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| "Dziadostwo" means tacky. This one is my favourite. I've got one! ;) |
These are two amazing Polish fashion and graphic design companies: "Pan tu nie stał" and "Fajne chłopaki". These guys are both from Łódź and came up with an idea to print old Polish communist style graphic signs on T-shirts and sell it online. Though I have to underline that they use it in two different ways.
Their ideas come from the communist times in Poland when logos were grey and sad, but people used to invent very catchy and simple (one may call them minimalist;) slogans or phrases which inspired the working class! This unique language is still alive but in a different way, usually percieved as a joke or a funny expression that refers to past history. We also use it when we want to remind someone how one used to live under the communist regime in Poland. These words, as well as visual objects are very characteristc for those fortunately bygone times. However, it is useful to have such interesting, though foreign, heritage that one can use in the present to create a fashion or print brands - as it all started with "Pan tu nie stał" and "Fajne chłopaki".
"Fajne chłopaki" in Polish means "Nice guys", so I suppose Maciej Lebiedowicz i Łukasz Zbieranowski (the brand designers) are nice guys! They run a graphic studio. They specialise in prints and graphics inspired by communist design created in Poland (typesets, printing, identification objects, language, etc.) but also they create Internet websites of all different sorts. You can find their complete portfolio here. Hope Nice guys will be in touch with me shortly to share some of their pictures. We will see...
"Pan tu nie stał" cooperates with "Fajne chłopaki". It is inspired by culture and design in Poland between 1930-1989. People who work for this company represent mainly artists born in the 80s or right after the collapse of Communism in 1989. They print T-shirts, sell scarves and hats, stickers, posters, interior design objects (cups, fantasy porcelain figures made at the Polish china factory in Ćmielów), toys for children and childrens' books and other amazing gadgets. Pan tu nie stał also sells Argentinian "Paez" shoes. You can find more pictures on their facebook profile.
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| Powdered milk (full fat) |
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| Cześć means "hi" in Polish! |
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| Photos from the press materials from Lodz Design Festival/Zdjęcia pochodzą z materiałów prasowych dla Łódź Design Festival/ Copyright Pan tu nie stał. |
Commie logos might have been grey and sad, but they were not boring at all! Something that was made of cheap plastic and then left for 20 years to get some vintage look usually ends being grey and dusty, but the designs were sometimes quite cool. You remember this place?
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