2024-05-04 16:51:15
Designer Anna Marešová moves between two completely different worlds. She is behind the brand Whoop.de.doo, which breaks the taboo around women’s intimate accessories. At the same time, however, she has a weakness for Prague’s public transport and, after the T3 Coupé excursion tram, she also proposed a new cable car to Petřín. “It doesn’t matter if you’re dealing with a vibrator, a tram or a cable car. It’s important that the matter is tightened,” he says in an interview.
How does your cable car to Petřín look at the moment?
We have just received the technical documentation for approval. During the next spring, the cable car should close for a year, the track is being replaced, and in the meantime, the construction of the cabins should begin. They will be produced in Switzerland by Doppelmayr. We have already been there to take a look with the people from the Prague Transport Company and now we call each other almost every week to adjust everything.
When designing, you brought into play the genia loci of Petřín, which is a place of lovers. New cars are supposed to wink at each other and even blush. How will it work technically?
They should blink so that they flash at each other as they pass, similar to cars. They will blush in such a way that the interior lighting turns pinkish-red. Compared to the original, the new cable car will also have much more glass, including the ceiling, so that passengers have the best possible view. Paradoxically, these prominent elements can be solved more easily than less visible details, which will seem obvious to people. It is more difficult to eliminate some mechanisms so that they are not too large. In the design of public transport today, it is customary to make more robust mechanisms and then cover them. I would rather make them smaller, which tends to be more difficult.
You have already designed the T3 Coupé excursion tram for Prague, which people can rent for a private ride. Do you consider yourself a slob?
I didn’t know this word at all until recently, but I guess I did. I grew up in Prague, so I rode the local trams from childhood and observed all the changes they went through over the years. I always liked the old Tatras T3 the most. When I was little, the two-way Tatras KT8D5 came out for the first time, which were angular, but at least they were still in the original spirit. I was already disappointed with the Škoda 14T, nicknamed Porsche, which came in 2006, and I don’t like the latest 15T either.
What do you see as their weaknesses?
I don’t think a modern tram necessarily has to look futuristic. In the automotive industry, new designs are created all the time to sell more and more cars. But public transport will remain here for perhaps thirty years. Therefore, it should be designed in such a way that it lasts for a long time not only from a technical point of view, but also from an aesthetic point of view. The more he follows the current trends, the sooner he will be out. In addition, news items are sometimes technically re-combined, and later it is discovered that everything worked better in the original, simpler form.
You’ve said before that you’re always interested in the social side of design in addition to the visual aspect. Were you attracted to trams and cable cars also because you love Prague’s public space?
Certainly, I don’t care what the environment I’m in looks like, and I’m always thinking about how it could be cultivated. That’s why I’m happy, for example, when someone repairs a house and at the same time improves the surrounding area. Or the visual smog bothers me and I always wonder how it would help if all boroughs regulated it. Everyone who runs a shop or cafe does not have completely refined taste. However, it can be solved with a unified concept that everyone adheres to. These are spaces we all walk through, and when they are improved, we suddenly feel more comfortable there.
I think the same way about transport. It bothers me how the trams are plastered with advertising now. I recently drove from Malostranské náměstí, where two lines just met. One was promoting slivovica, the other prosecco, which seemed rather strange, especially at eight in the morning. When I get into the subway and see cold lighting, purple covers and red bars, I’m not at all surprised that the passengers are angry. Even the fact that a hundred people stick to each other tends to be energy-intensive. Add to that an aggressive environment and it certainly doesn’t contribute to general well-being. At the same time, little would be enough for the means of transport to appear calm.
“Public transport will remain here for perhaps thirty years. That’s why it should be designed in such a way that it will last for a long time not only from a technical point of view, but also from an aesthetic point of view,” says Marešová. | Photo: Lukáš Bíba
In addition to Prague transport, you are also connected to the brand Whoop.de.doo, which offers vibrators, Venus balls or menstrual cups. You designed your first intimate accessories thirteen years ago as part of your diploma thesis. How has the market for this range changed over that time?
I think it’s moving more and more towards wellness and self-care, which was also my goal. When I started designing intimate accessories, I imagined that they could easily be sold, for example, in drugstores, among cosmetics. That’s why I’m glad they’re actually getting there now. However, there are still people who consider them taboo, perceive them as something vulgar, which always surprises me. Likewise, there are still cheap brands whose products seem lascivious, even if they look a little better than before.
An important moment was when we at Whoop.de.doo also came up with the menstrual cup. We have shown that female intimacy is not only about eroticism, but also about the menstrual cycle. The menstrual cup has been around for a long time, but many women perceived it as something esoteric. That’s why I wanted to remove him from this category. I find it funny that I connected seemingly unconnected worlds. I took vibrators out of the lascivious world, and menstrual cups from the esoteric one, and it suddenly became clear that thanks to the high-quality design, they can easily work side by side.
You also recorded a podcast series, Admit the Color, in which you talked to famous women about menstruation and other sensitive topics. Was female intimacy ever taboo for you?
In our family, it was more of a peripheral topic, we didn’t talk about it openly. But at the same time, I felt that she should be something and free, not something embarrassing that we should be ashamed of. I’ve always felt natural about that topic. But now I’m so busy with work that sometimes I embarrass someone else. I remember how I was in the studio dealing with something with the developers and suddenly the postman came. I opened it with the vibrator in my hand and only later did I realize that he was probably embarrassed.
I often forget that intimate accessories can be taboo for some. It also happens to me in the factory where it is made. There are usually men in technology positions, and I work with them on how the products were cast, how the dividing planes look or how the connectors work. At that moment, it doesn’t matter if you are dealing with a vibrator, a tram or a cable car, the important thing is that the matter is tightened.
A vibrator is a product for you like any other.
Yes, but I don’t deny that I can sometimes make people laugh with it. For example, recently we were planning a meeting with the guys from Doppelmayr, who will make the cable car, and I apologized that I wouldn’t be available the first week of May because I was going to an erotic fair in Barcelona. They all snickered, they thought it was cute. When my friends introduce me to someone, they like to say: “This is Anna, she makes vibrators.” Then people look at my products and are surprised that they aren’t primarily sexy. The guys sometimes ask me about the technical details, they are interested in how many engines there are and the like. I’m happy when I manage to dispel my embarrassment.
I heard that many men buy intimate accessories from you for their partners, but also for their sisters or mothers. Would you say that the male population is more receptive to issues of female intimacy than before?
Definitely and it’s good. Female intimacy should not be a world that men are not allowed to enter. Exactly opposite. They should be interested in what women want. When they decide to give intimate accessories to their partners, I think it’s a sign of great affection. I was discussing it with a friend and he told me that he couldn’t buy his girlfriend a cheap vibrator because he would feel that it would turn her down badly. On the contrary, he perceived a high-quality intimate accessory as a gift that can be beneficial for their relationship.
That’s why I want customers in our brick-and-mortar store not to feel like they’re in a sex shop, to not feel like they’re under surveillance, and to feel comfortable. Before Christmas or on Valentine’s Day, mostly men come to us. During the year, women come who sometimes buy each other’s products, as well as mothers and daughters. We also often have girls here who have just broken up with someone and want to treat themselves to something.
Photo author: Lukáš Bíba
Anna Marešová (43)
- She studied product design at the Faculty of Art and Design of the Jan Evangelista Purkyně University in Ústí nad Labem. She also completed her education at the University of Derby in England. In the past, she made a living as a producer, working for the band Tata Boys or the Summer Shakespeare Festival.
- She received the prize of the National Technical Museum for her bachelor’s thesis Tramvaj pro Praha. As part of her diploma thesis, she designed a set with a vibrator, vibrating eggs and Venus balls, which earned her the international Red Dot Design Award.
- She founded the intimate goods brand Whoop.de.doo, which also launched menstrual cups. She designed the T3 Coupé excursion tram for Prague, and the year before last, she and her design studio won a tender for the design of a new cable car to Petřín.
Whether you design intimate accessories or means of transport, you rely on sustainability. What do you think is essential for products to be sustainable not only in conscious advertising campaigns but also in reality?
Big brands that produce goods on one side of the planet and sell them on the other cannot be sustainable anymore. They would have to switch to local production and accept the fact that not all products will be available in all markets, which of course they do not want, because their profits would be reduced. All Whoop.de.doo products, on the other hand, are manufactured in the Czech Republic from the very beginning. Having them imported by container from abroad made no sense to me. At the same time, we stick to small quantities, we don’t produce hundreds of thousands of pieces, which would then lie in our warehouse.
Another important point is quality. A lot of things today are made in such a way that they fall apart right after the warranty period and you have to buy a new model. I, on the other hand, try to keep the products for people as long as possible. The menstrual cup needs to be sustainable for a second. I calculated that a woman uses twelve to thirteen thousand disposable hygiene products during her life cycle. At the same time, each menstrual cup will last her at least five years, so she buys eight in the same period. In addition, a pile of pads or tampons will cost her one hundred and fifty thousand, while eight cups will cost less than eight thousand. It saves money and the environment.
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