5 Stroganov Graduates Who Make Their Professors Feel Especially Proud

Design Mate’s leading topic in January is Design as Headstart. Therefore, today we decided to discuss the most successful debut cases and the skills essential to a newcomer designer in order to integrate into the professional community as quick as possible with Elena and Kirill Cheburashkin, the professors at the Stroganov Moscow State University of Arts and Industry. So in our first article of this month, please welcome five Stroganov graduates who make their professors feel especially proud.

Kirill and Elena Cheburashkin designers, associate professors jointly holding the Artistic Furniture Design Department chair at the Stroganov Moscow State University of Arts and Industry. 

During its long-lasting history of more than 70 years, Furniture Design Department has trained and educated the enormous number of highly qualified professionals, many of whom have become the true legends of the Russian design. Nevertheless, for this article we opted for those students, who graduated from our Department directly, after completion of the restructuring process launched almost 10 years ago. Our graduates are still very young, so we firmly believe that their main achievements are yet to come in the future. Frankly speaking, it was actually hard to select only five candidates, since most our graduates are currently rather popular and deserve all-round respect from the professional point of view. Still, we decided to focus on those, who not just achieved significant success in their field, but also managed to launch and develop their own brands. Besides that, we highly appreciate the fact that some of our “laureates” are willing to expend their precious time and efforts to share their knowledge and experience with new generation of designers. So, here is our current list as for today.

Tatyana Repina Winner of SalonSatellite 2016 in Moscow, who also ranked 3rd in 2017 in Milano, co-founder of Aotta Studio

In 2016, even before everyone started experimenting with environmentally friendly materials, when the world ‘ecoplastic’ still sounded new and unusual to the most designers, Tanya Repina came up with idea to produce silencing panels made of fir needle. Her award-winning project called Spruces and Needles then brought her the first place at SalonSatellite Moscow Session, while six months later she ranked third in Milano. Thus, Tanya became the first Russian participant who made to the top three at Salone Satellite Milano. Last year she launched her own brand Aotta Studio and present new promising project – silencing biodegradable interior design material made of the hemp husks. Abroad, it was first introduced as part of the Dutch design week – the most suitable platform for experimental design projects of such kind.

Semen Lavdanskiy Author of Belsi-home’s bestselling product – Skelet-ON chair, co-founder of Basmaconcept brand

Lavdanskiy is another SalonSatellite Moscow laureate, who made it to the top three best projects with his Eden lamp in 2014. Last year he joined his efforts with Ivan Basov, and these two together founded their own furniture brand Basmaсoncept, where the young designers attempted to reconsider and give fresh interpretation to the traditional materials and their processing technologies, while skillfully combining different approaches and fashions in order to create some new and unique product. Among their first pieces of work, it is definitely worth to mention the lamp, the low tables and the cabinet designed using the ancient engraved forms. All these items are handmade and bear the marks of time: random dents and scratches are the flavor that makes every impression unique.  

Ivan Basov Ranked  3rd at SalonSatellite 2018 in Moscow, designs collections for FORS Furniture company, co-founder of Basmaсoncept brand, lectured at Furniture Design Department and the British Higher School of Art and Design

Besides his Basmaсoncept brand, Ivan Basov also designs furniture for FORS Furniture company. In particular, the latter brand released Basov’s tables from Flower Collection, which last year ranked as the third best project at the Moscow Session of the famous young designer contest SalonSatellite. At a glance, these tables are reminiscent of real flower both when considered individually and as part of the furniture group. Their colorful veneers are incrusted with shiny brass sheets. Such items may be easily combined with each other, as well as used individually as a separately standing units. By designing this tables, Basov wanted to answer the question of whether the same form may properly work both individually and in the group of identical items.

Sofia Fesenko
Co-founder and leading designer of FORS Furniture brand, lecturer at Furniture Design Department of Stroganov Moscow State University of Arts and Industry  

FORS Furniture is a new project by SILA MAZHOROV team. Their furniture is inspired by Avant-Garde and Suprematism principles, so there are always a lot of raging bright colors. At the end of last year, the designers presented new furniture line called VIVO. This collection was inspired by the works by abstractionist artists, and in particular by the Catalan artist, Joan Miro. The series consisted of mirrors, console, room screen and four capsule tables of various sizes. The finishing range included bird's eye maple, Anigre, grey eucalyptus and dull brass veneers.   

Anton Ratnikov Co-founder of 4-rooms Company, senior lecturer at Furniture Design Department of Stroganov Moscow State University of Arts and Industry 

Anton Ratnikov graduated from Stroganov Moscow State University of Arts and Industry in 2012 and almost immediately founded his own design bureau – FourRoom Design & Construction. Currently Ratnikov is focused on designing country houses, apartments, cafes, restaurants, private railway cars in Imperial style and, of course, the furniture.

On the cover – FORS Furniture room screen.