Europe

Poland is known for their advanced manufacturing and high-quality craftsmanship across specialties such as architecture, sustainable construction, furniture, interior design, green technologies, and yacht building. The artisans of Poland have a global reputation for their creative abilities, imagination, and cleverness in industrial design and traditional crafts that utilize timber, ceramics, glass, silver, and amber.

Poland is a leading manufacturer of furniture, making it a multi-billion-dollar industry for the country and ranking as 2nd in the world for furniture export value. The artisans use high-quality of materials and special techniques to produce their iconic designs.

The history of Poland as a global leader in furniture is interlinked with its emergence as a nation-state during WWI in 1918, which brought about an explosion of art, architecture, and innovation in design. The avant-garde period is very appealing and has been described as simple, universal, yet current. The artisans of Poland focused on making the designs unique to their country to convey a sense of national pride and identity. The result was a slew of timeless designs that are appreciated by people all over the world.

Polish pottery, or Polish stoneware, dates back to the Middle Ages, with farmers making pottery during the winter when it was too cold to farm. This folk art originates from the Silesia region of Poland in a village called Boleslawiec, where the clay minerals produced extremely strong pottery. The history of Boleslawiec far outdates Poland, with pottery artisans having roots all the way back to 6,000 BC. They produced some of the most famous potters in the world. 

Polish stoneware is thus not only known for its beauty (such as the porcelain cup above painted in gold) but also its durability. Polish pottery is still handmade, and hand painted using a traditional stamping method. 

The famous peacock pattern is displayed above, using the royal blue popularized by Polish pottery. This pottery was intended to attract nobility for the potters to have sustained income, as the male peacock represents wealth and royalty in Europe.

Amber is 40-million-year-old fossilized tree resin originating from the Scandinavian forests and then found on the shores of the Baltic Sea. Nicknamed the “Gold of the North”, amber’s beautiful color has been admired since the Neolithic period. Ancient Polish legend claims that amber is the debris of the sea goddess Jurata’s palace. They believe it was destroyed with a lightning bolt sent by Perkun when he found out she was having an affair with a mortal fisherman. The inhabitants of the Kurpie region also believed that amber had magical qualities such as healing infertility. The Romans were fond of amber, so an established trade route went through Polish soil from the Baltic to the Roman Empire. Later new trade routes were created leading to the Arabs of the east.

Poland has much to be proud of, including their timeless furniture designs, strong stoneware, and eye-catching amber jewelry.