Studio 103

Máté Csapody

How did this place come about and what made it different from the start?
Studio 103 grew out of something practical that quickly became something much bigger. Máté was looking for an external venue for a concrete workshop course he teaches at the Budapest University of Technology, but the moment he stepped into the space, he knew he didn’t want to limit it to a handful of students.

What made it different from the beginning was its sense of openness and generosity. The opening test week offered free workshops, and the launch party attracted nearly 100 people. That energy, built through collaboration with around twenty companies contributing drinks, pastries and pizza, set the tone. It wasn’t simply a studio. It had already become a community before it officially opened.

What part of the day, space, or creative process do those who work here enjoy the most?
Sitting down with people, listening to each other’s stories, laughing throughout the creative process and building genuine connections. The social dimension, the conversations that happen while everyone’s hands are busy making something, is what seems to matter most.

If someone is coming in for the first time, what should they not miss?
Ceramics would be the obvious answer. It has been a favourite since the beginning and now runs twice a week with six different artists rotating through the programme. Linocut printing, spoon carving, felting and jewellery making are equally popular.

The monthly Taste of Well-being wine tasting is something genuinely unexpected. Led by a work psychologist and a WSET-certified wine expert, each session explores themes such as burnout, setting boundaries or renewal through the stories and character of different wines. It’s difficult to find that combination anywhere else.

What has been an interesting challenge that has made you rethink something about the project?
The financial reality became clear very early on. The rent alone exceeded the original budget before anything else had even been planned. Rather than increasing prices, which would have gone against the studio’s goal of making creativity accessible, Máté chose the opposite approach by increasing the number of weekly workshops from two or three to five or six.

The experience reinforced something he already believed: moving forward requires the courage to ask for help and to open yourself to others.

What influence, idea, or reference continues to shape the way you work today?
A year spent working in the film industry taught him, by contrast, exactly what he didn’t want: feeling creatively constrained, unable to grow and stuck.

That experience crystallised the principle that now defines Studio 103: don’t wait for opportunities, create them yourself. It’s reflected in everything the studio does, from the Art Exchange programme supporting emerging designers to its mentorship scheme, which helps young creatives develop ideas into prototypes.

What place, project, or person has inspired you recently and why?
Two things have been particularly inspiring recently.

The first is the possibility of moving into a larger space after the district council announced new commercial units for rent. A bigger studio would allow the open workshop concept to evolve even further, with dedicated ceramics, printmaking and woodworking studios operating simultaneously rather than on rotation. It would also create room for a Hungarian craft and design shop showcasing work by local makers, something that has long been part of the vision.

The second is the arrival of a Risograph machine. It has opened an entirely new range of creative possibilities through its distinctive visual language, approach to colour and texture, and strong connection to community print culture. It’s already inspiring new workshops and future collaborations.

Both developments feel less like finished achievements and more like open doors, which is perhaps exactly the kind of inspiration that defines Studio 103.

If your space could invite someone to collaborate for a day, who would it be and what would you do together?
Someone who is full of ideas and eager to build community but lacks the environment to make those ideas happen.

More concretely, universities and their graduating students. There are countless projects that don’t fit neatly into academic structures, ideas that formal education doesn’t always know how to support. A collaboration would create space for those projects to exist through workshops, experimental sessions and side projects that deserve to become reality.

Is there an object, corner or detail of the place that has a story that few people know?
One of the most personal objects in the studio is the SOL No. 2 lamp, designed by Máté and recognised with a Big See Award. The goldsmith who helped produce it now teaches workshops at Studio 103, turning a single collaboration into an ongoing creative relationship.

The studio’s name also has a hidden story. The number 103 isn’t a street address or a random choice. It was Máté’s admission number when he applied to MOME, the Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design. The studio was originally imagined as his own private design practice, and that number still carries its origin story.

If this project were a city, a book, or a record, which would it be and why?
Budapest.

Layered, slightly unpredictable, constantly evolving and full of contrasts. It brings together history and new creative energy, and its most interesting moments often emerge from unexpected encounters: conversations that weren’t planned, techniques you’ve never tried before and people you would never have met otherwise.

Studio 103 hopes to be exactly that kind of place, where different disciplines, ideas and people can exist alongside one another and create something none of them could have made alone.