About us

crafting plastics! studio is an award winning Bratislava-Berlin based design research studio, founded by Vlasta Kubušová and Miroslav Král. The studio's practice focuses its expertise on cross-disciplinary research, development, and implementation of new generations of better ecological biocomposites into our current and future day-to-day lives.

Realizing dynamic research and innovation in materials and design, we provide a base for interdisciplinary progress towards enjoyable sustainability and more transparent production. We explore new ways of developing products, from basic craft approach to high-tech machinery. Our pursuit is to be in full control of the lifespan of the product, from its origin – in the form of unrefined material – through the final product until its inevitable decay.

In crafting plastics! studio we are trying to introduce sustainable products where the team is actively involved in all value-added stages. We emphasize low-key and high-end. By combining craft + technology, fast + slow production methods, we discover the mostly unknown field of bioplastics derived from plants. These, together with compatible technologies, are being explored and possible applications tested.

The studio’s projects have been presented at some of the most renowned institutions, including Victoria and Albert Museum London, London Design Museum, Salon del Mobile, Rossana Orlandi Milan, Schloss Hollenegg for Design, MAK Vienna, and many more. Cp!s won several international prizes, including Diploma Selection (2016), Green Product Award (2021), German Design Award (2021) and Slovak National Design Award (2018). In 2019, the studio was nominated for Beazley Designs of the Years (London Design Museum, 2019) and the studio was shortlisted in the Emerging Studio of the Year Category by Dezeen Award (2022). In 2018, Vlasta was appointed a member of the Slovak Forbes’ 30under30.

Vlasta currently conducts further research on the responsive biomaterials within her ArtD studies at Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava. She is a recipient of Fulbright Scholarship for 2021/2022, working on interactive biomaterials at University of Pennsylvania. Recently Vlasta recieved MIT-SLOVAKIA MISTI Global Seed Funding for project Senseable Matter - research in interactive biomaterials for design and architecture with Dr. Andreas Mershin at Center for Bits and Atoms, MIT Media Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Apart from their design practice, crafting plastics! are also involved as co-founder and initiator of various cross-disciplinary projects, symposiums and forums such as In the Midl Design Forum, De/Posium, and recent platform Biomaterials in Practice (co-founded with Verena Michels).

Current team members:
Vlasta Kubušová
Miroslav Král
Soňa Otiepková
Silvia Sukopová
Erik Král
Adam Trup

Awards, Stipends

2022
MIT MISTI GSF Funding MISTI-Slovakia, Senseable Matter project
Shorlisted Dezeen Award -Best Emergening Studio of the Year

2021
German Design Award - Special in Excelent Architecture Category for Breazea
Green Product Award - Winner in Product Award for BreaZea
Fulbright Funding - PhD studies, University of Pennsylvania

2020 + 2021
Student of the year - Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava (Vlasta)

2019
Bazeley Design Of The Year - nomination, London Design Museum
Dezeen Award, Longlisted in Emerging design studios of the year 2019

2018
Forbes Slovakia 30pod30
German Design Award - Nomination in category Newcomer

2017
Slovak National Award for Product Design - Design with added value - winner
Tatra Banka Art Prize- winner in category Design - Young artist
Make Me! Design Award - finalist
Green Product Award - finalist

2016
Talente Munich - finalist
Start Up Award SK - finalist in category Art & Design
Designblok - Diploma selection - winner

2014
Bratislava Design Week - Best Product and Main Prize
Halabala Prize - winner for stool Splita
DMY Berlin – Flowers for Slovakia, collective prize

Exhibitions

2023

Miami Design, Alcova, December
Dutch Design Week, Radical City Exhibition, October - Sensbiom 2.1
Materials Matters, London Design Festival, September - Sensbiom 2.1
Alcova - Milan Design Week, Sensbiom 2, April

2022

Bratislava Design Week, December
Acadia, Institute of Contemporary Arts, Sensbiom 01 Installation, October, Philadelphia USA
Designblok, Ones, 5-10 October, Prague
Material Matters, London Design Festival, September 22-25 London
Sorry we are trying: Biomaterials in practice I Zichy Palace, Bratislava Design Week - until Janurary 31
Waste Age, London Design Museum | until February
Eco Solidarity, ICFF+Wanted Design, New York | 17-22 May
Gent Musem, Design fest Gent I March - June
Regionmuseet Skåne I March '22 - 2024
CMF Trends Lab of 2022 CIFF ( China International Furniture Fair)

2021

Sorry we are trying: Biomaterials in practice I Zichy Palace, Bratislava Design Week
Waste Age, London Design Museum | October - Februar
Expo Dubai, Slovak Pavilion | October
Alcova 2021, Milan Design Week| September
Maker's Show, Supersalone, Milan Design Week | September
BASE curated by studio Traccia, Milan Design Week | September
MAK Vienna, Vienna Biennale 2021, CLIMATE CARE. Reimagining Shared Planetary Futures | May - September
Kunstgewerbemuseum - Berlin - Design Lab#8, Mateiral Loops | May - August
Centro Centro, Madrid Design Week, exhibtion Materia Gris, curated by Ana Dominguez | February - May

2020

Bratislava Design Week | Dec 3 - Jan 15
Budapest Design Week | 360 Budapest (virtual), Oct 8 - 10
Dutch Design Week | Rethinking Plastic / Yksi Expo, October 17 - 25 (virtual)
Dutch Design Week | Non (depleted), October 17 - 25 (virtual)
Designblok | Design Helps, October, 7 - 11
London Design Festival | Nuatan TOGO, (virtual), Sept 12 - 20
Design Museum London | Beazley Design of the Year, until - March 31
MAK Vienna | Human by Design, crafting plastics! studio and De/posium - March 4 - April 5
Schloss Hollenegg for Design | Walden, May 7
Banska Stiavnica, De/posium - international symposium for designers and researchers | August 12 - 17

crafting plastics! and it's representation at the exhibitions outside of Slovakia in the years 2018-2021
were financially supported by Slovak Art Council.

2019

Design Museum London | September 11 - March 2020
Human by design, Vienna Biennale, Satelit Bratislava | September
De/posium - international symposium for designers and researchers Banska Stiavnica, Slovakia | August
Schloss Hollenegg for Design residency, Austria | July
Plastic Free World Conference, Frankfurt - lecture | June 28
Sustainability Summit Bratislava - presentation | June 20
Creative Days Vienna, Reaktor - lecture | June 14
In the Midl DESIGN Forum, Bratislava Design Week - discussion | June 9
Vienna Biennale, MAK Future Lab | May - September
Food, Victoria & Albert Museum, London | May - October
Ad mensam, Schloss Holleneg for Design, Austria | May
Alcova Sassetti, Salone del Mobile 2019 Milan | April
Biobased - World Bio Markets, Amsterdam | April
Design Biennale of Saint Etienne, France | March - April
Kunstgewerbemuseum Berlin, Germany | January - March
MAK Future Lab, Vienna - discussion | January 15
Heimtextil, Frankfurt, Germany - lecture | January 10

2018

2017

cp!s | crafting plastics studio