We often visit places to marvel at art and architecture of the space, understand the culture, the history of the region and then take back mementos like small sculptures, craft items, local accessories for remembrance. Through these keepsakes we try to bring back the memory of that experience. Quirky souvenirs depicting the essence of a place through its colours and graphics have always been favorite collectibles for travel junkies.

Giving the idea of souvenirs an interesting twist, the Sator Space design studio has come up with an ingenious approach to the old school fridge magnets. Founded by the two brothers Dénes and Tomas Sátor, Sator Space was born out of the will to explore and relive the known world with a different and unexpected outlook. Their studio offers eclectic and unique travel gifts with humour and playfulness for a new perspective on every journey. With sites in Hungary and Slovakia, they deliver their products across the globe.

The Hungarian low-cost concrete paneled four to ten story apartment buildings from the 60s and 70s have never been much appreciated among tourists because their so called ‘panels’ are seen as gloomy, lifeless mementos and don’t usually catch the attention of tourists. To bring a change to this preconception, the Sator Space design studio has changed the retro and mundane feel of the panels into miniature eccentric fridge magnets. Being fast and cheap to build, the panels can still be found in the former eastern bloc countries. The studio has come up with square shaped magnets which are thinner than 0.4 mm to incorporate the traditional infrastructure units of these panels such as low ceilings, ultra-thin walls, and standardized facades in its design. The relatable real life elements like the pets, bikes, sunshades or locals represent the buzzing inner life in these neighborhoods in a strikingly colourful palette. Several sets of apartment blocks can be built easily from the even pieces with thousands of inhabitants.

With a goal to educate and inspire tourists and help them understand a different side of Budapest, the fridge magnets created by the studio help us explore an essential part of the history and contemporary life of the city. Stepping away from the regular mainstream template souvenirs, these give a peek into the apartment life in Hungary and grabs the attention of the tourists. With a goal to prompt people to get off the regular track and wander around and indulge in the life of the local neighborhood, Sator Space offers the entire set to recreate the neighborhood with the magnets.