Background Image

Brutalist Elegance in Light

  • Jan Garncarek
  • Warsaw, Poland
Read More

An Artists' Search for Liberation in Structural Design

The Bio

Jan Garncarek is a designer from Warsaw who makes objects that flirt with both art and craft. His studio lives in a 19th-century factory in Żyrardów, where pigeons once ruled and now sparks fly. He works with metal, textiles, and light — materials with weight and history, but always given a twist.

Every piece is handmade. No conveyor belts, no clones. Turned by a craftsman, polished by another, finished by Jan himself. The result: objects that feel alive, not manufactured. Lamps, tables, rugs, screens — each one its own character.

Jan doesn’t do rigid definitions. He likes freedom, experiment, detours. Design, for him, is closer to a conversation — between him and his partner Ewelina, between painting and structure, between durability and poetry.

The duo’s work is personal. Their first collaboration was a messy, hand-painted canvas — more memory than object — and today it’s screens, rugs, and lighting that carry the same spirit: playful, emotional, sometimes a little rebellious. For Jan, sustainability isn’t a buzzword but a responsibility: natural materials, no shortcuts, objects built to last almost forever. The studio is a laboratory, a playground, a place where objects earn their soul.

Get in touch with us if any inquiries into Jan Garncarek’s work

Get In Touch

The Products

  • Metropolis - Table Lamp Metropolis - Table Lamp
    • Metropolis - Table Lamp
    • Price on request
    • Jan Garncarek
  • Metropolis - Sconces Metropolis - Sconces
    • Metropolis - Sconces
    • 2.700 EUR
    • Jan Garncarek
    • ex. VAT
  • Pilla Lamp Pilla Lamp
    • Pilla Lamp
    • Price on request
    • Jan Garncarek
  • CBS -1 CBS -1
    • CBS -1
    • Price on request
    • Jan Garncarek
  • Oi Lamp Oi Lamp
    • Oi Lamp
    • 2.500 EUR
    • Jan Garncarek
    • ex. VAT
  • Matylda Matylda
    • Matylda
    • 650 EUR
    • Jan Garncarek
    • ex. VAT
  • Libellula Libellula
    • Libellula
    • Price on request
    • Jan Garncarek
  • Baba Stone - Sconce Baba Stone - Sconce
    • Baba Stone - Sconce
    • Price on request
    • Jan Garncarek
  • Baba Brass - Sconce Baba Brass - Sconce
    • Baba Brass - Sconce
    • Price on request
    • Jan Garncarek
  • Aurata - Pendant Lamp Aurata - Pendant Lamp
    • Aurata - Pendant Lamp
    • Price on request
    • The Orb

The Conversation

Your studio is located in a remarkable space. Can you tell us more about the place and how you ended up there?

We were looking for a place with a soul—something born out of craft that would reflect the character of our practice. We found an abandoned 19th-century factory in Żyrardów, close to our home. We wandered through the empty halls and fell in love with the atmosphere. The building had no windows and pigeons still flew inside—yet it felt extraordinary. We managed to secure the space, and today we have 300 sqm to work with. Space is crucial to my process—you need air and room to move, to work freely and experiment.

You run the studio with your life partner. How does that collaboration work in practice?

We’ve been building our brand together from the very beginning. Ewelina handles the business side and also has her full practice as a visual artist; I, on the other hand, concentrate on designing and producing objects. But it’s always a dialogue—between art and design, and between the two of us. Each of us also has a personal creative playground.

Your works show a confident command of materials—there’s great coherence, but also a wide spectrum of media and techniques. How did you get there?

It happened naturally. I’ve always had a certain ease with design—not just creating a specific thing, but responding in a moving, meaningful way to the needs of a client or collection. We try to avoid literal, online-driven references; instead, we look at the inner world—our own experiences and family stories. I love exploring new technologies, yet I mostly stick to natural materials. In an age of excess, we feel responsible for making objects that are durable, repairable, and able to live almost indefinitely. That’s why every piece is handmade: turned elements are made by a lathe craftsman and later polished by a specific person. We don’t do mass, machine production. That gives the work authenticity.

Is there a piece that holds a special meaning for you?

Yes—a painting we created together at the very beginning of our relationship. It hangs in Ewelina’s studio in Berlin, in an old factory. It came out of an exercise meant to free us from academic rules. We painted together, even with our hands. It’s a beautiful memory—a symbol of liberation and shared experimentation.

Many of your projects are light objects, but you also create tables, rugs, and screens. How do you move from lighting to everyday pieces?

Yes, it started with lamps—which makes it easy to be boxed in as “the lighting designer.” But we think ahead and want to show more and more other kinds of work as well. We have many ideas ‘in the drawer’ and a number of projects waiting to see the light of day.