Balneo. Natural medicine treatments ceramic set

DESIGN: Konrad Dybicki

Poland

make me! 2020

The items are dedicated to perform natural medicine treatments. The set is made of stoneware (ceramics). It was glazed on the inside, so it’s easy to keep it clean. The compress and thermophore have been filled with salt, like the traditionally applied cloth pads, therefore when heated, they maintain a temperature of up to 20 minutes. Balneo is an attempt to consolidate traditional methods of natural medicine treatment in a modern form. The selected methods are found in our culture (they were used by my mother and grandmother) as well as from remote places of the world. The common elements include properties based on water, steam and temperature. Living in a large city, I experience stress triggered by a faster way of life on a daily basis. I work in an air-conditioned office and I’m commuting through the streets polluted with exhaust fumes. This made me see the need to take care of respiratory hygiene and to take time to calm and relax.

The ceramic set consists of a vessel for the Ayurvedic nasal and sinus cleansing, inhaler, compress and thermophore. We can use them to perform herbal inhalation, help to treat colds and sinus inflammation, relieve headaches and muscle pains, alleviate menstrual pains, warm up the body and perform a relaxing ritual. The set is made of stoneware (ceramics). It was glazed on the inside, so it’s easy to keep it clean. The compress and thermophore have been filled with salt, like the traditionally applied cloth pads, therefore when heated, they maintain a temperature of up to 20 minutes. Soft, rounded shapes of objects fit into the body and they look like pebbles — naturally formed stones.