Płonka & Bosasia (Natalia Załęska-Pyć and Joanna Sekulska) - POLAND

Natalia and Joanna are two friends who share a love for nature and a common desire to show a wild, natural meeting with the herbs they are passionate about. Both born in Warmia in Poland, raised in the countryside, graduated from art schools in Olsztyn. For years, they have been connected with the natural heritage of this  region. They are educators of herbalism, wild cosmetics and botanical walks. Joanna specializes in embroidery and recycled natural fabrics. Natalia, on the other hand, specialises in herbs and the wild side of the project.
Together, they created the "Wild Pillows” project specially for XTANT, which refers to old pillows made of local linen and hay with herbs. Pillows and mattresses with hay, i.e. straw mattresses, were the domain of the lower social strata, which couldn't afford better materials, such as feathers or wool.
Due to the impermanence of the filling, the pillows were replaced annually with fresh ones. In order to get rid of the old sorrows and tears with which the hay was soaked throughout the year of use, the pillows were burnt in the spring to be sewn again and filled with fresh fragrant hay.  This is a kind of closure ritual that has been practiced in their areas for generations.
The pillowcases are made of old military bags from the 1970s, made of Polish linen. Linen bags have been carefully prepared and then dyed with dyed with regional plants. Pink and dark purple are spruce cones, greens were given by yarrow, warm yellows and oranges by onion husks.
The whole process took a very long time to give strong shades and durability without additional chemical agents.
The inside of the pillow is filled with hay with the addition of herbs: lavender, which their region is famous for, chamomile that grows wild in meadows, and hemp grown by Joanna and her family.
They created everything with their own hands to refresh the old ritual and show how important it is to sleep on natural fibers.

@plonka.podlesa