I’ve come to associate Slovakia with something deeply personal, my best friend who comes from the southernmost region by the Danube. When I first visited his home, his family welcomed me with open arms and his father even calls me “my Czech son.” Each time I return, we cook together and share the gifts nature has lovingly provided. These gifts are passed around as if it were the most natural thing to do—peppers from his grandmother, tomatoes from an uncle, wine from a godfather. They are simple gestures, offered without ceremony, yet full of meaning. To hold such a gift is to feel the sun, the soil, and the care of those who nurtured it. It’s a quiet kind of beauty—one rooted in generosity and connection. I’ve come to recognize that same beauty of sharing in my own family. My uncle, years ago, decided to revive a nearly forgotten tradition of basket weaving, something our greatgrandfather once practiced. He grew willows for years and patiently refined his skill, then one afternoon he passed it on to us gently and generously. Every branch and every bud in the bundle carriedthe weight of time, effort, and quiet wisdom.
IN THAT MOMENT I SAW HOW CRAFT SURVIVES—NOT THROUGH INSTRUCTION ALONE BUT THROUGH THE ACT OF GIVING. IT IS THROUGH SHARING OF FOOD, TRADITION, AND KNOWLEDGE THAT WE STAY CONNECTED.
And it is through these humble exchanges that we, as humans, continue to evolve. Sharing is not limited to a single sense, but yet one that is often overlooked is touch. A simple gesture, like handing over homegrown vegetables in a plastic bag, can carry quiet careand intention. Weaving a first basket offers a similar experience. The physicaleffort, the strain on the hands, and the repetition of movement reflect a process rooted in tradition. Basket weaving was not created by one person alone; it developed over time through shared knowledge and collective practice. The design transforms a humble act into glass. Shaped like a basket, this vessel celebrates the quiet beauty of sharing and giving. Through this glass basket, the designer seeks to honor the silent generosity encountered in daily life. Its form embodies care, labor, andcraftsmanship, reflecting the invisible effort behind every gift. The open top symbolizes the open-heartedness often found in the people of southern Slovakia. Within the vessel, a glowing red shape evokes the essence of giving, what isoffered from food to emotions. Abstract in form, it recalls both a heart and a vegetable, standing as a symbol of pure, unconditional generosity and warmth. A weaving-inspired technique was intentionally chosen, in contrast to traditional blown glass, which can appear effortless. Like basketry, the piece is meant to feel hand-crafted, shapedby time and skill. For the designer, sharing is never truly simple, it is born of deep care, commitment, and love. This work seeks to honor that truth. TOUCH AS A METAPHORTEXT: PETRA HURAI Petr Brancuský’s object engages the sense of touch as both physical experience and cultural metaphor. While the piece is made of glass, a material often associated with visual brillianceand fragility, it consciously invites the tactile imagination. Its form recalls a woven basket, a typology whose cultural history is inseparable from the hands of the maker who shaped it. Unlike the smooth, seamless surfaces typical of blown glass, the object’s woven texture signals the labour of making. In this way, the surface becomes a record of the continual effort andprocess, embodying what Tim Ingold describes as the “trace of the maker’s engagement” with the material world.1 The open top and basket form suggest offering and receiving. In many cultures, passing an object by hand is a key gesture of sharing where physical transfer carries emotional weight.2 Thered pepper-like form inside, abstract yet heart-like, acts as both visual focal point and imagined tactile core, a shared "gift" or "warmth of giving" within the vessel. The human touch remains central to the transformation of experience into craft. It is the bridge between thought and object, between the intangible and the material. In Brancuský’shands this bridge is visible in every detail, reminding us that sharing, like making, is an act sustained by human presence. Both in its abstract and physical form, the human touchis irreplaceable in the process of designing and crafting meaningful objects. It is not merely a means of fabrication but the medium through which intangible ideas become sensorially rich realities. As Christian Madsbjerg notes in Sensemaking, true understanding does not emerge from decontextualizeddata alone but from “thick data”, rich, contextual insight grounded in human experience and culture, revealing the depth hidden behind raw information. This is referred to as a “fourth” type of knowledge, also known as sensory knowledge.3 Brancuský’s work embodies this context: its woven surface does not simply represent sharing but bears witness to the maker’s embodied and cultural engagement through both hard work and exceptional craftsmanship, reminding us thatmaking and sharing are sustained by human presence andlifelong wisdom. 1 INGOLD, TIM, 2013. MAKING: ANTHROPOLOGY, ARCHAEOLOGY, ART AND ARCHITECTURE. ROUTLEDGE, OXFORDSHIRE, 176 P. 2 HOWES, DAVID, 2003. SENSUAL RELATIONS: ENGAGING THE SENSES IN CULTURE AND SOCIAL THEORY. THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN PRESS, MICHIGAN, 288 P. 3 MADSBJERG, CHRISTIAN, 2017. SENSEMAKING: WHAT MAKES HUMAN INTELLIGENCE ESSENTIALIN THE AGE OF THE ALGORITHM. LITTLE, BROWN BOOK GROUP, LONDON, 216 P. Credits: Images Beyond Glass Photography: Adam Šakový@_isonative Petra Hurai@theshamrockgreen