Czech it out: 12 locally made products with a story to tell

If you're looking for something with roots in the Austro-Hungarian empire, Plojhar carries on a tradition built centuries ago. This family-owned company still celebrates the legacy of František Ployhar, who opened a bookbinding workshop in South Bohemia in 1888. Today, you can find designer stationery, notebooks, and unique gifts that highlight both Czech and European creators a Papír Plojhar store or e-shop. Pick up a notebook for daily use or a handmade card as a keepsake and connect to Czech tradition in a modern, creative form.

What started out as a master’s thesis redesigning sex toys is now a pioneering Czech brand for women’s intimate products. Since 2011, Whoop·de·doo has made customers very happy with thoughtfully-designed vibrators, reusable menstrual cups and pelvic‑floor weights, and more. Everything is created, tested, and hand-assembled in Prague using local and European materials, all carried out under Czech quality control. Curious shoppers are invited to stop by in-person at their studio in Holešovice, with an online store serving more discreet needs.

Proud Mary started as a practical experiment by two parents searching for a breakfast their kids would actually eat. Today, the small-batch granola, made just outside Prague, blends carefully selected ingredients with homemade simplicity. Each jar reflects the rhythms of Czech family life, offering more than a morning meal—it’s a taste of local craftsmanship. Visitors can take a jar home as a genuine edible souvenir, a way to savor Czech flavors and mindful, hands-on food-making.

Trading the tech scene for textiles, Košile od Uhlíře grew out of Vojta Uhlíř’s vision for shirts that are elegant, comfortable, and genuinely local. Each shirt is designed and sewn in Czechia using 100% premium linen, which keeps you cool in summer and regulates body temperature in winter. Perfect for casual office days, relaxed moments, or stylish gatherings, it’s a distinctly Czech alternative to fast fashion, combining heritage textiles with modern design.

Tucked away in a quiet Vinohrady studio, Mária Kobelová makes silver and gold jewelry that feels effortless but still catches your eye. Her award-winning, globally exhibited work is influenced by her own life and creative point of view— with elements of curve, shape, attraction, moment and balance—resulting in pieces have that soft, organic fit, easy to wear but never boring. Bring in your own idea and she’ll create a personal, one-of-a-kind piece, the kind of jewelry that feels like it was made just for you, because it was.

Czech women have powdered their faces and lined their lips for generations with help from the cult beauty brand Dermacol. This cosmetics company got its start behind the scenes at Prague’s Barrandov Film Studios, where dermatologists and makeup artists created one of the world’s first full-coverage foundations. That same formula is still sold today, alongside newer skincare and makeup. Their bronzer, featuring landmarks of Prague, is a particular favorite, so if you’re hunting for affordable, locally made beauty products with real staying power, skip Sephora and head to a drugstore instead.

Czechs love spending time in their gardens, using what they grow in multifaceted ways. Botanicus carries on this tradition, growing its own herbs and plants organically, and turning them into skincare, teas, jams, and soaps. Their gardens in Ostra, near Lysá nad Labem, supply raw materials that go straight into production without chemicals or shortcuts. If you're lucky enough to visit their Craft Centre, you can see, taste, and shop the results of a closed-loop system that runs from soil to shelf.

Ababu is a made-up word from designer Jitka Charvátová's childhood, which she proudly now uses as the name of her fabric toys and accessories company. Since 2017, her family-owned-and-operated workshop in northern Bohemia has crafted each piece using certified materials mostly from Czechia and Slovakia. These whimsical designs and cheery patterns support child development and are safe for newborns, marked with CE certification blending quality with care. Stop by their showroom in Letná to see the collection that’s made for little ones and built to last.

GIYOU grows out of Saky, a Central Bohemian village known for centuries of metalworking and a family home dating to 1495. Founders Radek and Milada Bláha reimagined the garden’s legacy, crafting silver- and gold-plated flowers that never fade. Each handmade piece reflects the region’s tradition of turning raw ore into art. From single stems to intricate bouquets, their delicate blooms carry Czech history into modern design. Their showroom in Prague makes it convenient to pick up a long lasting, thoughtful gift.

Founded in Prague by perfumer Renáta Tallarini, Oraculum creates scents that put individuality first. The brand sees perfume as a personal statement, not a mass-market product. Staying close to Czech values of craft and authenticity, Oraculum works in small batches and emphasizes originality over trends, blending surprising ingredients like fig, leather, spices, and carrot seed into scents that are layered, subtle, and easy to wear. The result is fragrances that reflect not just style, but a uniquely Czech approach to self-expression.

Klimchi is keeping Czech glassmaking alive with pieces that are meant to be used every day, not just admired on a shelf. Everything is handmade in their family factory in Bohemia, carrying the clarity and brilliance that makes Bohemian crystal famous. Their collections balance tradition with modern design, and the glassmaking craft itself is now listed by UNESCO as a protected cultural heritage. You’ll even spot Klimchi glassware in films like Barbie and Bridget Jones, but the best place to enjoy it is at home on your own table.

Step inside the charming Old Town atelier of Perfumed Prague, home of the city's first perfume-making workshop, and craft a sensory experience that's all your own. With guidance from a real perfumer, discover your perfect scent, which is then bottled in Czech glass and provided with a personalized label. Here as well as at their Holešovice showroom, you can also pick out soy candles, diffusers, and room sprays inspired by Czech nature, such as their Slavic scent, with notes of linden, immortelle, and moss.