I live with a big-city nomad mind-set and follow a gatherer’s lifestyle reminiscent of prehistoric communities—just a bit differently. I create as a “junk designer,” so I am roaming the city with “open circuits”. My receptors focus on exciting, unusual materials and shapes, allowing me to find hidden value in almost anything, whether it is an egg carton tray, customs seal string, truck tarpaulin, or soundproofing foam.
For me, as a re-designer, it is a true thrill to transform or reinterpret the original function of these materials and bring a new object to life through my touch.
The name Hipsterdesign reflects my target audience. I design primarily for individuals with a unique mind-set and aesthetic taste, far from the mainstream.
In the Baranka Hipsterdesign workshop, the materials I love—such as chicken wire, ship rope, industrial rubber flooring, old wooden surfaces, computer motherboards, bicycle chains, motorcycle tires—are reborn. My devotion to machine parts and rusty metals is something I inherited from my family (I was “infected” by my dad). Veteran car and motorcycle fairs, as well as scrap metal yards, are incredibly exciting treasure troves of machine parts. I can spend long hours rummaging and selecting in these metal secondhand “playgrounds.” For me, this is a kind of “girly shopping.”
From my perspective, rust is a beautiful texture—the result of nature’s transformative work—made gorgeous by the randomness and irregularity of its patterns.
Baranka