Polish Design in Berlin: No Wodka

I am following the achievements of Polish design, especially the one introduced to the Berlin/German audience, for a while but did not have any idea that there is a full shop dedicated to it, where else but in the fanciest and most design-oriented part of the city: in Prenzlauer Berg. To be very honest, I did not know what is the nationality of the design works presented in the shop I passed by on Pappelallee 10, but I felt invited by the honey colour of the wood and the natural inspiration of some of the objects. 

Under the shop brand of No Wodka, the Polish design is introducing to the Berlin audience its best production, be it interior design, furniture and fashion. 

Out of the many choices presented, the fashionable part was the least attractive: the colours too aggressive for my taste, the lines too chaotic and the style different of mine. 

Recently open, the organization of the space is not the strong point of this shop, that has though a friendly customer service, communicating both in German and English. The crowded space can accommodate though the irregular shapes of the tables, perfectly fit, it seems for the design needs of many apartments in Berlin. 

The 'herbal' design of the bed linen are one of the most interesting products. The high-quality cotton satin is designed to look like a big stack of straw, reminding of the hot sunny Polish summers. I tried to imagine this gay chaos in my home and realized that, regardless of the grey season outside, it creates a certain feeling of freedom and well being that would love to keep at home all round the year.

The pieces of furniture presented are light, very colourful, with a lot of reminiscences of the pop-art but less pretentious and for sure less kitsch. 

It's not a single aspect of design that seems to be missing from the shop. The simple white plates are decorated with a lot of humour. 

The room lamps are minimalistic, answering the technical needs of the high concerns for less energy consumption - it suits various types of bulbs, created effects that offer the best light while avoiding the waste of resources.   

The mixture of colours and elegant spectacular line made my afternoon, and the feeling of well being when I see something interesting kept me company for a long time after I left the shop. Maybe I should come back a couple of months after to check out what's new and get back in touch with a certain chaotic yet joyous Central European spirit that I am missing sometimes.