Icons of Polish design on Polish Post stamps
The Polish Post has prepared a new issue of "Polish Design" postage stamps. The project was carried out in cooperation with the Institute of Industrial Design in Warsaw.
The issue consists of two stamps sold in a four-stamp sheet (2 x 2), with the values arranged alternately. The stamps depict the "Tulipan" armchair designed by Teresa Kruszewska, which has become an icon of Polish post-war design, and the PLOPP stool by Oskar Zięta, a modern piece of industrial design utilizing innovative technology.
The First Day of Circulation (FDC) envelope accompanying the issue features photographs and short biographies of the designers: Teresa Kruszewska and Oskar Zięta, as well as images of the "Tulipan" armchair and the PLOPP stool. The envelope's design evokes the contrast between two distinct approaches to design – traditional and modern, soft and hard, cozy and industrial. A specially designed commemorative date stamp depicts the superimposed outlines of the "Tulipan" armchair and the PLOPP stool, illustrating the dialogue between different eras and styles of Polish design.
the "Tulipan
" armchair was part of a collection of lounge furniture created for a competition organized by the Furniture Industry Association and the Association of Visual Artists in Poznań. At the MEBLE '73 exhibition, this design received the Highest Special Award for prototyping at the Bent Furniture Factory in Radomsko (now Fameg). The originality and aesthetic of this design stemmed from its cup-shaped, organic form, the fruit of the artist's experiments with the plastic properties of plywood as early as the 1950s. However, the primary focus of her work was not form itself, but rather the human being and the relationship the furniture creates with its user. Teresa Kruszewska (1927–2014) was a renowned furniture designer, interior architect, and professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. Her works are in the collections of the National Museum in Warsaw, the National Museum in Poznań and the Vitra Design Museum in Germany.
Stool
, designed by Oskar Zięta, is a modern design project that combines an artistic approach with innovative technology. PLOPP, or "Polish Air-Pumped Folk Object," is the result of research into the properties of metal and a manifestation of FiDU technology, which enables the creation of lightweight and durable structures through "controlled loss of control." Two ultra-thin sheets of metal, joined by welding along the edges, are inflated under high pressure, transforming the flat form into a three-dimensional object. The stool has won numerous prestigious awards, including the Red Dot Design Award 2008, the German Design Council Award 2008, and the Forum AID Award 2009. Oskar Zięta (born 1975) is an architect, designer, and artist, a graduate of the Szczecin University of Technology and a PhD from ETH Zurich. His work is recognized worldwide for its innovative approach to design, engineering, and technology.
The Polish school of design skillfully combines tradition with modernity and functionality with aesthetics. The works of Teresa Kruszewska and Oskar Zięta are excellent examples of the creative use of technology, leading to designs with unique styling and distinctive presence in the space.
The newly issued notes are available for sale both at Poczta Polska branches and in the Poczta Polska online store .
Polish design
author of the project: Agnieszka Sancewicz
number of stamps: 2
value: PLN 4.90 each
circulation: 100,000 pcs of each stamp
printing technique: offset + stochastic raster + varnish
stamp format: 40.5 x 40.5 mm
paper: fluorescent
sales sheet: 4 stamps (2 x 2)
date of introduction into circulation: August 30, 2024