WHO WE ARE
We are Martin and Amy Dohnalek, a husband-and-wife team who founded Barnabas in 2016 out of a shared love for timeless design, quality craftsmanship, and sustainable living. We rescue, restore, and re home 20th-century furniture, lighting, and homeware, mainly from former Czechoslovakia, breathing new life into pieces that were built to last.
Barnabas is named after Martin’s grandfather, a remarkable man who lived through the challenges of 20th-century Czechoslovakia but always surrounded himself with well-crafted, meaningful furniture. Inspired by his legacy, we believe in honouring the past by preserving original design and celebrating the craftsmanship and stories behind every piece.
With professional backgrounds in design and architecture, we approach every restoration with a deep appreciation for form, function, and detail. After a decade working in London, we relocated to Brno - a city known for its rich tradition of modernist architecture and graphic design - where we now live and work with our daughter, Ruby, and son, Alfred.
WHY WE DO WHAT WE DO
With new furniture being produced and replaced within the lifecycle of 6-12 months, we want to champion longevity and timelessness.
So much of good design has been discarded, thoughtlessly thrown away or simply neglected. At Barnabas, we believe that Czech furniture and design is yet to be fully discovered or appreciated and our mission is to introduce the pieces and the people behind them to the world.
In addition, we want to counter the speed and fast-paced consumerism that has surrounded furniture and interior design. We slow it down, taking time to breathe new life into old pieces. We read and research the forgotten stories behind each item in the collection, building and protecting our heritage for future generations.
At Barnabas, sustainability isn’t a trend - it’s our foundation. By giving vintage pieces a second life, we help reduce waste and promote a more conscious approach to interiors - one that values heritage, integrity, and beauty.
We believe in the concept to buy less, but buy better.
WHAT WE DO
We collect pieces from around Czechia before restoring them. Our restoration is carefully undertaken to ensure that the original charm and character of every item is retained where possible.
We sell both to the general public and private clients with bespoke projects. We regularly source items on behalf of architects & interior designers.
We are based in Brno, in Czechia. But we mainly ship to France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom, as well as further afield to America and South Korea. You can see the final homes of some of our pieces here!
We have strong partnerships with shipping companies such as FedEX and ship pieces safely throughout the world.
We strive to make Barnabas as sustainable as possible, and use recycled cardboard for our packaging as well as offsetting the carbon footprint of delivery services by contributing monthly to TreeNation.
If you have any questions, we’d love to hear from you. Email us at info@bybarnabas.com.
For further information on our terms and conditions click here.