DesignTaleStudio was founded in 1995 by Ceramiche Refin as a creative research laboratory. In February it launched an international design contest called Create your Tile. The contest called for innovative ceramic ideas for residential and/or commercial flooring, expressing elements of originality, commercial potential and industrial reproducibility, and enhancing the most recent production technologies to define the best in contemporary interior trends.
Among the 800 ideas from 78 different countries, the first prize was awarded to the young Polish designer Kasia Zareba and her project entitled Fossil.
The Fossil collection is a translation of the prehistoric imprints of plants and animals on rock formations. Traces of the pattern break and overlap just like the signs of time in prehistoric sites and archaeological excavations. The pattern gives the collection great, natural impact.
Subtle motifs bring to mind the regularity of forms found in the natural world, which we can all interpret differently according to our own imagination.
Running in different directions, the five hand-drawn graphics create curious optical illusions and solid-void effects: the interwoven effects of the forms resemble natural stone, creating a modern interpretation of marble, that symbol of tradition, sophistication and exclusive materials.
The winning collection comes in a 600 by 600mm formats and three colours – beige, grey and brown – with five different graphic patterns for random laying.
Kasia Zareba grew up and studied architecture in Poland before moving to The Netherlands to attend the Design Academy in Eindhoven where, after graduating in 2012, she opened her own design studio. Her work balances on the border of design, art and installation, and she feels comfortable in a variety of scales and materials, bridging between imagination and technology.
A new post from Joe Simpson, Diary of a Tile Addict, Janurary 2017.