ÉTAUDORÉ: Furniture for People, Not for Catalogues

A space where furniture is not simply displayed, but lived with: In Thalwil, on Lake Zurich, Anna Ksiezopolska has turned her own apartment into the showroom for ÉTAUDORÉ. Surrounded by a carefully curated selection of dining, lounge, office and storage pieces, visitors can experience how the furniture works in everyday life – and how naturally it can become part of a home.

The idea for ÉTAUDORÉ grew out of this very personal search. Looking for distinctive pieces for her own home, Anna visited design fairs in Switzerland and Poland, where she met artisans whose work left a lasting impression on her. What began with a few pieces for her own home eventually developed into a curated collection, now created together with selected partner artisan studios .

For Anna, it is about more than form and aesthetics. Quality, durable materials and the stories behind each piece matter just as much as the question of how a piece of furniture actually works in the lives of the people who own it.

In the interview, she talks about how the different places she has lived have shaped ÉTAUDORÉ, why her real home makes a better showroom, and how personal ideas can become new pieces of furniture through collaborations with customers and artisans.

I actually still combine the two worlds. I continue to work in AI product management. I studied electronics and electrical engineering, and later moved professionally into data science, data analytics and AI, with a focus on the finance industry.

It’s all very interesting, but of course it’s also very abstract. I work a lot with computers and data. At the same time, I’m a very versatile person and I’ve always been interested in things that are more tangible: interiors and furniture, the physical world as opposed to the virtual world of AI and finance.

The real starting point was my own apartment in Zurich. At the time, I was looking for beautiful things for my home and started visiting a lot of design fairs. I particularly loved the atmosphere there. I’m originally from Poland, so I also visited many fairs there. I met artisans and loved their work so much that at some point I thought: I don’t just want to bring these pieces into my own home, I want to bring them into other homes, too.

Today, we work with different artisans in Poland: one specialises in solid wood furniture, another in upholstered furniture, another in steel furniture, and another in wooden lamps. We also develop some pieces ourselves and bring them to life together with these artisans.

You grew up in Poland, lived in Scotland and the US, and are now based in Switzerland. How do these different places shape ÉTAUDORÉ?

I’ve moved a lot, not only between countries but also within individual countries. Every move was an opportunity to redesign a space from scratch. I think that really shaped my love of interiors and furniture.

Of course, every country also brings its own aesthetic influences. Four years in Edinburgh, for example, made me very aware of tradition and historic architecture. The architecture there is incredible – the medieval Old Town, with its centuries-old stone buildings, can still feel like stepping back 300 years in time. There is something very powerful about being surrounded by materials and craftsmanship that have endured for centuries. It gives you an appreciation for things that stand the test of time – and I think that translates naturally into a love for solid wood and steel furniture that can be passed down through generations.

For me, Poland brings a strong entrepreneurial spirit. Many people start their own brands and workshops there, and craft traditions are often passed down through generations. There is also a real attention to detail. Switzerland has influenced me in a different way. Living here has made me appreciate precision, quality and a certain understated approach to design – things don’t have to be loud to be beautiful. There is also such a strong connection to nature, with the mountains, lakes and changing seasons constantly around you, and I think that has influenced the materials, colours and sense of calm I’m drawn to in interiors. These three influences come together at ÉTAUDORÉ.

What does a piece need to have for you to say: this is right for ÉTAUDORÉ?

Quality comes first for me. I would describe our positioning as “affordable luxury”: very high-quality furniture that is made to last, but doesn’t completely break the budget. That’s why we pay close attention to craftsmanship and detail. We test all the pieces ourselves before adding them to the collection.

Sustainability is another important aspect. All our furniture is made to order. We don’t keep large inventories or simply produce furniture in advance. This allows us to avoid waste and produce more consciously. And then there is something much more personal: the people behind the pieces. We build relationships with our partners and sometimes even become friends. Next week, for example, I’m travelling to Krakow to visit our solid wood artisan. The origin of the materials also matters. The wood for our solid wood furniture is sourced and produced locally in Poland, while the fabrics for our upholstered furniture come from Italy. It’s important to us that production takes place within Europe and that people are paid fairly for their work.

How do the designs at ÉTAUDORÉ come about?

It’s a mixture. Some pieces come directly from our artisans and become part of the collection. Other designs are developed by us and then produced by our partners. For example, we have developed our own dining tables, a coffee table and even a table for board and card games. For some projects, we also collaborate with other designers or interior creatives.

The exciting thing is that an individual idea can sometimes evolve into a product for the collection. A good example is our organically shaped dining table with a matching bench, which we developed together with the Swiss-based interior creator Raquel from @ourwabisabihome. At some point, we realised that the pieces were so interesting that they could work for other people, too. That’s when an individual project becomes a regular product – while still being made to order.

You describe your style as clear, balanced and understated. What makes a piece of furniture timeless for you?

For me, timelessness starts with quality. A piece of furniture needs to be durable. Solid wood and steel naturally have these qualities. Our fabrics are also easy to care for, for example, so they can last for many years – even if you happen to spill coffee or wine on them.

When it comes to design, it’s a little more complicated because tastes change. That’s why we’re not fundamentally against trends. Organic and rounded shapes are very popular at the moment, and we have several pieces like that in our collection, too. But I think everything is about balance. If an entire home consists only of organic shapes, it might eventually feel less timeless. If you combine them with older pieces or clear, angular forms, they can work beautifully for a very long time.

Many of the pieces are also part of your own home. How important is it for you to actually live with the furniture?

Very important. For me, that means the furniture isn’t simply a product from an online catalogue. We actually live with the pieces and can experience how they behave in everyday life. How easy are they to clean? How do they change through use? How do they feel in everyday life? I think it’s important that we don’t just see a piece of furniture in a photograph, but actually experience it. That way, we can later recommend it to other people with much more confidence.

Your home in Thalwil is also your showroom. How did that come about?

About a year after I founded ÉTAUDORÉ, I moved into a new apartment. It was a completely empty space, which gave me the perfect opportunity to start from scratch once again.

The large living and dining area is on the ground floor. I got permission from the owner to register the business there and to welcome customers and interior designers by appointment. For me, it’s somewhere between a home and a showroom. Actually, I would say: we invite people into our home. We live here normally. My cats, for example, sleep on the daybed behind me – so we don’t treat the furniture as if it shouldn’t actually be used. And that’s exactly what I find interesting: visitors get to see how the furniture really lives. Not just how it looks in a perfectly staged showroom.

You say that a piece of furniture should also have meaning. What does that mean to you?

When we design a new piece, we don’t just think about its function. We also think about who will eventually live with it. With our organically shaped dining table, for example, we thought about the family gathering around it. Where will the children sit? How will the dynamic around the table change as they grow older? For a current project, we’re developing a table with a bench and a custom seat cushion. The customers told us that they don’t only want to use the bench at the table. They also want to be able to sit on it with their backs to the table and look out of the window.

I find those things beautiful. You’re not just thinking about what a piece of furniture looks like, but about how people will actually live with it. Maybe that’s also the difference from anonymous mass production: we know who we’re designing something for.

Is there a piece in your collection that you have a particularly personal connection to?

The first one that comes to mind is a new piece that I designed entirely myself. It’s a small, asymmetrical shelf that sits behind the sofa. The idea was very simple: you’re sitting on the sofa, wrapped up in a blanket, and you don’t want to reach all the way over to the coffee table. So there’s simply a small surface behind you where you can put your glass or plate.

I had the shape completely in my head. It’s asymmetrical and follows the lines of the sofa. The wooden surfaces also have a special leaf shape which we use on our business cards, for example. The piece isn’t officially part of the collection yet and still needs a name. But my family already loves it. My daughter and my partner use it when they’re lying on the sofa, and our cats have discovered it as a sleeping spot.

You also develop many pieces together with customers or other designers. How do these collaborations come about?

Often completely by chance. Noemi Gwalter Rubino, for example, found us through Instagram. She wrote to me saying that she had a table in mind that she couldn’t find anywhere. We then worked through the details together – including how the legs should be positioned. A few months later, the table was finished, and it eventually became part of our collection.

It was similar with Raquel. We first met through Instagram and followed each other’s work. At some point, she wrote to me saying that it was her dream to design a table from scratch. I simply said: if you want to do that, get in touch. And eventually, she did.

I love these personal connections. Often, a new piece of furniture grows out of a very specific need: someone is looking for something, can’t find it, and then develops it together with us.

I also work a lot with women and female-led businesses. My other profession in AI product management and finance is very male-dominated. That’s why I particularly enjoy this different kind of collaboration.

You also collaborated with Analia from Spaces for Life Interiors. How did the Lianna Side Table come about?

Analia is an interior designer, and in many of the projects she was working on, she kept missing a particular kind of table: A versatile accent table, taller than a coffee table, allowing for work sessions with a laptop, as well as a coffee break. She had a clear idea of what she was looking for, but couldn’t find anything on the market that really matched her needs. So instead of compromising, we decided to design it together. That’s how the Lianna Side Table came about.

I really enjoy collaborations like this, where a very specific need can turn into a new piece of furniture. I’ll be bringing the Lianna Side Table to BLICKFANG Zurich in several shades of solid wood, so visitors will be able to see how the design works in different finishes.

Besides the Lianna Side Table, what can visitors expect at BLICKFANG Zurich?

We have a corner stand and want to turn it into a little living room. There will be a rug, a small dining table, a small sofa, dining chairs and pictures on the walls.

The idea is that people won’t simply see individual pieces of furniture but get a feeling for what it would be like to live with them.

We’re even working on a few pieces specifically for BLICKFANG. The dining table will be smaller than our standard version, but extendable, so we can also demonstrate the mechanism. There will also be a small sofa that is being made especially for the fair.

It’s our first time at BLICKFANG, so of course I’m a little nervous. But more than anything, I’m looking forward to seeing how everything comes together.

If you’d like to meet Anna and experience her little living room in person, you can do so at BLICKFANG Zurich from 20 to 22 November 2026 at the Kongresshaus. Get your ticket here!

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