There is a distinct quietude that settles over objects designed to decay. In an era where contemporary design often chases the friction of permanence, the London and Warsaw workshops of Marcin Rusak Studio offer a far more compelling alternative.
Here, the focus is not on resisting the passage of time, but rather on preserving its delicate transitions. The studio creates collectible design that questions our relationship with consumption, framing the natural world as an evolving archive.
Marcin Rusak is a third generation descendant of Polish flower growers, a heritage that heavily informs his creative output. Having studied humanities in Warsaw before completing an MA in Design Products at the Royal College of Arts in London, Rusak occupies a unique space between designer and philosopher. His studio operates as a living laboratory where botany meets meticulous material innovation.
Rather than sourcing pristine specimens, the studio regularly salvages discarded flora from commercial markets. These rejected blooms are processed through custom techniques to become the central components of his furniture. It is a poetic reclamation, turning perishable waste into high value design.
The hallmark of the studio is its proprietary materials, most notably Flora Perma. This flower infused resin suspended in dark or amber tones mimics the complex veins of natural marble. When sliced into slabs for credenzas and tables, the cross sections reveal the intricate anatomy of petals and stems.
Over time, these organic elements continue to shift, reacting silently beneath the polished surface. The colors gently fade, transforming each piece into an active canvas of impermanence.
The core philosophy of the collection relies on a specific biological interaction. Sourcing discarded flowers from commercial florists, the studio casts the petals and stems into blocks of resin. Because the flowers are not fully dehydrated or chemically sterilised before encapsulation, microscopic pockets of bacteria remain trapped within the material.
Over a span of years, these bacteria slowly consume the organic tissue from the inside out. The flowers gradually shrink, lose their vibrant hues and eventually dissolve entirely.
What remains is a series of intricate, silver cavities where the petals once rested, leaving a ghostly silhouette of the original bloom. The object effectively self-substracts, meaning the design is never truly finished.
Recent studio investigations have pushed these concepts into the realm of architectural installations. The project Plant Pulses, developed in collaboration with scientific researchers, translated the invisible ultrasonic frequencies emitted by living plants into an immersive sensory environment. It is this balance of rigorous research and profound emotion that elevates the work above typical luxury furniture.
Here’s some of our favourite pieces to inspire your next interiors mood board.
A masterclass in dark resin encapsulation.
Sculptural forms showcasing cross-sectional petal veining.
A large-scale architectural case piece featuring dense organic distributions.
Tall storage units that highlight the delicate contrast between solid resin and skeletal botanical remains.
The work emerging from Marcin Rusak Studio represents a significant departure from conventional luxury manufacturing. For decades, high-end furniture design has prioritised uniform consistency, pristine finishes, and materials engineered to resist aging, such as chrome, hardened glass, and synthetic polymers. Rusak’s intentional integration of organic decay directly challenges this industrial ideal, introducing an entirely new value system centred on temporal transformation.
By introducing controlled bio-degradation into luxury design, Rusak forces the viewer to confront the concept of longevity. In standard industrial design, an object begins to depreciate the moment it shows signs of wear or discoloration. In contrast, Rusak’s Flora Perma pieces gain aesthetic value precisely because they change. The gradual erosion of organic material creates a dynamic object that evolves alongside its owner. This shifts the function of a credenza or table from a static piece of utility into a meditative domestic installation.
From a sustainability perspective, Rusak’s methodology demonstrates how design studios can repurpose industrial agricultural waste. The commercial cut-flower industry generates vast quantities of organic waste daily. By redirecting these discarded stems into durable resin matrixes, the studio demonstrates how waste streams can be elevated into raw materials for fine art and interior architecture. This approach redefines "circular design" not merely as mechanical recycling, but as an artistic process that honours the origin of the material.
By allowing nature to act as a direct collaborator, Marcin Rusak Studio ensures that every object tells a story of transformation. The resulting collections do not simply occupy space; they invite the culturally curious viewer to pause and contemplate what we choose to preserve, and what we allow to disappear.
Image credit: Marcin Rusak Studio
