Passionswege 2011: 5 of 9

As a result of the Passionswege dialogue, within a short fixed period of time emerge works, installations, and sometimes products that are shaped by the experimental nature of the format. Today we introduce the Slovak designer Tomas Kral and the traditional Austrian Hat Manufacturer Mühlbauer!

After his studies at the Ecole Cantonale d’art de Lausanne (ECAL) 2008, Tomas Kral founded his product design studio at Lausanne. His work focuses on industrial production and science, visualized through crossing various processes and materials.

Inspired by traditions mixed with new solutions and a humorous and curious approach, Tomas Kral attracted attention of international labels such as PCM (Spain), Christofle (Paris), or Foundry (Singapore).

Within the scope of VIENNA DESIGN WEEK 2011, the young designer will cooperate with Mühlbauer, a traditional Viennese hat manufacturer. Klaus Mühlbauer and his sister Marlies are already the fourth generation running the family business. The return to traditional elements of hat production advanced the company to an internationally known label exporting to high class boutiques all over the world. Stars such as Meryl Streep, Yoko Ono, Brad Pitt or Madonna are some of Mühlbauer's regular customers.