Mini Wonders / Česká hračka

mini wonders Czech toys past and present The “Mini Wonders” exhibition draws attention to the phenomenon of Czech toys, the story of which started at the beginning of the 20th century and is still being intensively explored and developed. The choice of exhibited items focuses on exceptional examples of contemporary Czech toy production and takes into account the innovation, originality and tradition of the toys. The exhibition presents toys by present-day designers displayed next to modern icons of the industry that have become part of the Czech cultural heritage during the past hundred years and are still manufactured. The oldest design of a toy exhibited here dates back to 1920, while the most recent exhibit was designed in 2018.

Czech toys have made a name for themselves internationally. They celebrated unprecedented success at the Expo 1958 in Brussels, where Czechoslovakia showcased its exhibition about the children’s world created by the artist Jiří Trnka and the teachers and designers Viktor Fixl and Václav Kubát. In more recent years, Libuše Niklová’s retrospective “Plastique ludique”, which took place in 2011 at the Musée des arts décoratifs in Paris, renewed interest in Czech toys. In 2012 the exhibition “Century of the Child: Growing by Design 1900–2000”, organised by the Museum of Modern Art in New York, featured toys by renowned Czech designers.

The “Mini Wonders” exhibition aims at drawing attention to the production of acclaimed traditional toy producers (such as Merkur, Fatra or Detoa), many of whose designs have been favourites with several generations of children both in the Czech Republic and abroad. At present, the young generation of designers and illustrators is continuing the tradition of Czech (mainly wooden) toys while also letting in the fresh air of new ideas and solutions. Toys give designers room for the unrestricted, unprejudiced development of their imagination, enabling them to exceed their own creative borders, to opt for fully take advantage of their potential, as Fatra has done with its collection of toys by contemporary designers.

All the exhibited items, be they re-editions of original designs from the 20th century or contemporary designs, have been very well-received by children and adults alike, the latter ones seeking them as decorative collector’s objects. The exhibition presents toys as a symbol of childhood, joy and creativity that both children and grownups have the right to enjoy. Toys awaken and develop the human imagination, the intelligence, and the sensory and motor skills from the earliest age. They are small wonders in this world and they can perform miracles.

These “toys with a story” designed by Kutulu, a creative association founded in 2015 by designer Pavla Boháčová, successfully develop the tradition of the Czech toy industry.

Kutulu focuses on quality manufacturing. Boháčová’s hand-painted objects made of beech distinguish themselves by their simple geometric shapes and bright colours as well as through their playful poetics. Birds from the series Pi-pi and the swan Labu can be set in motion by a gentle touch, while the timeless horses from the Hipo collection catch the Exhibition curator: Tereza Bruthansová attentiondesign: of children and grownups both in the Czech Republic © texts Tereza Bruthansová Installation Anna Kozová + Jerry Koza /alike atelierand SADare well received and abroad. © graphic design Zuzana Lednická Graphic design: Zuzana Lednická / Studio Najbrt

kutulu

© photo Peter Fabo, Anna Pleslová, Jan Vidlička

Project manager: Sandra Karácsony Organiser

Main exhibition partner

Exhibition partner

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kutulu These “toys with a story” designed by Kutulu, a creative association founded in 2015 by designer Pavla Boháčová, successfully develop the tradition of the Czech toy industry.

Kutulu focuses on quality manufacturing. Boháčová’s hand-painted objects made of beech distinguish themselves by their simple geometric shapes and bright colours as well as through their playful poetics. Birds from the series Pi-pi and the swan Labu can be set in motion by a gentle touch, while the timeless horses from the Hipo collection catch the attention of children and grownups alike and are well received both in the Czech Republic and abroad.

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my kutulu dvě In 2017“toys These Monika with Matějková a story” designed and Veronika

by Kutulu, Watzková, a creative working association together founded under theinname 2015 by designer My dvě (ThePavla Two of Boháčová, Us), created successfully a breathtaking developcollection, the tradition Zahumny, of the Czech that pays toy industry. tribute Kutulu to the tradition focuses on of Czech qualitywooden manufacturing. toys andBoháčová’s puppetry. My hand-painted dvě searched objects for inspiration made of beech distinguish in folk tales,themselves the source of byfairy theirtale simple characters geometric suchshapes as the Princess, and bright the colours Devil, the as well as Dragon, the Know-It-All and Death.

TheBirds pieces, made massive andswan hand-painted, canset bein through their playful poetics. from the of series Pi-piwood and the Labu can be assembled to the principle of the “pyramid toy”. the TheyHipo are collection objects oncatch the border motion by aaccording gentle touch, while the timeless horses from the attention sculpture between of childrenand anddesign grownups toys.alike and are well received both in the Czech Republic and abroad.

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michal strach The exceptional oeuvres by Michal Strach decidedly exceed the average and usual. Since his diploma project at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague, Michal Strach has created original micro-worlds of soft hues inhabited by his favourite childhood characters, such as the bear, the mouse or the clown. His imaginary landscape “Lupus in Fabula” features trees, boats and cars made of wood but also from other materials such as soap. These objects are the embodiment of childhood and reflect Strach’s amazing playfulness, imagination and creativity. His unique collector’s pieces have received awards, for example, at Designblok in Prague and were exhibited at his solo exhibition in the S. Bensimon Gallery in Paris.

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adéla fejtková A graduate from the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague, Adéla Fejtková designed her simple yet variable construction set Adéla in 2014. Consisting of stalks, leaves, buds and flowers, the construction set can be used to create eye-catching plants-cactuses.

The individual parts are worked by lathe from oak and finished by hand. The collection is also an interpretation of the carnivorous plant featured in the legendary Czech film “Dinner for Adele”. However, the Adélas designed by Adéla Fejtková are “peace-loving vegetarians suitable for every household, children and pets alike”.

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woo In 2014 the designers’ duo of Roman Vrtiška and Vladimír Žák designed a collector’s edition of toys called Woo, a name evoking both movement and wood. The collection consists of transport vehicles symbolising three elements: water, represented by a sailboat; air, represented by a plane; and land, represented by a bulldozer. These refined objects stand out by virtue of their elegant, minimalist shapes and are made from massive wood combined with a natural veneer and luxurious varnished surfaces.

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kovap Kovap, a producer of unique mechanical toys made from printed sheet metal, has held onto its specific place on the Czech and international market alongside producers of wooden and plastic toys. The company, operating since 1946 when it was founded

by Eduard Sedlák, is known for its high-quality manufacturing with a focus on detail and attractive designs. Many of its toys are collector’s items. Kovap’s iconic item is the tractor, manufactured since 1957, the completion of which requires 180 production steps. Some of Kovap’s much-loved products are model cars, the roller coaster, the ladybug and the Boy on a Tricycle.

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re pello The name of this Czech brand founded in 2013 by Jiří Marján derives from the Latin “repellere”, meaning “to push”. The brand offers a unique wooden balance bike, the J™ model, designed by Jiří Marján and Pavol Mikuláš. The bike is light and its patented LVS™ system provides it with full suspension. Manufactured in the Czech Republic from high-density beech plywood, the balance bike is suitable for children aged 1.5 to 4 years and comes in several colours, the number of which increases from year to year.

The most recent addition to the brand’s line is a regular bicycle.

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merkur The production of metal construction sets dates back to 1920 when Jaroslav Vancl founded his company Inventor. In 1925 he introduced a new system that has remained unchanged to this day: parts in basic colours can be connected by screws and nuts of the M 3.5 size.

That year was also when the new trademark, Merkur, was registered. At present the company produces metal construction sets and metal sheet trains. Recently the company enlarged its line with an exclusive re-edition of the Classic construction set, packaged in stylish pre-war design boxes.

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moravská ústředna brno Moravská ústředna Brno Cooperative, founded in 1909, focuses on production of textile and teddy toys. The cooperative is the only producer to have a license for the production of teddy toys representing the most famous Czech fairy tale characters. Among them, the Mole – a hero of Zdeněk Miler’s cartoon The Mole whose first episode was created in 1957 and children’s favourite worldwide – undoubtedly occupies a special place. Moravská ústředna Brno Cooperative produces the Mole in several sizes and its line includes Mole’s sweet friends such as the Bunny, the Mouse or the Hedgehog.

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libuše niklová Czech toys may be mostly associated with wood, but some of its greatest icons are the inflatable plastic toys produced by Fatra. The credit goes to designer Libuše Niklová (1934–1981) who, from the early 1960s to the late 1970s, worked for the company and created a number of ground-breaking toy designs. Niklová’s designs are unique both due to their artistic concept and their technological solutions (several were patented). Starting in 1971, Niklová designed a collection of toy-seats shaped like animals that has become one of her best known works, especially her Buffalo, Elephant and Giraffe, manufactured at present

by Fatra in a re-edition together with their other original designs.

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anna kozová & jerry koza This couple of designers, famous in the toy design industry for their unique design pushbike Torpédo, have designed three ingenious inflatable toys for the Fatra company.

Their graceful Goat enchants children with its squeaking udder and bulging eyes through which one can gaze into its interior. The Tractor has a pleasant organic shape and the openings in its wheels invite the user to entertain himself by looking through them.

A favourite of children’s water games is their collection of sailboats: the Regatta, Princess and Pirates all feature a hold that can be filled with water, thus providing the boats with perfect sailing characteristics.

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jan čapek In 2013 Jan Čapek designed a yellow inflatable Formula and a black-and-white bull terrier, Bulík, for Fatra, loosely referencing the collection of toy-seats designed by Libuše Niklová in the 1970s. Prior to this commission, Čapek, a lover of bull terriers and the owner of one himself, had already designed an English bull terrier toy executed in the style of a wooden rocking horse. Čapek’s inflatable bull terrier may look fierce, but he is soft to touch and inviting to play with. The toy design was successfully exhibited at the Spazio Rossana Orlandi gallery in Milan.

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zuzana lednická Zuzana Lednická is a graphic designer from Studio Najbrt. She studied toy design and was enchanted by Libuše Niklová’s impressive designs when working on a monograph and exhibition about that designer. Lednická’s Black & White collection of inflatable balls, which she designed in 2013 for Fatra, stands out by virtue of its patterns, playing ingeniously with the rounded shape of the balls. The toy has eye-catching, playful graphics and the colour combination of red, black and white makes it attractive to even the youngest of children.

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tomáš rejmon Tomáš Rejmon is a graduate from the Faculty of Art and Design at Jan Evangelista Purkyně University in Ústí nad Labem and has designed a unique collection of winding racing cars, Závoďáci 2 (2017). For his design, Rejmon drew inspiration from the shapes of 20th-century racing cars. His designs have a partially-revealed functional spring mechanism based on a magnetic drive and feature an innovation, a simplified figurine of a driver who leans back into his seat when the car starts. The cars come in several colours, all of them in the hues of iconic automobile industry models, e.g. Ferrari, Lotus, and others.

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detoa Detoa, founded in 1908 by Johann Schowanek, has focused on toy production since 1927.

Since then, countless children have grown up in the joyous company of Detoa’s modern wooden objects. Among the children’s favourites are figurines that can be pushed and squeezed and are still produced in their original designs from the 1930s, magnetic puzzles and pyramid construction toys. At present, Detoa is one of the last few remaining producers of wooden toys, both in the Czech Republic and abroad.

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václav špála & ladislav sutnar The tradition of the Czech wooden toy dates back to the early 20th century when the artist cooperative Artěl was founded. One of its members, painter Václav Špála, designed a collection of original toys for the cooperative such as the Čertík (Little Devil) (1920), featuring a sliding door that doubled the toy’s function as a sweets box. One of the most outstanding interwar designers of toys was Ladislav Sutnar. His collection, consisting of Elephant, Rhinoceros, Walrus and Camel, is truly timeless due to its unique, modern look.

Sutnar’s designs were revived by the Modernista company, which now produces faithful replicas of them, all hand-made and hand-painted according to the originals from the collections at the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague.

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igráček The legendary plastic figurine Igráček was introduced in 1976 by the IGRA production cooperative. The first piece produced was a bricklayer with assorted accessories designed

by Jiří Kalina in the mid-1970s. Kalina designed Igráček at the same time as, and in cooperation with, his friend Hans Beck, designer of the German Playmobil. The co-designer of Igráček is Marie Krejchová, who designed its simple yet noticeable look. Since 2010 the trademark of the IGRÁČEK toy (including the original forms) has been owned by the EFKO-Karton Company.

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utukutu Utukutu is a Czech brand whose multifunctional wooden toys – a rocker board and the Spectra swing – are very successful both in the Czech Republic and abroad. Designed

by Petr Fiala, the Spectra swing is primarily a rocker, but a simple trick suffices to convert it into a bridge, a ladder, a tunnel, a house, a slide or a counter. It awakens children’s imagination, strengthens their muscles, helps the development of balance, and can fit up to two small magicians. The toy is appropriate for ages 1 to 5 and comes in several colours and designs.

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směr The Směr (Direction) Cooperative, founded in 1952 in Prague, focuses on production of toys and polytechnic construction sets for cars, planes and boats made of plastic.

Toys by Směr have been a fixed star in the constellation of the Czech toy world for several generations of children. The toys are characterised by their bright colours, simple design, high-quality manufacturing and affordable prices. Some of Směr’s sought-after iconic products are the Ocean Steamboat (1971), pulling toys, pocket and table games and bathtub animals.

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tereza šedivá The illustrator and designer Tereza Šedivá founded her brand Moles in Holes with Japanese designer Momoko Kudo. The designer duo aims at timeless quality with a focus on detail and respect for the environment. Šedivá creates textile and wooden toys that capture the attention by their artistic rendering and appealing interactivity. For her newest design, the Walking Rhinoceros, the designer drew inspiration from an antique toy in her own collection. “When I was a child I wasn’t allowed a real dog but I got a toy one who followed me everywhere. It was a purely mechanical toy. Its movement looked so much more real than that of the toy dogs on wheels, and unlike the battery operated ones it never stopped working.”

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rené šulc In 2010 René Šulc designed Africa, a limited edition of wooden toys. The collection consists of five animals on wheels whose shape derives from simplified, quasi-sketchlike silhouettes of a giraffe, an elephant, a camel, a lion and a rhino. The designer came up with an ingenious technical solution: a rubber band attachment provides the animals with mobile heads which they can turn from side to side and up and down. Šulc reused the same principle in his Czech Forest collection, which features fauna from Czech forests and comes in natural wood.

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kazeto Kazeto, founded by Karel Zejda in 1925 in Přerov, is a traditional producer of items made of cardboard, such as interior accessories, storage boxes, toys, hat boxes and riveted suitcases. Kazeto is proud of its traditional, high-quality manufacturing methods.

Many a child still grows up with a small suitcase from this Czech company, which keeps on enlarging its line with a number of attractive, contemporary designs. All the pieces displayed at the Mini Wonders exhibition have the privilege of travelling in and being presented in these riveted suitcases by Kazeto.

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