Meetings, talks, agreements. Being in the centre of the passionate world of design. Joint activities, joint successes.  That’s what describes Anka Pietrzyk-Simone’s work best. In London she is working for Ross Lovegrove, in the SAR she used to work for the company Interactive Africa on the image of Cape Town, the creative capital of the Republic. The interview with one of the best Head of Communications exclusively for Purpose.

I have heard many good things about your work from different sources, everybody knows you, but nobody knows exactly what you are doing. People find it difficult to describe your work in short. So maybe I should start our conversation with this question – what are you doing?

Officially, my title is that of ‘Head of Communications’ for the London studio of Ross Lovegrove, one of the most highly regarded contemporary designers. Being at the centre of this passionate world affords me the opportunity to meet the most influential practitioners of design, the companies that execute their vision and the media through whom that vision is shared. This is a good start however it is not everything. In order for this complex relationship to be successful all three partners have to meet and gather round one idea. And this is where I come in. I give them advice, support and act as process facilitator. While doing that I pursue my passion: I am trying, through my personal contacts, to contribute towards the further development of the creative industries in Poland and to promote talented Polish designers abroad. This is pretty much it … in a nutshell.

I must admit that having had eight years experience working with international designers along with the most outstanding personalities from the world of design, architecture, graphics, photography, film, fashion …with individuals the likes of Shigeru Ban, Neville Brody and Sir Terence Conran, I can’t imagine any other profession that would give me the chance to see so much talent, experience so much culture, passion and emotion.


You are working for Ross Lovegrove, the famous British designer. Please tell me what your role is?

I am responsible for liaising with media and represent the Ross Lovegrove brand in communications with our clients. I also project manage exhibitions, installations and launches of Ross’s products. As the majority of projects are realized outside Great Britain (Japan, Turkey, Italy, Denmark, France), the ability to work with partners from very different cultures is certainly helpful. Not to mention the openness to such difference. It is that diversity that fascinates me, as regards both the background of the projects and the projects themselves.
Today I am working on the promotional strategy for the launch in Japan of the lightest suitcase made of carbon fibre and designed by Ross. Tomorrow, I have to round off the final version of a CNN documentary hosted by Ross, and in a moment I shall wrap up a photo session for Domus … nothing like working at full steam!

You have brought about the cooperation between Lovegrove Studio and the Polish brand Moho Design. How did it start?

It all started with “Wallpaper” which awarded Moho with a prize for the best textile, and in the same issue honoured Ross with an award for the most interesting bathroom collection for VitrA. A Polish firm in “Wallpaper” – that couldn’t escape my attention. I immediately shared this news with Miska Lovegrove – Ross’s wife and business partner, who happens to be Polish. We decided to locate Moho and contact them. A few months later, Ross and Miska met Magda Lubiñska and Micha³ Biernacki. Charmed by their enthusiasm and charisma Ross decided to design a rug collection for them. That’s how Cellula - which I have started promoting - was born.  My cooperation with Moho has since been extended and I now consult for them. We have managed to establish business relationships with a few excellent showrooms in London. Polish rugs can now be purchased in Selfridges, Viaduct, Coexistance and  Harmer, which represent the best international furniture brands such as Driade, Vitra, Moooi, Artemide, Kartel, etc. Thanks to our extensive press contacts, Moho has been appearing in many prestigious magazines: Italian, Dutch, Spanish and American. Moho received excellent reviews at the Salone del Mobile in Milan in April and at the London Design Festival in September where they’ve started collaborating with the Italian company Moroso. Our partnership has already many noteworthy achievements. The coming year is going to be even more successful!

Weren’t there any communication problems between the two different cultures? Two different attitudes to art? Or on the contrary - do you regard art as universal and supracultural?

As I have mentioned before, Ross’s portfolio includes mainly international clients. It is this mixture of cultures and an interpretation of cultural differences that make a project unique and contribute to its future success. A good example is Ross’s bathroom collection for the Turkish company VitrA, inspired by Oriental culture. Widely published for over two years, it has been causing a great sensation all over the world. A similar situation existed with Moho – Ross, intrigued by the traditional woven felt combined with modern colours and design, created a project that was both unique and organic – in line with his design philosophy.

You are helping to introduce Moho into the English market. Are the English interested in Polish design?

I must admit that Moho’s rugs make a great impression on buyers here, both: showrooms and their clients alike. What appeals to them are the fresh ideas based on Polish tradition. The product is noticeable because it’s both different and of the highest quality! I often hear comments on the fantastic reviews Moho’s collections receive. People like the professional way the collections are presented and delivered. Certainly, Moho is a great ambassador of good, contemporary design from Poland.

Some time ago I had the opportunity to accompany a group of British media and curators on a trip to Poland, organized by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute with the assistance of the Polish Culture Institute in London. We visited a few design centres, such as the Silesian Castle of Art and Enterprise in Cieszyn, IWP and the Bêc Foundation. We met a broad spectrum of Polish designers – from the most respected to recent industrial design graduates. All the visitors agreed that Polish designers are talented and what’s most important – we can be proud that we still have manufacturing in Poland (which gives us the advantage over the British who, although their country is the worlds cradle of creativity, commission their production out to the Italians and Chinese). What is in its infancy and we should improve on soon, is the designer-producer cooperation. Not necessarily within Poland. In my opinion international cooperation should be particularly encouraged, as was in the case of Moho – a Polish company working with a foreign designer, our designers cooperating with European companies. It is important that such cooperation is frequent enough to ensure the exchange of experience and know-how, and the establishment of contacts.

I am especially encouraged because I have already seen the first success stories on a cooperation agreement between Polish business and foreign designers. During the fair in Milan in April I introduced Jan Wertel and Gernot Oberfell – the founders of the Platform studio to the Polish company IKER. They are two very talented designers who founded Platform after moving on from the Ross Lovegrove studio. Their Maple chair collection for IKER gained recognition in Poland and recently Elle Décor honoured them with their main award PRODESCO. The designers themselves are happy with IKER and particularly pleased with the fast pace their projects are put into production! This makes me happy and is evidence that Poland has excellent potential! We seem to be on the right track to compete, in some time to come, with the Dutch or Scandinavian design industries.

You took part in negotiations regarding a cooperation between Moho and Moroso – an Italian designer label. Thanks to you Moroso ordered the carpet collection “natural stone” from Moho. Your successes are measured with the successes of your clients. How do you feel being so successful?

The negotiations with Moroso had been going for some time already. The visit to Udine, where the Moroso company is located, led to the completion of the subsequent stages of the cooperation. Patrizia Moroso, is very impressed by the energy and resourcefulness of Magda Lubiñska – the founder of Moho. I think that we all are full of enthusiasm, inexhaustible energy and passion for good design. Nothing beats mutual understanding and sympathy!

The cooperation between Moho and Moroso is just the beginning! Further success is ahead of us and I’m not to looking back but rather am interested in what will happen in the future. I think that this unsatisfied feeling and the urge for development are pushing me forward. There are so many projects to be realized.

You are having your longed-for pregnancy (smile) – has this state changed your attitude to work?

Yes! I am trying to realize as many projects as possible so that come March, I can devote myself entirely to the preparations and arrival of our son. I believe this birth will motivate me even more intensely to work on Polish projects. The grandparents are looking forward to their first grandson, so there will be many opportunities to visit Poland.

What does ‘enterprise in culture’ mean to you?

It simply can’t be otherwise! Culture is a part of our existence and in order to fulfil its meaning it must be efficient, i.e. resourceful. Culture is not only inspiration and pleasure for the soul and body, it is also an essential element of the strategy of any company that wants to compete on the global market. It’s no longer good enough to sell the best quality products or services cost effectively – this can be easily copied.

Finally, I have to ask you about your past. You used to work for the RPA government on the creation of the country’s image. What memories of that cooperation do you have?

I had the pleasure of spending four years in, what is said to be, one of the most beautiful locations in the world, Cape Town. To be more specific, I worked for the company Interactive Africa, whose mission was to shape the image of Cape Town as the creative capital of the RSA. We worked on several projects in collaboration with the South African government and with corporations such as South African Airlines (SAA), BMW, Sheraton Hotels, British Council, HP, Adobe and with the international elite of contemporary design, architects, film-makers, writers and fashion designers.
Founding and growing initiatives such as the Design Indaba (http://www.designindaba.com; an annual conference, fair, workshops, magazine and website), as well as Resfest (a festival of digital films), we promoted creative industries amongst business, government, universities, schools and simply among people. One of the most unforgettable projects involved a complex strategy to promote education among the South African youth. We were supported by Mark Shuttleworth, a young IT specialist in South Africa who traversed the globe as the second tourist in space. We offered students of selected schools an opportunity to watch Mark’s space journey and even get connected with him while his was in orbit. After his return we organized a one-month roadshow, with his participation, round schools all over South Africa. Together with the Ministry of Education we were the authors of training courses for teachers.  

Those years of work in South Africa were abundant in very unique projects. For me it was a very intensive, extremely creative and interesting time that gave me the opportunity to meet interesting individuals and to form lasting personal and professional friendships.

And would you like to go back to such work? Perhaps to create the image of Poland? I think that Poland needs such strategy?

While working in Cape Town I dreamed of doing the same in Poland. I even thought about starting Interactive Poland and organizing the Polish Indaba (in Zulu indaba means ‘a meeting’). I hope that my current projects with Poland are a good start on the way to making those dreams a reality.

You can find many similarities between a young Polish democracy and the post-apartheid, dynamically developing Republic of South Africa. Both countries are in the period of defining their image. Culture and more commonly understood language of design are the major elements in the strategy of creating this image.   

I hope that the present Polish government will return to the strategy of building the image of Poland. Wally Olins, a famous strategist, composed the following phrase for our country some time ago: “Creative Tension” - an appropriate term in which he summarized his profound studies on ”the Polish identity”, its history and its future?