ROOTurn
DESIGN: Tomek Różak
Poland
make me! 2025
“ROOTurn” is a project inspired by the idea of a time capsule, created to offer a symbolic and tender farewell to a beloved pet. It allows ashes to be buried while planting a living memorial — a plant in a meaningful place where you spent time together. It is a ritual of transition that connects death with life, grief with care for nature. The capsule-urn works like a biological drill that can be screwed into the ground. It consists of two parts: an outer shell made of biodegradable PHA, providing stability and decomposing more slowly, and a compatible planter made of fast degrading biocomposite, supporting the plant’s root growth. This combination preserves durability during planting without restricting growth. After the ritual, “ROOTurn” gains a second life as a bird feeder, becoming a lasting symbol of memory and part of the ecosystem. The project speaks to the duality of nature — an end that gives rise to a beginning.
ROOTurn, design: Tomek Różak / from designer’s archive
ROOTurn, design: Tomek Różak / from designer’s archive
ROOTurn, design: Tomek Różak / from designer’s archive
ROOTurn, design: Tomek Różak / from designer’s archive
Tomek Różak
An industrial designer, born and raised in Podhale, where sensitivity to landscape, craftsmanship, and the rhythm of nature shaped his perspective. He creates objects that carry meaning – at the intersection of memory, function, and emotion. His work combines reflection with practice, and experimentation with responsibility. He collaborates with industry, technology, and culture, seeking solutions rooted in real needs. He is particularly drawn to the relationship between humans and nature, endurance, and everyday rituals. He loves all dogs, especially black Labradors, who taught him attentiveness, tenderness, and seeing the world from paw level. Based in Kraków, he combines his design practice with teaching Design students at the University of the National Education Commission. As a designer and educator, he believes in the power of process, dialogue, and searching for meaning. His work emerges at the crossroads of many worlds – analog and digital, personal and universal.
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