Each works in a different field, but they complement and support each other. Linda is a glass designer, Marcel a musician who dons a white coat from time to time. Where do they see eye-to-eye and where do they differ? How have their experiences in different fields influenced their lives? These were some of the things I talked about with the couple, who sealed their 17-year relationship with a wedding on the roof of Prague’s Lucerna Palace in 2019.
Art designer Linda Procházka recently launched a limited collection of handmade crystal glass products under her LINDA PRO brand. She received a nomination for the Czech Grand Design 23 award in the Newcomer of the Year category, won the Young Talent category in the Elle Decoration EDIDA 2024 awards and walked away with the Designblok 2024 People’s Choice Award.
Marcel Procházka, aka Marcell, is a Czech singer, producer and composer who graduated from the Faculty of Medicine at Palacký University and became a doctor. In addition to writing and producing songs for other artists (he has collaborated with Lenny, David Koller, Mirai, Ewa Farna, Ben Cristovao and others), he also releases music under his own name.
Suggested music for reading the interview: Tom Walker’s Leave a Light On, Linda and Marcel’s wedding song.
Linda, when you were younger you represented the Czech Republic in whitewater kayaking. How does a girl who rides rapids become a designer?
Linda: Let’s zoom out a bit first. Marcel and I have been together for ages, but we got married relatively late. In high school, neither of us knew what we were going to do, how we would profile ourselves. We had various ideas, but obviously we didn’t even know at the time if we would get into the colleges we were applying for. I was into whitewater sports, Marcel was a footballer.
I’d always dreamed of being a designer, but we both come from Olomouc, where the conditions for studying art aren’t ideal. At the same time, my family had a very different idea about my studies, so I was pretty much on my own, and I simply didn’t have enough confidence to take such a giant leap. But when I started going out with Marcel, he was the one who gave me confidence. He showed me that if you have a dream and really pursue it, you can make it happen.
I’m fascinated by the contrast between whitewater sport and refined design. Do you still compete today?
Linda: No, it’s not possible. I used to compete at the highest level, which involved regular training, competitions every weekend, long training camps where you go away for a month, often abroad. I simply couldn’t do both, so I swapped one for the other. As a designer I started from scratch, so I had to throw myself into it fully.
Would it be fair to say that sport gave you something you could transfer to another field? Perseverance and hard work, maybe?
Linda: Yes, certainly. And it’s also true that “rough-and-tumble sport” and “refined design” seem like a contrast at first glance. Yes, you need endurance, it’s cold, wet and uncomfortable, but at the same time this sport is actually quite romantic. You’re in natural surroundings, you have to have a feel for the river’s vagaries, you have to learn how the water flows... The sport is very much about feeling, because the kayak is unstable and you need good balance. So there’s a lot of subtlety in whitewater kayaking, although you do also need stamina and strength.
It can happen that some skills we’ve acquired unexpectedly prove useful for another phase in our lives. Was it the same for you, Marcel?
Our back stories are similar because I played football until I was 19. I was also pretty good. In my third year at grammar school I decided I’d apply for medical school, and for that reason I abandoned football so I could focus fully on my studies. But in my spare time I started a band and, at some point in my second or third year of medical school, I got totally hooked on music. And that never really left me, so it was a constant struggle for me to manage both activities. Maybe that’s why Linda and I have been together for so long, because the genesis of our relationship and our somewhat traditional career arcs were very similar.
What is the main thing that holds your relationship together?
You can read more from the interview HERE.
Text: Diana Rykrová | Photo: Eda Babák
