I was invited to take part in the Moscow edition of 100% TobeUs as one of the designers creating a new wooden car for the collection. I was particularly happy to join the project, as it brought me together with a number of inspiring designers and friends.
I created this toy car as an exploration of openness — a quiet celebration of freedom, relaxation, and a direct connection with the world around us. Its open form invites a closer encounter with reality and nature, offering a sense of ease and presence rather than enclosure and protection.
The project is dedicated to the sun, the ocean, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and my dear friend Omami from California.
California
Project for 100% TobeUs
Curated by Katerina Kopytina
Manufacturer: Pavel Brick
Year: 2015
Dimensions: 160 x 80 x 70.5 mm.
Material: birch wood
Presented at Moscow, Polytechnic Museum, VDNH, June 2015
Created by Milanese designer Matteo Ragni, TobeUs began as a playful experiment and evolved into a travelling international exhibition featuring more than 100 designers, including Jaime Hayon, Barber Osgerby, the Campana Brothers and Marcel Wanders. At its heart is a simple idea: a wooden car as a space for imagination, allowing each designer to reinterpret the same basic form through creativity, simplicity, sustainability and joy.
For the Moscow edition, 10 new cars were created by Russian designers and handcrafted from birchwood by Verstak, adding a local chapter 100% TobeUs Moscow to the international collection.