THE SLAVONIAN OAK AND FURNITURE PSYCHOLOGY

FOR CHILDREN DESIGN
by   Natasa   Njegovanovic
Slavonian   domestic and farm animals have become the models for this
furniture system designed for children. A cow-shaped desk , the   dog and the
cat re-imagined   as stools, the pig turned into a toy chest, and   the chicken in
the role of a pencil-box, all   take   us back to a time long gone when
children   played with wooden toys. The simple shapes   of those toys served
to emphasize the pure essence of what they represented, thereby   leaving
enough space for the child s own imagination and giving it a chance to build
on the   original idea on its own .
Turning a critical eye to today’s dominant games and toys, this furniture
system serves as a subtle, yet constructive counter-offer in a world where
children are being spoon-fed entertainment. It encourages the child’s natural
creative response as each object from the collection serves at the same time
both as a toy and a functional item. All the pieces together set the scene for
games yet to be discovered.
Mostly made of locally available mate-rials , i.e the Slavonian oak, which is
already a brand in and of itself , this product draws inspiration from the
Slavonian Village and thus has the potential to promote the beauty and the
tradition of the region it hails from.