Hasta La Ideas

Slovakian designers simply making all that they like

by Adam Štěch

Based in the Slovak capital of Bratislava, the young designers behind the Allt studio produce simple-yet-poetic conceptual furniture and lighting, aiming to create a personal world of friendly products with strong backstories.

The Allt studio—whose name offers a simple abbreviation of their tagline, “all that we like to do”—was established in 2011 by Peter Simonik and Elena Bolceková. Simonik received his degree from the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava, while Bolceková finished her studies at the Institute of Industrial Design at the Faculty of Architecture in 2011. Both of these creative individuals personify different approaches to art and design, and together they make a strong team that produces beautiful objects augmented by original presentation.

This year, the studio exhibited work in prestigious galleries around Slovakia and the Czech Republic, as well as the GASK museum in Kutná Hora. The pair garnered attention with Allter Space, a solo show at the Art Design Project gallery in Bratislava. Inspired by hidden craft, nature, technology and everyday urban life, design objects on display included the Highstack and Lowstack benches constructed out of stacked planks of wood, reminiscent of the unfinished storage vessels found in industrial sawmills and carpentry plants. The result exuded a fresh take on form that meets functionality and exhibited strong local ties to the wood production industry in Slovakia.

Other pieces included a modular carpet system called Cityscape, inspired by the surface of street pavements, as well as the “Who is Watching You” lamp, designed after the simplification of the CCTV camera.

Simoník and Bolcekov&#225’s artistic versatility expands to include not only graphic design but also photography, which they used to highlight the presentation of their furniture in Allter Space. Their inclusion of these purely decorative designs dovetailed nicely with the essence of their products and created an environment that entirely surrounded the viewer. For more information about the studio or to contact the artists for special commissions, visit their website. Select items are also available for purchase through their online shop.