bimba :: design for kids (interview with Diana Barcsi)

I've been busy and it's been ages since I wrote on the blog last time, but I have something really special for you today. When I started this blog, something like this was one of the reasons. To give amazingly creative people from my part of the world a little publicity and do a small part in their launch into the world. And to have an excuse to talk to them.

 Today I am bringing you an amazing Hungarian designer

                                                                  

Who is Diana Barcsi?

I am a textile designer, I graduated from the University of Applied Arts, specializing in textile printing. I live in Budapest, Hungary with my 13-year old son, my 4-year old daughter and my husband.  

What is Bimba and where is the name coming from?

Bimba is coming from the word "pampi". When my son was little, he had a pillow he used to snuggle with all the time. He couldn't pronounce the Hungarian word "párna", which means pillow, so he named it "pampi". Since this little word had a "magic power" in our family I mixed and rotated the letters p a m p i , so the result is an Italian word b i m b a , which means little girl. So, Bimba connects both of my children to the stuff I make.  



How did it all start?

When I started university, my son was already 3 years old, and when I graduated, my daughter was 5 months old. So, children "left their mark" on most of my works. I also realized, that domestic design toys lack quality. After university I decided I wanted to make toys. I had an exam at that time where I had to design pictograms, so I made my first Bimba collection, called zoo-pictograms. Textile books, sleeping animals, pillows are made from them, but nowadays I create dolls, bags, textile jewellery, especially decorated with typical Hungarian motive, called "matyó" pattern.  

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Tell us a little about your kids! Do they help you when you design? 

At first they helped me a lot, mainly my son, who was very helpful when I wrote my first nursery rhymes. He gave lots of idea regarding the characters as well. My daughter was a kind of "practical mentor" - she tested the finished toys. Unfortunately after a while they became immune to toys, because of a huge stock...  

Which part of the creative process do you like best when you work?

I love to cut the pattern and saw them. I am like an excited child looking forward to Santa, and opening the gifts.:) The same feeling overcomes me when I create a new pattern design, and make the first screenprint. I adore shopping for fabrics, paint, buttons, ribbons, etc. In general I love making toys altogether, from thinking up the design, to actually making it! ... I don't like marketing, but I'm trying to do my best!  

Do you have a 5-10-year plan, or do you just do it instinctively? 

So-so. I like to plan, but in practice I am an emotion based designer. I always feel what is needed for development and try to keep it up. Of course there are obstacles, but I enjoy to solve problems!:) So I go forward...it would be nice to have my own showroom/workshop, supply increase and more publicity.

Favourite Hungarian designers!

Kiskakas, Manuela, Schall Eszter, Picidia, Steiner Lídia, MaraFactory, Pucc, Esterda...  

Favourite foreign designers!

Kase-faz, Revoluzzza, Sassandperil, Marimekko, Jane Foster, and Scandinavian designers in general.

Thank you Dia!!!


Check out more of Bimba products on her website or blog, follow her on facebook, or go shopping here.

Funny Design: Eat & Play Table

Staying on top of the theme from last Funny Design post check out the Eat & Play Table by Rodrigo Caula:

via Mocoloco

Colored butterfly against attitude and weather

Where the attitudes bad and the weather is shitty, all you need is a butterfly template from Minieco and some colour.

And it will get better...

Think positive thoughts...

Cereal problem

It's been a hard week in this parts. What with kindergarten enrollement excitement and realizing my maternity leave will soon be over...

and then this happens on a Friday morning...

Every time I open a new bag, the stupid thing tears and I have cereals all around the place. To add to that, it is impossible to reuse that bag, you simply have to store your cereals in something else, something completely different.
Now, my kitchen is not one of those perfect kitchens, with perfectly organized neat cabinets containing numerous jars, one per type of food. My kitchen is one where when you are trying to reach a bag of cereals tragedy is bound to happen. A tragedy as serious as a

I have not yet recovered from this, but let's go on with my cereal problem.
As much as I love the look of glass jars and pretty food in them, as a mom of a 3 year old who sometimes insists on making his own breakfast, I see a glass jar potentially hazardous. I can also not afford this space wise, which is true for plastic containers all the same.  So what to do? - I was asking myself in the morning looking at that mess.
And then it hit me! And I was so happy to realise that my hours spent on the Internet perusing its vastness sometimes do come in handy.

Now pick it up and dangle it to test if it really works.

When you realize it does, dangle it extaticly into faces of your family members. Kids will most probably think it is funny, hubs will most probably not. But who cares, my cereals are not out of the bag anymore!



Linking to:
Hope Studios

Kids’ Birthday Party Tips: How to Throw a Large Party

Ever since our 3rd B-Day Party in March, where I had a huge amount of kids demolishing my home, I've been thinking could I have done it differently. Today I have an expert from  

giving us some easy tips to follow to avoid chaos and have fun.

Melissa is a mom and guest blogger who writes about children’s party planning, child behavior and development, and making parties special with things like Super Mario party supplies.

Hi guys, I am Melissa, and here is my first post for Bag of Pretty

Hosting a kids’ birthday party with a handful of party guests in attendance is pretty easy. Throwing a kids’ party with more than 15 little party guests in attendance, on the other hand, can be downright overwhelming. So, how do you throw a large party for your birthday girl or boy and keep your cool? Here are some tips to help you out:

1. Invite parents – This will make the party even larger, but it will actually make it more manageable. On the party invitations, let the parents know they’re invited (but that their attendance isn’t mandatory). If you do this, you’re bound to have a few of the parents stick around at the party. Those parents will be able to help you manage behavior, feed the kids, and keep the kids busy. Ideally, the parent to child ratio should be pretty low at a party. Otherwise, the kids will have too much opportunity to get into trouble, since a few adults can only supervise so much at one time.

2. Buy food and drinks in bulk – It’s good to get more food and drinks than you think you will need at a large birthday party. So, buy plenty of food and drinks in bulk. If you have a membership to a store that sells in bulk, consider getting the party food and drinks there. Oh, and don’t forget to pick up plenty of ice and enough plates and utensils at the store before the party. There’s nothing worse than having to leave in the middle of the party to go pick up more food and supplies.

3. Structure the party – You don’t have to treat the kids like they’re at boot camp, but you should keep the party as structured as possible and leave little room for downtime. Plan some fun activities that will keep the kids busy and plan out an agenda for the party. Try to stick to the agenda as much as possible and avoid giving the party guests the opportunity to make their own fun. Kids secretly enjoy structure, and everyone will be a lot happier at the party if things are planned out to ensure that fun happens and boredom isn’t a possibility.

If you’re going to throw a big shindig for your child this year, mentally prepare yourself for some work and follow the tips above. The party may not end up being perfect, but it can be a success with the right amount of planning and effort!

Party on!

Melissa

Remember one thing, the most important thing is to have fun at your kid's party! Tips from Melissa can make that happen. Keep it simple and enjoy it!

Thanks Melissa for this great summary! 

I. Budapest Bread and Pastry Festival

Last weekend Budapest had it's first bread and pastry festival (I. Budapesti Kenyér- és Péksütemény-fesztivál) ever. I am normally quite annoyed by the place where we live, because come Festival season we are surrounded by tourists, it is impossible to park in front of the house, and God forbid you to open your window at night during the Wine festival, when all the happy people are coming down from Budapest Castle right under my window. But, it was nice weather, festival was for free and it is a mere 5 minutes walk from our house, the idea of fresh pastries seemed like a good one.
We soon became aware of the fact that festivals featuring bread are not merely as popular as the ones where any type alcohol is served, because we had to wander around trying to find the place, and some of the local store owners looked at us blankly when we asked about it.

But after a few circles, and an ice-cream we had to get P so he'd be willing to walk, we found it.

Hungry from all that walking we had done already we decided to go for some kenyérlángos - an old Hungarian specialty made of pre-baked bread dough topped with garlicky sour cream, onions, bacon/sausages and grated cheese, baked in a traditional wood-fired brick oven.

P was still hungry after ice-cream, so he went for potato crisps, made out of REAL potatoes.

There were loads of sweet and colorful goodies to choose from too.

But my favorite find that day, was the Malomgyartó (The Millmaker). With their beautiful mills you can make your own whole-wheat flour, or rolled oats.

From this:

 to this:

homemade flour

or this:

rolled oats

And if you are not at the stage where you will go by yourself a mill and make your own flour at home, there some other stunning product they have, like the grain or flour holders they have. They come in 4 different sizes ( 3, 5, 10, 25 kg) and with a smart little wooden mechanism for convenient opening and closing.

They also have beautiful wooden storage boxes and bowls, which totally do not go with my kitchen style, so it's good husband was in charge of money, not me. Just look at them in the background, would you not be tempted?

Funny Design: See-Saw Table

Is it a toy, a piece of furniture, a teaching device?

  With De Tafelwip,  a see-saw table designed by a Dutch designer Marleen Jansen you must follow good table manners whether you want it or not. If you decide to leave before time...your companion will end up on the floor.

source

source

Have a nice weekend!

KLOCC for Kids, by Judit Ducsai

Klocc for Kids – Hungarian design award winning innovative storage for kids.

Designed by Judit Ducsai Kid's Klocc, very much like it’s predecessor - Klocc bag,  is made from 1 cm thick 100% industrial wool felt. Formed using a special technique similar to the hat making process and treated to be water resistant, they are made from 1 piece and except for the zipper, you will find no seems on them.

Each of them is handmade in Judit's studio.

Bright coloured and ever-changing organic shapes and self sustainable forms are not only incredibly cool and beautiful, they also stimulate children's curiosity, creativity, abstract thinking and problem solving skills.

 

A toy storage solution which can easily become a toy itself!

They can be hanged, attached together, open wide, or closed shut.

They can also be given to Mommy to play with, because she is crazy about them.

To see other products by this talented designer visit ducsaijudit design, or join her on facebook.

These photos are courtesy of Judit Ducsai.