From raw oak and American walnut to finished ÉTAUDORÉ pieces, a look inside the Krakow artisan studio where craftsmanship, love for good design and precision come together.
This week, we had the pleasure of visiting one of our longest-standing artisan partners in Krakow, a studio that has been part of the ÉTAUDORÉ story almost from the very beginning.
Krakow, Poland, home to the artisan studio behind many of ÉTAUDORÉ’s solid wood pieces.
We first met Joanna Barejka, founder of Szyszka Design, in April 2022 at Targi Rzeczy Ładnych in Warsaw, one of Poland’s best-known independent design fairs. We were immediately drawn to her furniture designs, the beautiful shapes, the quality of the solid wood and the craftsmanship visible in every detail.
More than three and a half years later, that first encounter has grown into a close and lasting collaboration.
Today, the Krakow studio produces solid wood pieces designed by Joanna, including timeless pieces such as the L’Argentine Table, Uetliberg Chair and San Salvatore Lowboard, as well as furniture designed by ÉTAUDORÉ, including the Lianna Side Table, Noemi Dining Table and Beauclair Table for Card & Board Games.
Joanna Barejka, founder of Szyszka Design, with Mila, her everyday studio companion, in her office adjoining the workshop.
From a Garage to a 1,000 m² Studio
Joanna’s journey with furniture started around ten years ago, while she was still studying. What began as a passion project in a garage gradually grew into the artisan studio she runs today.
She now leads a team of 13 in a workshop of approximately 1,000 m² in Krakow. The space is filled with stacks of timber, workbenches, traditional woodworking machinery, modern CNC technology and furniture at every stage of production.
Inside the 1,000 m² Krakow studio, where solid wood furniture moves through different stages of production.
Walking through the workshop makes the amount of work behind a finished piece of furniture immediately tangible.
High-quality solid oak and American walnut are carefully sourced through suppliers in Poland. Each board is selected with attention to its grain, tone and natural character. These variations are part of the beauty of working with solid wood and give every finished piece its own character.
For us, this respect for the material has been one of the foundations of the collaboration from the very beginning.
Solid oak components waiting for the next stage of the furniture-making process.
Traditional Craftsmanship and Modern Precision
Traditional woodworking machinery remains an essential part of the studio’s everyday production.
One of the things we especially appreciate about the studio is the way traditional woodworking knowledge is combined with modern technology.
Many stages of production rely on skilled hands, familiar tools and traditional woodworking machines. Components are shaped, sanded, assembled, checked and finished individually by the artisan team.
An artisan hand-finishing solid wood components in the Krakow workshop.
A traditional workshop vice among the tools of furniture making.
The workshop is filled with tools that have been part of furniture making for generations. One of them, the traditional vice, has a particularly fitting connection to us: the name ÉTAUDORÉ takes inspiration from the French word étau, meaning vice.
Alongside these traditional tools and machines, modern CNC technology allows complex forms and individual components to be shaped with exceptional precision.
It is particularly valuable for designs with curves, repeated elements and connections where accuracy is essential.
The combination gives the studio considerable freedom to work with contemporary forms while preserving the character and careful finishing of handmade solid wood furniture.
Modern CNC technology brings high precision to complex solid wood components.
A Working Studio
Beyond the furniture itself, what amazes us is the atmosphere of the workshop.
The smell of freshly worked wood fills the air. Woodworking machines create a constant murmur throughout the hall, with music playing from the radio in the background.
During our visit, beautiful golden autumn light streamed through the large windows and across stacks of oak and walnut, workbenches and pieces of furniture in progress.
Everywhere we looked, something was being cut, sanded, assembled, oiled or prepared for the next stage.
Members of the studio team working on solid wood components for a Rigi table.
During our visit, it was especially lovely to see a piece made for one of our own clients taking shape in the workshop.
A Rigi Extendable Dining Table in solid American walnut, made for a customer in Klosters, Switzerland, had just been oiled and was drying before the final stages of preparation and its journey to its new home.
Seeing the furniture here, surrounded by the people, materials and tools involved in making it, gives a completely different perspective on the finished object.
A Rigi Extendable Dining Table in solid American walnut, freshly oiled before its journey to Klosters, Switzerland.
More Than Three Years of Creating Together
Our visit also gave us a moment to reflect on how much has happened since we first met Joanna in Warsaw in 2022.
What began with an appreciation for her furniture gradually developed into a close creative partnership. Today, we work together on ÉTAUDORÉ designs, prototypes, custom dimensions and individual pieces made specifically for our clients.
For a brand built around made-to-order furniture, natural materials and long-lasting quality, relationships like this are fundamental. They allow us to know the people making our furniture, understand the processes behind it and follow a piece from the first pieces of timber to the finished object.
More than three and a half years after our first meeting, it was wonderful to spend a day in Krakow with Joanna and her team, surrounded by the wood, tools, machines and people behind so many ÉTAUDORÉ pieces.
We are looking forward to everything we will create together next.
Anna and Joanna in the workshop, more than three and a half years after first meeting at Targi Rzeczy Ładnych in Warsaw.