Projekt 26 Interview x Damosfera
We’re so proud to have been interviewed for this incredible platform supporting women + art + culture in Poland. The article was published in Polish so we wanted to share it here in English with you. Hope you enjoy :)
Damosfera Interview - by Jowita Kaminska
November 24, 2020
Running a business as a woman living abroad
When Sylwia thinks back to cleaning hotels in London all those years ago, she never would have dreamt that one day she would discover a shared love of posters from the Polish School of Posters with Harriet, her co-founder at Projekt 26. They speak about their jobs as a work of passion and the appeal of Polish posters to the English (and beyond).
Sylwia, how did you end up in England?
Sylwia: Well, a recent heartbreak definitely helped me make the decision to leave Poland for a bit. I came in 2005 to get a break from my life back home and to see what life’s actually like outside of the Polish borders. At the time, I was studying part-time at the Warsaw University so my plan was to return after the summer. We make plans so that we can change them of course, and I've been living here for 15 years now. (Laughs)
How did you meet Harriet?
Sylwia: We've met at our kids’ school gates. Then there was tea (the English way with milk) at my place where I had a couple of Cyrk posters (by Jodlowski and Hilscher). They instantly caught Harriet's eye who’d just finished her Graphic Design course and she instantly fell in love with Polish posters. One thing led to another and pretty much then the idea came to us to open an online gallery of Polish posters.
Harriet, why did you like Polish posters?
Harriet: I’ve always loved naive and playful illustration styles and lithography. First I fell in love visually with the designs, the colours and the beautifully imperfect printing process, but then the layers of meaning and the cultural history blew me away. I love the spirit of freedom and inclusivity the artists had which feels so relevant in the times we’re living in.
Do you have a favourite artist?
Harriet: It’s so hard to choose just one favourite artist but Jan Mlodozeniec always makes me smile with his bold use of colour and line and his playful spirit. I have a Cepelia poster by him up in my living room which I adore.
Sylwia: I don't actually have one, I have four! I adore Andrzej Krajewski, Mieczyslaw Wasilewski (whom we've met personally last year), Hanna Bodnar and Maria Mucha Ihnatowicz. I have at least one poster from each of the artists in my personal collection. My favourite one of all is by Andrzej Krajewski ‘Woman Times Seven’ from 1968. I managed to get hold of the original a while ago and it's now hanging by my dining table.
Many contemporary illustrators draw inspiration from the Polish School of Posters, right?
Sylwia / Harriet: Definitely modern day illustrators are inspired by the Polish School of Posters. It’s such a joy to be able to share these designs with a new generation. We’ve met lots of graphic designers and artists on our Projekt 26 journey and have become friends with some super talented people who draw lots of inspiration from their favourite Poster School artists. One example is the amazing contemporary illustrator Maria-Ines Gul, who loves Jan Młodożeniec and has several of his posters, including one from us.
How do you choose your posters?
Sylwia / Harriet: There are various things we look for when sourcing posters and luckily we share a very similar aesthetic so we rarely disagree! Sometimes it’s an artist we adore or a really rare iconic design. A common feature of the posters in our collection is their use of colour and the joy they give us. Sometimes they can also have a very subtle "beauty" or be very bold and abstract. The one constant is that we try to only sell posters which we’d love to own ourselves.
Who buys Polish posters in England?
Sylwia / Harriet: A lot of people from creative industries: interior designers, graphic designers, stylists and photographers. Sometimes film or theatre fans or people with Polish roots. But really it's… everyone and anybody. We have a saying that "there's a Polish poster out there for everyone!"(Laughs)
Where do you get your posters from?
Sylwia / Harriet: We source our posters from Poland and 99% of them are original vintage editions. Very occasionally we stock authorised limited edition reprints of the really rare designs which are hard to find, or beyond most people’s budget.
The greatest treasure of the collection?
We have two. A poster by Waldemar Świerzy ‘Nocny Kowboj’ (Midnight Cowboy) from 1973 and Wiktor Górka's ‘2001 A Space Odyssey’ from the same year. Those two will never be leaving us!
Over the last two years, we have managed to meet and make friends with many wonderful people and collectors in Poland, who often help us find rare titles.
Unfortunately, many of the artists from the Polish Poster School are no longer with us, but we had the honour and privilege of meeting Mieczysław Wasilewski back in February. He is not only an artistic genius, but also a truly wonderful man.
What were you doing professionally before you met?
Sylwia: Right after I came to London I started cleaning hotel rooms, then I worked as a sales assistant at Gucci, and then at a couple of Investment Banks in their recruitment departments. Somewhere between those jobs I also managed to have two boys. (Laughs)
Harriet: I worked in TV as a development producer before retraining as a graphic designer which I’d always wanted to do. Unlike Sylwia, I luckily have two daughters. (Laughs)
Where does the name "Projekt 26" come from?
Harriet / Sylwia: The name was inspired in part by the great Polish magazine Projekt, which started in 1956 and has been a source of many inspirations in terms of visual art and design. The second reason is that 26 is our zip code and our dream to be 26 again. (Laughs)
