On the road

The jarrah forests of South Western Australia are a far cry from rural Eastern Europe, but this is where Pajda Perina, a native of the Czech Republic has landed, and well and truly on his feet.

This promising young designer's road to Dwellingup began in 1995 after travelling overland from Eastern Europe to Pakistan, Nepal, India on to North America and back to the Czech Republic. The travel bug had sunk its teeth well in and Pajda set his sights further afield, to a place even stranger and more confusingly alien than the Asian sub-continent, Queensland!

There Pajda began his Australian experience as a landscaper and part-time furniture designer/maker, mainly using recycled timbers gleaned from the streets of Brisbane.

Pajda's travels through the Asian sub-continent and his subsequent decision to successfully apply for Australian residency clearly show he is not a person who chooses the easy road, the road to Dwellingup is literally also a hard one. Imagine his confusion upon arriving in that tiny timber town with a bus stop and train station only to be informed there was no bus and the train went twice a week 17kms deeper into the middle of nowhere, turned around and come back again. A lesson in the Australian reliance on private car travel.

The point is, the road to becoming a successful furniture designer/maker is one of the hardest but as we shall see, Pajda may just have what it takes to make it to the other end.

Pajda's desire is to create pieces of art, disguised as functional and aesthetic items of furniture. He appreciates traditional fine furniture woodworking skills, but wants to use them in contemporary design in combination with various materials. Pajda strives to push the physical boundaries of his chosen material, chiefly local native timbers which are not only readily available but are some of the best and beautiful hardwoods in the world. This also adds value to the controversial WA timber industry.

One of his current works is a fine example of his philosophy and artistic expression. A wall mirror constructed of sheoak ( Allocasuarina fraseriana), jarrah ( Eucalyptus marginata) and chromed pipe is an ambitious piece in design and construction. It took many experiments to find the suitable species of wood and then 30 more experiments to bend the sheoak to the designers satisfaction.

Pajda can already lay claim to being an award winning furniture designer/maker due to his "Exhibition Easel", (which on his website he first and foremost refers to as an artwork) being awarded first prize in the 'miscellaneous catergory' at the "Out of the Wood 2000" exhibition.

Constructed from local blackbutt (Eucalyptus patens), it is a striking and well designed piece. It touches the ground at its front face in three places, making it very stable and is also designed to be collapsible. It incorporates chromed metal bars, a metal element which is a familiar feature in Pajdas work. The easel was a private commission from a successful artist who required something unusual that would catch the eye and lead it to the artwork on display.

Yet another award winning piece is a hall table which won second prize in the 'individual furniture category' at the "Out of Woods 2000". Titled "The Greyhound", after its unusual but elegant shape, it is fashioned in Western Australian Blackbutt. Asymmetrical, with soft curves and contrasting angular projections in the legs, a feature uncommon in previous pieces.

Pajda says "the greatest experience of making this piece was the realization that everything is possible to make, the only limit for success is good design".

The design process involved in the creation of a queen-sized bed that has recently been completed by Pajda was not merely a problem of aesthetics but also ergonomics. The bed legs are curved inwards to save broken toes in the middle of the night, as well as rounded corners and a height that enables that dreaded task, getting out, a little easier. The front of the bed has stronger mattress slats then the foot as people tend to put more weight at the front whilst sitting up in bed. Pajda made many small models whilst designing the bed, this freed him from the limitations of view when using merely drawings, allowing him to see how the bed would appear from any direction. The head of the bed is made with the torsion box construction method. A very strong and versatile way of making a large but lightweight piece of furniture. Bedside cupboards (yet to be completed) which accompany the bed will incorporate corrugated iron sheeting on their sides.

This is Pajdas most recent work of art. The chair is perhaps the most difficult piece of furniture to design and construct. There are many design facets of strength and ergonomics to be incorporated into something that looks good but must be comfortable and not collapse under the remorseless punishment of the human bum.

Pajda has surmounted all these obstacles to create a piece that looks beautiful and is highly original. As with the bed, Pajda had to make not only small models but also seven full size variations or 'mock ups' in order to achieve the most pleasing design. The whole process took some 250 hours to design and construct.

The design concept behind the chair was to develop it as two symmetrical halves, connected in two places with a medium other than timber.

"for those of us who have a desire to do two things at once the Czechs have a saying, 'You cannot sit on two chairs at the same time' Until now it wasn't easy….So please be seated". Pajda Perina

These are just a few examples of Pajdas work. Like any true artist they are the fruits of a creative talent, imaginative and able to see what others may not.

Each piece is a personal journey for Pajda. Always pushing his abilities and learning more about techniques and his chosen medium, wood. He believes that in a world increasingly being controlled by multinational companies and shareholders who's only interest is the protection of their investment, the personal touch between the maker and the customer is becoming lost.

"I feel that the only chance that small business and artists like myself have in the tough commercial world is to market ourselves as individuals. My work is very much apart of me and who I am".

Pajda wants for not only the finished piece to interest the potential buyer but also the stories behind each work, because each one is different and there are always surprises. In this way the customer has not only acquired a beautiful and unique piece of furniture/art but also a story that gives that piece its own personality.

You can tell that this is what Pajda was meant to do. The road to becoming a successful furniture designer/maker may be long and hard but with his passion for design and a lively talent slung over his shoulder, the way is clear………………

"Good luck for your future Pajda"

All copyright held by author Monique Tipped ©2001