The Spring / Pramen - Jana Jagošová
Pramen is a porcelain object inspired by the tradition of opening springs, an old custom associated with the arrival of spring, care for water sources, and the relationship between people and the landscape. In the past, opening springs was a natural part of community life, but the tradition has gradually disappeared from everyday life. The object is based on the gesture of cupping water in one’s hands. Its form symbolically captures the moment of encountering water, while the subtle texture on the bottom evokes ripples on the water’s surface after a droplet falls. The delicacy and purity of porcelain refer to the very nature of water — a source of life that needs to be cared for. Pramen is not intended as an everyday object, but as a means of reviving and recalling the tradition. Its use can become part of the act of drawing water from a spring and returning to a place that was once a natural part of community life. The object thus connects contemporary design with a traditional ritual, creating an opportunity for its reinterpretation and transmission to future generations.
The Dust / Prach - Gabriela Metzová
The candleholder PRACH (DUST) was created as an intimate memento reflecting All Souls’ Day. It offers a refined, quiet way to preserve the trace of a departed loved one within personal space without disrupting the domestic character of the home. The object‘s morphology evokes the drapery of white cloth—a symbol of swaddling new life and human birth. Layered upon this is the candle flame, an archetypal eternal fire acting as a bridge between the realm of the living and the deceased. The concept is completed by an ash glaze, which literally and metaphorically embeds the theme of impermanence and return to the earth into the material: dust you are, and to dust you shall return. Alongside its spiritual and ritual dimensions, the object responds to contemporary spatial and social questions surrounding cemetery overcrowding and the prevalence of cremation. The candleholder presents a subtle alternative to traditional memorial sites—allowing us to keep the memory of loved ones close at hand and make their presence felt in everyday life. Through its discreet, timeless form, it avoids intruding upon the interior, instead becoming an organic, harmonious part of it.
The Scent of Light / Vůně světla Jakub Hunal
Light and scent represent timeless archetypes that shape the atmosphere of the human dwelling. In traditional culture, they were never merely sensory accents, but carriers of profound ritual and protective meaning. While the candle flame—a symbol of hope accompanying human life from birth to death, embodied for instance in the protective Candlemas candle (hromnička)—delineated the home as a sanctuary, the aromatic smoking of herbs and burning of incense served spiritual purification and healing. The porcelain object Vůně světla (The Scent of Light) synthesizes these two sensory dimensions into a single, multifunctional whole. Returning to the ritual essence of both elements, it translates them into the language of contemporary design. The piece‘s morphology sensitively pairs the clean elegance of soft curves with organic fluidity, forging a harmonious bridge between traditional spiritual practice and a modern sanctuary for calm.
