They are handmade in Warsaw. MARUI vases by MUAS

·1 September 2026

The MARUI vases from the Polish brand MUAS catch the eye with their soft, rounded form, which seems to draw on natural associations: smooth stone, a distant horizon, and the hazy contours of architecture. Crafted from coloured porcelain fired at 1260°C, they combine a matt exterior with a glossy interior, and their presence in a space changes as light shifts across their smooth form.

We spent a very long time working on our first vase, which is set to go on sale. We were looking for the right proportions, shapes and colours to complement the whole. Ultimately, MARUI is a refined, fairly simple form. It is not an object that immediately dominates a space or draws the eye. On the contrary – it complements a specific spot in the interior, and its presence gradually becomes obvious and natural. It brings a sense of calm,” says Kati Romanowska, co-founder of the MUAS brand.

The name comes from the Japaneseword 丸い, pronounced marui, and means something round, soft and full. This reference is not limited to shape alone. Equally important is the way of thinking about an object as a relationship between the form, light and the space around it, akin to the Japanese concept of ‘ma’. ‘Ma’ (間) is, in turn, one of the key concepts in Japanese aesthetics and philosophy. It signifies a pause, a gap, a moment of suspension, which together contribute to the meaning of the whole. In music, ‘ma’ can be a silence that builds tension; in architecture, it is the space through which form exists more fully. In MARUI, this logic is reflected in the way the form interacts with light, shadow and the interior.

MARUI comes in several variants. In some of them, the surface remains uniform and serene, emphasising the purity of the vases’ form itself. In others, even before the final firing, Kati hand-engraves designs: koi carp suspended in motion, geishas captured mid-gesture, or details inspired by nature. These delicate incisions, blending into the colour of the porcelain, create intricate illustrations that subtly complement the curves of the form.

The most experimental and technically complex version is the MARUI vase from the DUNE collection. As with the bowls, coloured porcelain is poured into a mould – in this case, the entire piece weighs around 45kg. To ensure the shades blend and form layers, the mould must be moved by hand. This produces a unique colour effect that varies with each piece, making every vase an inimitable piece of interior design.

source: MUAS