In fact, all we have is Time

Romania is now the land of all creative possibilities and I am glad I chose to be an architect here and now. People are more open than ever to explore their desires and needs in order to live in free expression, I see this every day in my conversations with my clients.

The reason why I wanted to pursue this path is because I passionately believe that everything I have to say in this life I can only do in an artistic way. The most fascinating moment is when this manifestation meets people's aspirations, and thus I can bring out the uniqueness of their feelings and the particularities that shape their personality in the space they decide to live in. I am more than interested in this human approach to architecture and design because it is natural to live in a space that is an extension of our personality, where every detail must fit the glove of the person to whom it belongs.

In addition to architecture and interior design projects, I also tackled product design projects because ideas came to me that wouldn't leave me alone. Two of them are very dear to my heart because they tell so much about people.

Clay clock

As time is always within us and never out of place, we forget that it is, in fact, an invention of our own that is meant to ensure that existence unfolds within certain parameters and never chaotic.

In 2014, I thought that there must be a wall clock made of clay, so simple. Although at first glance it seems a Romanian-inspired, traditional idea, we are actually talking about a clock that could belong to any country. The earth has belonged to the earth for as long as we can remember, and objects have been made from clay everywhere. But we are talking about a primordial material, an attribute also associated with time. We didn't want it to be burnt, but to harden by itself, even though it's more fragile. Maybe it will even break with the passage of time and people will realize that time doesn't even exist. Constraints exist only in our minds and we are always free to do what we want, when we want.

Each watch is unique. Made by a human hand, you feel it more real, you feel its life in the making. It doesn't have the finish and perfection of a machine-made object, but it has the breath of one that enlivens your home and brings positive vibes with every tick. And because the form is so simple, the workmanship shows through. You can trace the process by which it emerged from the maker's hand, its emergence over time.

AT Watch

A year later, I wanted to pursue the idea of wall clocks with simple, clean design. I had talked many times with an artist friend, Teodor Ișfan, to work on something together. The idea, this time, started from using a single sheet of plexiglass and an apparent mechanism. The clock would be naively honest and called China Clock. It was important that it was also very cheap. I have always wanted design, good taste, original creations to be accessible to everyone. From there I took it a step further and came up with the idea of having two sheets of Plexiglas hand-painted with acrylic and attached to each other on the painted side. To see with your own eye how art is forever trapped in time and thus eternally immortal. His name is now AT.

As with the clay clocks, each clock here is unique. They are also numbered from AT0 to AT9 for the first series of 10 pieces, so that every buyer knows which piece they are going home with, and can be sure of its uniqueness. The watches are available to the general public in an exhibition for sale in Teodor Ișfan's workshop and on my website.