Every design begins quietly. A few strokes of a pencil on paper, a breath of thought, the rhythm of shapes. And then that ordinary line becomes light, a touch, a real place. From paper into space, from an idea into a home.
That is exactly how Grain of Design came to life a year ago. I am sitting on a train right now, the window projecting a landscape where my childhood memories of my grandmother's kitchen blend with thoughts about where Grain is actually headed. And when I look back over these twelve full months, I have to laugh and tip my hat. It was quite a ride — full of discoveries, missteps, pure joy and unexpected technological dramas.
What Did This Year Teach Me?
SEO is for tech people? Not at all.
I thought Search Console was a dirty word and algorithms were something only people in hoodies worried about. Then one evening I fell down a digital rabbit hole and understood more in a few hours than in all the months before. I hereby officially declare myself a reluctant tech expert.
When the website falls apart into ones and zeros, you don't mourn it — you rebuild it.
Yes, the blog collapsed under my hands several times. In moments when weeks of work disappear, you feel like closing the laptop and planting trees instead. But I was too attached to all that work to give up, so I gritted my teeth, dove back into the code and built it again. Today Grain of Design stands firmly on its own feet — and so do I.
Then came the workshop.
Suddenly it was no longer just about visualisations. Instead of pixels, I started dealing with materials, lacquers, routers, casters and millimetres. I discovered that designing furniture is only the first step. The real one begins the moment you hold the design in your hands for the first time.
Bugs in the algorithm have their own purpose.
Walking confidently through the blog's sections today is Pagáček™ — the studio's official mascot. He came about entirely by accident when AI, during an attempt to generate Czech koláče, produced this peculiar savoury pastry instead. Pagáč fought his own way and became the first pastry in the world with a diplomatic and architectural mission.
"It's no shame to make mistakes — the shame is not turning the mistake into a legendary character."
Between Worlds, Prototypes and Pigments
My mind works like an unmanaged generator. It produces dozens of ideas every day — some I write down for "someday", others take on concrete outlines in my sketchbook, and others already exist in the real world.
The walls of your homes are already decorated with posters from the BANANARCHY™ series, in the workshop we are refining the Gradus bookshelf construction, with the carpenter we are sorting out millimetres on the casters, and international publications have noticed our concepts such as Eau de Toi, EggFort™ and ELEVATOR™. In my mind, HUG BOAT keeps floating alongside thousands of other micro-details.
But this year showed me one more thing — that an idea doesn't have to stay on paper. It can transform into a prototype, a product, a conversation with a manufacturer, or a first step toward one's own collection. And it is precisely this journey that I enjoy most of all.
And because I love cooking, colourful ingredients became my best moodboard. Alongside architecture and design reflections, the blog now features the Elysium Recipes section — recipes for simple, visually beautiful and colourful food. Food is the same kind of ritual as a well-designed interior.
A Home for Thoughts and a Nomadic Notebook
Over this past year, Grain of Design has become my imaginary diary. It is a design radar, a nomadic notebook of travels and a space for direct real talk about the chaos, mess in the studio and the absolute joy of creation.
My travels gradually started finding their way into the articles — exhibitions, architecture, cities, accidental discoveries and ordinary train windows. I discovered that inspiration often doesn't arrive in the office, but between two stops or during a quiet walk through an unfamiliar city.
The first workshops also brought me great joy. Watching people put together moodboards with their own hands and find the courage to create reminded me why I do design. Sometimes all it takes is scissors, paper and the right question.
I love modern technology — whether it's a reliable M4 iMac, smart apps or AI, which I treat as partners in discussion. I believe technology can be a carrier of beauty. Keyboards and code are great, but authenticity and the human touch remain the key to everything.
And perhaps the biggest surprise of the entire year was realising that Grain of Design is not my portfolio. A portfolio shows the past. Grain shows direction. It is a place where articles, prototypes, recipes, mistakes, travel, humour and dreams of things yet to be created can exist side by side.
Thank you to everyone who spent this first year with me — who reads my texts, buys the posters, comes to a workshop or simply stops by the blog for a moment.
We dance between worlds — a place where furniture dreams and stars fall.
A blog was born. So was a part of me.
Welcome home, Grain. 🌾
🟡 Grain of Design™
Design is quietly happening.