Finding herself newly-single on the property buyers’ market, Dagmar decided to purchase an apartment in the heart of Bratislava’s old town. Dagmar got her father involved, which she knew would result in differences of opinions, but this taught Dagmar the art of negotiation; in dealing with differences that are valid, but will not necessarily work. “I loved the process of transforming my own space, in my own image and it was this project that triggered my career change. As a result, I signed up for an open plan diploma course in interior design with KLC School of Design, London,” explains Dagmar.
Dagmar was humbled when awards began to pile up: “I attracted the attention of Sir Terence Conran and Philippe Starck – who judged me worthy of second prize in the ‘One to Watch’ Mydeco competition. Most recently, Designer’s Atelier was awarded ‘Best of Houzz 2016’ and Dagmar’s design concept, inspired by the humanoid race known as the ‘Na’vi’ and their environment from the movie Avatar, has been selected to appear alongside three other designs from a set theme of ‘Famous Places That Never Existed’ at Grand Designs Live in Birmingham.
Express yourself
“Designing a home involves more than just drawing plans and choosing colours or furniture. As important as this may be, it requires decisions about how we want to live. The emergence of a desire to express ourselves is to be taken seriously because of the financial commitment that ownership involves. We find the most pervasive reason for holding back is the element of risk; ‘Be careful!’ ‘Play safe!’ ‘Know your place!’ ‘Don’t use that colour!’ – is what people are likely to hear in the process of becoming themselves. This is where we step in with our questioning voice: ‘what if you said yes, where would it take you?’
“Personalising though print is putting an individual stamp on a space and its contents and marking a home to let people know about our territory. If things in a client’s home do conform to their standards of beauty and comfort, they are custom-tailoring their home to their own image; imprinting it with their personality and lifestyle.”
Playful patterns
The Kaleidoscope collection was exclusively created for Designer’s Atelier by up-and-coming Textile Designer, Ewelina Mlynarek.
Inspired by Dame Zaha Hadid’s parabolic shapes and Alexander McQueen’s Plato’s Atlantis, featuring digital prints with microscopic details of animal skins and extraordinary colours, Ewelina playfully used patterns of great complexity and vivid colours reminiscent of a kaleidoscope, which sees its bicentennial anniversary this year.
Designer’s Atelier’s collection, consisting of Ewelina’s kaleidoscopic imagery, creates a visually stunning impact that blurs the lines between art and design, drawing viewers into a ‘psychedelic wonderland’. It provides a glimpse into another world of strangeness and newness, translating the continuous fluidity of unusual patterns into sculptural sensuality. During the design process, Ewelina also crossed over from architecture to abstract, symmetrical art as a means of expression.
“Both Ewelina and I admire Alexander McQueen for his theatrical, unrestricted and unpredictable approach to fashion and his vision of beauty, which was never orthodox. The Kaleidoscope collection was inspired by the last collection Alexander McQueen would complete before his death, Plato’s Atlantis (spring/summer 2010), which is widely recognised as one of his finest.
“The world of fashion and interiors are entwined and have been for a number of years now as they both continue to influence each other on a massive scale. Our clothing is our second-skin, whilst our environment serves as a further extension; after all we dress ourselves in clothes, while furnishings dress our homes.
“Where fashion once had major control over our decor, the two are now working together. I believe right now what we are seeing is the merging of these two worlds. Much of this has to do with social media, as never before have these worlds been more in tune with each other than now.
Great minds think alike
“Ewelina and I met at Heathrow Airport three years ago when she had just completed her degree in textiles and had an internship under her belt at Alexander McQueen’s studio. Although she was looking for work opportunities, she was not willing to compromise on her design style which was proving a challenge. As we got to know each other better, Ewelina asked for feedback on her design work and the rest is history,” explains Dagmar.
“When I met Ewelina, she had a message that was in-sync with our brand. Her unrestricted creativity paired up with our unique, creative vision, and a sense of what is needed in the market, resulted in collaboration which took exploration of identity and trust to the very next level. I do not interfere with Ewelina’s creative process, but I am happy to provide a constructive feedback. Ewelina’s quest for unique expression always starts with extensive research before any experiments with patterns and shapes take place. She is driven by curiosity and, as an artist, she can never predict the final outcome while she plays within the design process.”
The Kaleidoscope collection currently consists of two designs – Spring and Summer – and is available in the following products: furnishing velvet and linen fabric, velvet and linen cushions, wallpaper, silk scarves, custom artwork and tableware.
“We produced this variety of products because we wanted to give our clients the freedom to experiment,” explains Dagmar.
Colour psychology
“When we tried to come up with a product name for Ewelina’s kaleidoscopic imagery, two words that came to mind were ‘Spring’ and ‘Summer’. What inspired this is the natural world and nature’s harmonious colour arrangements throughout the seasons. My own interest in unravelling the mysteries of colour began when working with clients on the psychology of colour.
“In colour psychology there are four main seasons – spring, summer, autumn and winter – and each has its own distinct characteristics and personalities. The correlation between the four patterns of colour and human personality gives us a more precise understanding on colour psychology. Spring colours are warm, yellow-based and light. Summer colours are cool, blue-based and delicate. Autumn colours are warm and rich, while winter colours are cool, strong and intense. Ewelina identifies herself with autumn, while I myself am a very strong winter colour personality.
“With spring, there is a sense of rebirth and return of light, high energy and excitement. One can instinctively sense the liveliness; with a sparkle of sunshine yellow, you get the sense of bringing the outside garden into your space. Emerald green, sky blue, emerald blue and scarlet are the primary colours for this season – the neutrals that support these colours are light grey and cream.
“As spring progresses into summer we see more subtlety, nature is maturing and her mood is changing. The coolness of the summer colour palette has been bleached out by the sun – these colours virtually consist of all tones without clear primary colours. This tonal family comprises maroon, powder blue, viridian and sage green, with supportive neutrals of cool navy, mid-grey and oyster. Summer tones are light in weight and although some are quite dark, they are never heavy.”
Perfect prints
The exclusive Spring/Summer collection of upholstery fabrics, velvet cushions, wallpapers, silk scarves, dinnerware and artwork is printed in the UK using the finest materials. Upholstery fabrics, velvet cushions, wallpapers and artwork have been printed digitally. And, for Designer’s Atelier’s fine bone china, Dagmar used ceramic silk screen printing.
Designer’s Atelier also incorporated a linen fabric choice into its collection as it’s hypo allergic, since it only consists of natural fibres – and during production, the potentially allergic outer part of the fibre is removed which makes it an ideal choice for those struggling to find clean fabrics. It is inherently anti-microbial and is even resistant to mildew. It also has a very compact formation which means the fibres do not become loosened over time, even after repeated usage, which makes it an ideal upholstery fabric.
The potential for Kaleidoscope designs is limited only by the imagination of a designer. Designer’s Atelier has produced furnishing velvet and linen in both Spring and Summer designs which are suitable for upholstery and soft furnishings. For its launch at Decorex, Designer’s Atelier displayed its Kaleidoscope wallpaper by creating an installation which was quickly photographed and shared across social media platforms.
Designer’s Atelier has also produced linen cushions for eco-lovers of clean fabrics and sumptuous velvet cushions with an unsurpassed softness and depth of colour for those touchy-feely, velvet lovers.
Kaleidoscope’s artwork consists of eight patterns, four Spring designs and four Summer designs. Designer’s Atelier’s recent addition to its Kaleidoscope collection is its fine bone china.
The importance of accessories
“What makes our home uniquely our own is what we have inside. Accessorising is another way to add a personal touch to a space as the items tell a ‘story’ of where the person has been, where their interests llie and reveal the colour personality of the owner.
“Whilst they add colour, pattern and a finished look to a room, there is a much more important role that these seemingly ‘lighthearted’ additions can play. Imagine you are strongly drawn to a particular colour or a pattern you have not used before, one way in which we ask our clients to decide if this is right for them is to introduce a colour or pattern in the form of an accessory.
“Accessories, including printed accessories, are a great way to pull interior pieces together to give a space a finished look. Every room needs a focal point, or a single design element that will instantly draw the eye into the space, and a great piece of art could easily fulfil this purpose.
“For many, the word ‘artwork’ means paintings, wall hangings or sculpture, however there are several types of decorative elements, such as our pyramid kaleidoscope installation, which can make an unexpected visual impact,” concludes Dagmar.
Designer’s Atelier is currently planning to complete its cycle with an autumn and winter kaleidoscope design next year.