak, neke od spomenutih proizvoda uživo će biti opipati I kupiti u subotu, 16. travnja, na još jednom izdanju sajma Moda sa šlagom, u caffe baru ‘Kvart’ na zagrebačkoj Trešnjevci.
