Ummagumma - a new chic boutique in town, a new challenge for us :)

'122, Calea Victoriei: is where you find, in a Bohemian alleyway, the fancy boutique Ummagumma – a daring concept, which invites you to stand out the standard norms of mass products. Clothing, shoes, accessories, made in small or unique pieces, new designers and fresh collections, is the main clock card of Ummagumma. A visit in there won’t disappoint you with groundless prices, and this is another argument to comeback to Ummagumma...' This is how its eloquent presentation should sound :)

Now, we'll let you decide whether this place deserves at least a visit, and therefore we present to you our 3 main lighting objects which hang daily in the boutique from 10 to 20 p.m. Those are all labeled naiveDesign :DWhether is about the naive umbrella, the jelly hat :) or the sketches dryer, we wanted to underline through design the free spirit of Ummagumma concept.

We also took care of the changing room and we painted an eye to an existing spot - we've called it the eye-setter :)


Well... we didn't stop here, as Oana (the brain behind Ummagumma concept) decided to leave a naiveDesign mark on the interior design as well. A few framed posters having as main character inverted silhouettes in different postures were hanged in the left corner of the main entrance as well as on the furnishing above the clothing hangers. Some festoons made from cotton wool and mull painted in red or wrapped in aluminium foil were also used for decoration. For the spot corner in the pay desk area, we used aluminium as main material, incorporating in it a framed grained-vintage portrait decorated with red feathers.


Curious enough? Come visit this visionary and chic place :)

design by Cristina Ivan

and so it is...

the Earth Hour past. firstly, we would like to thank all of you who followed our petition. thus, together we managed to classify Romania on top ten :), almost 200 people having signed up (out of 1,100 from around the country).

those who still believe in such actions, had a great time celebrating this green event. we even forgot to turn ON our lights at 9 o'clock :) besides the feeling we are part of the world community, we had also experienced that lack of electricity bring people closer. we played Macao tiganesc, a card game which some of us haven't played since we were kids... and we've exchanged jokes (bancuri). What did You do? Apart of this quality time, you actually can use your individual power to 'make a difference'. No need to wait for others, just take action against this...

Of course there were a bunch of skeptics, who wanted to participate in their own way at the event :) Some of them replying us to our reminder sent a few minutes before 8 o'clock, such as: 'i turned it off, as i just left the house' or 'don't forget to unplug the fridge!' or (at 9 o'clock) 'turn on your lights!" :D

As long as the people didn't remain cold-livered, we are content. As an averse example, this article welcomes the project having a positive approach on the subject. Many thanks to Ioana Mitu for her support! :)

Well... if you feel to join us in the future, you can always sign up for the 2009 EH

Until then, you can find here some images on the 2008 event or here some of the stories of EH around the world.

It takes 2 to tango, it takes ALL OF US to change

Seems the least we could do is give up a little bit on electricity and come up with a series of 12 candles and t-shirts for this event. The candles underline through their design the activities we could all take part in an hour of natural lighting (one hour of... hugging your lover, playing with your kittens, come up with new ideas, chilling, listening stories.. and others). Keeping the same concept, we conceived the graphic for a serie of pair t-shirts, having the slogan 'it takes 2 to tango, it takes all of us to change'

In order to illustrate our stories, we used different techniques:

- adding 'uncommon' materials, either from the electricity field (for highlighting the contrast of the 2 different areas) or recycling materials (clasp ins, used matches, clay, plaster, dry fruit peels)
- subtraction (lighting switch, bubbles, blended candles)
- harrowing - grilling of the x & 0 game, dragging hook


So, if you didn't came at My Grandma's Backyard on 1 of march, some of the candles and t-shirts for the campaign are still available in Pe's shop.

Please check out Earth Hour site

Think Before You Go Light

Newest project we decided to take part in - this time it's not about building light but actually shutting it down. Sounds weird? check out the EarthHour site ! we can all take part by subscribing and passing the word around.

In connection to this, we're preparing a new collection of objects, using no electricity but only beeswax. All will be available for sale at LaScena fair on 1 of March

We're not that gone ;)

...well, ever since the end of last year we are involved (exclusively :) to a new and already dear project. If you haven't heard from the article in Time Out :) well it's time to hear it also from us: started the collaboration with La Scena on redesigning the "Red Room"-as we like to call it. The theme chosen together with the owner is organic-baroque, using as main materials mull and tulie (remember the Jelly Fish?:D) only that this time we're using almost the same technique at a bigger scale. The aim is to create a whole lighting installation on the ceiling that will float over a refreshing and cozy place to hang out with friends.
Space can be transformed using only lighting, remember? :D

Guess we have to stop it here if we want to see surprised faces at the Grandma's Backyard Fair on 1 of March :)

introducing Dee, the extra pair of hands that really helped us get this project through

naives and the visuals

After 2 manki'n'stieb parties already, it's about time to post the graphics we made for their shows. We also had lots of fun making the visuals played in Frame club (a place we really enjoy anytime we go). We'll upload the movies on youtube really soon, promise :)

In case you haven't been to a manki'n'stieb party yet, they are two bad ass friends playing all sorts of funky beats, mostly break beat. So now u know! no reason to miss next time they play :)

It all begun with a wedding

This was a 48 hours marrathon, in which time we ate, breathed and drank lamps; It was the first experience of working with each other. This "creation bulb" was so enthusiastic for us that we started thinking how we could extend it in reality. Dreaming is good, but seeing it before your eyes is even better.

So here it is, our first baby - a series of lighting objects meant to bring atmosphere to an unconventional wedding that took place in a beautiful garden.
We also wanted to give a touch of symbolism to our objects, finally we came up with the "4 elements of nature" idea. The project had to consist of 8 lamps, we made 2 lamps for each "element" - earth, water, air and fire, with different techniques and materials with most power of suggestion.
- for "earth" we chosen wood, cardboard and ornamental leaves;
- "water" was represented by translucent plastic and blue glasspaint;
- for "air" we made white-canvas moulds to resemble clouds
- metal was shaped into "fire".