Editor’s note: Woodworking Network Senior Editor Karen Koenig was among a group of U.S. journalists and videographers invited by the Polish Investment & Trade Agency for a firsthand look at the country’s furniture manufacturing industry. Here’s one of the companies on the tour.
Minko is a small custom shop that’s making a big impact with its upholstered children’s headboards, minimalist residential furniture designs, and its ability to work with a multitude of materials, including laminated panels, veneer, solid wood, metal, fabrics, and glass.
“Every product here is designed by us and made by us,” said Anna Grodzka-Plachcińska, art director and also co-owner with her husband Michal Plachciński, of the Knyszyn, Poland-based custom shop.
Minko’s website showcases the furniture available, all of which can be customized for color, size, hardware, and upholstery. In addition to headboards, products include: dressing tables, wardrobes, chests, bedside tables, shoe cabinets, desks, living room display cabinets, sideboards, TV consoles, coffee tables, bookcases, and seating.
“Our clients love it,” she said of the variety of products offered. “Once they buy one item, they come back to buy another.”
New products are added annually, some through client requests, and others from Grodzka-Plachcińska’s design inspiration. “I have a lot of ideas every day,” she added. “I just make a sketch and give it to Michal.”
Custom production
Minko was founded in 2012 and has 15 employees. The company’s 1,000-square-meter (10,764-square-foot) shop setup allows for the manufacture of just about any type and size of product imaginable.
Equipment used includes an SCM Morbidelli CNC router, Nanxing CNC six-sided drilling machine, SCM beam saw, SCM and Martin sliding table saws, an Ott edgebander, SCM Sergiani hot press, Felder widebelt sander and an SCM planer. Grodzka-Plachcinska noted the company continues to invest in new equipment to improve productivity, while focusing on the handcraftsmanship that gives Minko’s products their distinct appeal.
The furniture is sold in Europe, via shops, E-commerce, Instagram, and other social media sites. “You have your dream (of producing the furniture),” she said, but at the end of the day, “you have to sell it.” Minko is doing just that.
For information on Minko visit Minko.co or watch the company video below.
Read more on the Polish furniture industry and company tours.
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