Kafelek Handmade is a woman-owned family business. The company, run by twin sisters, creates small works of art. Tiles are created in the basement of their family home. And each of them is different.
Kasia Szostak: Where did the idea to run a manufactory come from?
Katarzyna Hajdun: The idea was born a bit by chance, during ceramic courses. When working with clay it relaxes the head incredibly. So I persuaded my sister to try it too. I always looked at handicraftsmen with a lot of envy, seeing that they get a lot of fun and satisfaction from their work. That's how the idea of creating something interior, which, in addition to unusual design, would also be functional, came about. Then we took part in a start-up competition. We didn't win it, but we confirmed that our idea was a hit.
Kasia: Is it difficult to run a family business?
Magdalena Szleszynska: I think it has a lot of advantages. We are sisters, so communication comes naturally to us. Of course, as it is between siblings, there are conflicts, but they can be resolved quite quickly and directly.
Kasia: How are the tiles made?
Magdalena: Every stage of our work is done by hand. The clay is rolled, and the tiles are punched out piece by piece. When they dry - they are fired for the first time, for bisque. The next firing is the application of glaze and very high temperatures. Each tile passes through our hands several times. The process is long and painstaking. An average order is usually several hundred tiles and it is usually impossible to get two identical pieces. It happens that when we take them out of the kiln, we are delighted by individual tiles, which when put together build a very interesting color composition. For us, this is a great asset and a differentiator from mass-produced tiles. The process also requires a lot of patience, which unfortunately is not the forte of any of us. Loaded to the brim, the kiln cools for up to 24 hours. There's always great curiosity about whether everything went according to plan.
Kasia: Having a studio at home is a convenience or an inconvenience though? After all, the oven is not a small gadget.
Catherine: A studio is not just a stove. We need the space first of all to separate an area for working, drying tiles, glazing them or storing them. The studio is located in the basement in the house where we grew up, and fortunately space is still plentiful. Nowadays, each of us has a reasonable distance to the studio, which does not cause the impression of being constantly at work, and yet it is quite a convenience: we control the working time ourselves, and we spend our breaks having coffee in the garden.
Kasia: Do you have a favorite project?
Magdalena: It's very hard to choose one particular one. We both love our tiles as a strong color accent in the interior, although sometimes realizations in subdued and soft colors are surprisingly beautiful. Much also depends on the color combination and the place where the tiles are used. Increasingly, these are not only kitchens and bathrooms, but also claddings for fireplaces, piping or any strong accents in public spaces.
Kasia: Where do you get your inspiration from? I noticed that the fish scale motif often appears in the designs.
Magdalena: The easiest way to find inspiration is to travel, attend trade fairs or simply browse interior design profiles. Very often we make individual concepts of designers with whom we like to cooperate. We send samples for approval, sometimes the very process of selecting a color takes long weeks. Thanks to the creative approach of design offices, it is possible to create truly unique and exceptional interiors.
Catherine: Besides, we have clients with heads full of ideas, we just implement them. Our clients know that they can get from us what they can look for in vain among mass production. Many times we ourselves are surprised by how imaginative they are with their interiors. We think it's great that Poles are increasingly treating their space very consciously, wanting to individually create the environment in which they live. The interior in which we live influences our well-being, so we are of the opinion that it is worth surrounding ourselves with natural materials and colors that arouse positive emotions in us. An unconventional space can perfectly emphasize the character and style of the household members. It is worth taking this into account when planning decorating or renovating.
Kasia: You run a profile on Instagram very dynamically. Is this due to a belief in the potential of social media, or did it come out naturally?
Magdalena: We usually joke that we still don't show enough, but there is no time to grab the phone because our hands are constantly dirty with clay. Of course we have a website, however, we think Instagram is a great place. There you can show the real production process and the behind-the-scenes of the making of our tiles. We know from experience that most people wonder what the creation process is like, how much time and work it takes to make them pleasing to the eye. We think it's fun to show that. In addition, on Instagram you can meet very interesting people and quickly establish a slightly looser connection with customers.
Kasia: On the profile you mentioned, you wrote that "a handicraftsman is not only a creator, but also a warehouseman, cleaner, photographer and manager."
Catherine: Yes, such multitasking is probably the daily life of every micro-entrepreneur. There are days when tangibly no project has moved forward, even though the day was busy. We consider this an advantage, however, because it avoids boredom. The process of creating tiles may seem monothematic, but for us each order is an individual project that we go through from accepting samples to shipping and customer satisfaction, which gives us a lot of fun.
Kasia:I was particularly interested in the stories under the name "fakaps". Where did the decision come from to show the shortcomings to your clients?
Magdalena: I think the production of every thing is fraught with mistakes. In ceramics, there is quite a range of opportunities to make them. We want to show the true face of our work. Things don't always come out beautifully right away. Sometimes there is disappointment, we need to refine the color, technique, correct something, or even throw it away. Many accounts on IG stop showing their content only in candy filtered photos. We definitely support this trend, because there are no filters in life, and this is true.
