Books
A blessing of isolation is time to reflect upon, choose and read books. These are the most meaningful ones I’ve read recently. The first is Kai Linke in Japan, product designer Kai Linke’s research diary on the exceptional crafts tradition in Kyoto, a gift from the author. I met Kai while I was researching at the Kyoto Design Lab, Kyoto Insitute of Technology.
The book captures the essence of Kyoto craftsmanship and takes me back to my days there. The second book is Bamitbah by my friend, photographer and professor Ivan Hrkaš. It shows the nuances of the Sarajevo Jewish community’s social center in the most suble of ways.
A third impactful book I’ve read is Toward a Concrete Utopia: Architecture in Yugoslavia 1948 – 1980 by Martino Stierli and Vladimir Kulić. It articulates the architecture, design, spaces, shapes and ideologies that I’ve grown up with, as someone who was born and brought up in Yugoslavia. It also highlights the work of my professor and mentor, Professor Zlatko Ugljen, to a younger international audience.
Nataša Perković
Nataša Perković is a product designer from Sarajevo. She aims to create innovative products of a high aesthetic value which users will enjoy for many years.
She holds a graduate and postgraduate degrees in product design from the Academy of Fine Arts, University of Sarajevo, where she also works as an assistant professor. She made her first professional steps at The Partners in London and at Cittadellarte - Fondazione Pistoletto in Italy. She has collaborated with the Royal College of Art Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design in London. She worked as a design associate at Kyoto Institute of Technology D-Lab.
Through her design practice, Studio Nataša Perković, she collaborates with manufacturers from Bosnia and Herzegovina and the region. She has exhibited extensively and globally.
Among awards Nataša’s products have received are D&AD Best New Blood, several Imm Cologne ICONIC Interior Innovation Awards, German Design Award Special Mention, Grand Prix Collegium Artisticum, Belgrade Furniture Fair Golden Key, BIG SEE Grand Prix for Product Design, as well as the Balkan Architectural Biennale Grand Prix for Furniture Design.
