Tititi

Tititi toys and art pieces are included in the collections of the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague and the Moravian Gallery in Brno. 

Tititi studio produces original wooden toys inspired not only by the craft of Czech creators such as Minka Podhajská and Václav Špála but also by international icon, Alexander Girard. Every toy is one of a kind, each design, therefore, being unique. That which, in our childhood, was merely a toy, becomes, as we age, a timeless object with aesthetic value. Tititi art pieces aim to ignite the imagination whilst simultaneously inscribing one’s memories in-between the annual growth rings of the wood.

Tititi is a winner of the 2019 Designblok Award (Best Home Accessories Collection) and was a finalist in the 2019 Czech Grand Design awards. 

MgA Tereza Talichová, designer Tititi

The craft of wooden toys has a strong tradition in the Czech Republic. In the present day, it remains synonymous with high-quality children's products. Tereza Talichová found her inspiration for Tititi in the innovative toys designed and made by modernist artists in the first third of the twentieth century. In their hands, folk toy prototypes became objects of experimentation to which they applied modernist techniques from the fine arts. They decorated the wood with geometric patterns of wild colours, carved abstract shapes, and worked with a combination of different materials. They were looking at folk art through the eyes of a modern urban population living in a more dynamic world. Therefore, their art was imbued with contemporary themes and motives. Tereza Talichová shares many features with this generation of artists – their sense of humour, creativity, authenticity, personality, and courage.
The first presentation of her work, titled From Minka to Tititi (Od Minky k Tititi), referred to this source of inspiration, the rich and diverse art of Minka Podhajská (Artel). Engaging with her in a form of artistic dialogue, Tereza didn't merely copy Podhajská's work but innovated and evolved it. Minka Podhajská's own art used folk figures to depict characters or activities (a mother with her children, a mother with a baby carriage, ballerinas or sportsmen etc.). Building on Podhajská, Tereza Talichová turned to portray concrete examples of real people, whether portraits of people from her daily life (family, friends, colleagues) or a never-ending list of artists (Walter Gropius, Gustav Klimt) and fictional characters from literature or opera (Desdemona, Othello). 
The individualization of Tereza Talichová's characters is so thorough and authentic that it cannot be repeated. She collaborated with graphic designers and illustrators and uses 3D graphics, or she sets the toys in various environments to help define them. The output of Tititi continuously explores and surprises. 

(text by Marie Míčová, curator of the toy collection in the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague)