bimba :: design for kids (interview with Diána Barcsi )

Meet our favorite Hungarian kid’s brand/designer Diána Barcsi – B!MBA!

Who is Diána Barcsi?

I am a textile designer, I graduated from the University of Applied Arts, specializing in textile printing. I live in Budapest, Hungary with my 14-year old son, my 6-year old daughter and my husband.

What is Bimba and where is the name coming from?

Bimba is coming from the word “pampi”. When my son was little, he had a pillow he used to snuggle with all the time. He couldn’t pronounce the Hungarian word “párna”, which means pillow, so he named it “pampi”. Since this little word had a “magic power” in our family I mixed and rotated the letters p a m p i , so the result is an Italian word b i m b a , which means little girl. So, Bimba connects both of my children to the stuff I make.

How did it all start?

When I started university, my son was already 3 years old, and when I graduated, my daughter was 5 months old. So, children “left their mark” on most of my works. I also realized, that domestic design toys lack quality. After university I decided I wanted to make toys. I had an exam at that time where I had to design pictograms, so I made my first Bimba collection, called zoo-pictograms. Textile books, sleeping animals, pillows are made from them, but nowadays I create dolls, bags, textile jewellery, especially decorated with typical Hungarian motive, called “matyó” pattern.

Tell us a little about your kids! Do they help you when you design?

At first they helped me a lot, mainly my son, who was very helpful when I wrote my first nursery rhymes. He gave lots of idea regarding the characters as well. My daughter was a kind of “practical mentor” – she tested the finished toys. Unfortunately after a while they became immune to toys, because of a huge stock…

Which part of the creative process do you like best when you work?

I love to cut the patterns and sew them. I am like an excited child looking forward to Santa, and opening the gifts.:) The same feeling overcomes me when I create a new pattern design, and make the first screenprint. I adore shopping for fabrics, paint, buttons, ribbons, etc. In general I love making toys altogether, from thinking up the design, to actually making it! … I don’t like marketing, but I’m trying to do my best!

Do you have a 5-10-year plan, or do you just do it instinctively?

So-so. I like to plan, but in practice I am an emotion based designer. I always feel what is needed for development and try to keep it up. Of course there are obstacles, but I enjoy to solve problems!:) So I go forward…it would be nice to have my own showroom/workshop, supply increase and more publicity.

Favourite Hungarian designers!

Kiskakas, Manuela, Schall Eszter, Picidia, Steiner Lídia, MaraFactory, Pucc, Eszterda…

Favourite foreign designers!

Kase-faz, Revoluzzza, Sassandperil, Marimekko, Jane Foster, and Scandinavian designers in general.

Thank you Dia!!!