Interior and product designer Natasha Shevchenko released the FLYING FISH capsule collection, which was presented at BATIMAT RUSSIA 2019. When creating the collection she was inspired by the journey to the Shantar Islands, the pristine beauty of marine nature and the unique color palette.
Natasha Shevchenko has got talent and the true business acumen as well. She created the Flying Fish, which immediately became very popular. For the first time, visitors to the exhibition had a chance to see it as part of the Integrated Solutions exposition this year in March, and to get inspired by the talent and energy of Natasha herself. “The FLYING FISH collection includes L’Antica Deruta lamps, ceramics, consoles, furniture, decor, ArtCeram sinks, Broner radiators, Decorazza decorative coatings. I realized that my ‘fish’ is an umbrella brand, I have patented it and now I can release anything under this brand. The collection of silk scarves, and now a collection of interior fabrics were presented at the Salone del Mobile.Milano Moscow exhibition. Together with Little Green, I am developing my own set of paints that will blend perfectly with Flying Fish items. Collaboration with two other well-known brands is expected, but this is still a secret”, Natasha Shevchenko shares her plans.
It all started with L’Antica Deruta. The director of the Italian factory, Giorgio Moretti, met with Natasha Shevchenko in Milan. He said that he had been interested in her work for a long time and then suggested to create a joint collection. So the FLYING FISH collection appeared, which is now available in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, and the USA. The products of L’Antica Deruta preserve the age-old traditions of Italian masters, including hand-painting and engraving, and this makes each product a unique masterpiece that keeps the warmth of human hands.
The Umbria region is known for its reserves of special white clay, and for eight centuries it has been the center of ceramic production in Italy. The products made by masters from the small town of Deruta are exhibited in many museums around the world. L’Antica Deruta factory continues the traditions of craftsmen and produces unique interior items. Products from faience clay are covered with an opaque white tin glaze, then decorated with bright paintings on a white ‘raw’ background. A transparent layer of shiny lead glaze is applied to the drawing and fired at a temperature of about 1,000 °C. Ceramic product, which is manufactured by such a complicated technology using ancient secrets of Italian masters, is called majolica.
At the BATIMAT RUSSIA exhibition in 2019, Natasha Shevchenko showed a collection of interior items in an interesting style differing from any of the existing ones – we can say that she found and opened her own style.
Here is what Natasha Shevchenko says about product design: “It seems that it’s not difficult to come up with a couple of vases or a sink. In fact, creating a collection takes at least a year. Some brands develop one sofa or carpet for seven years or more. Because the interior has one customer, and the product has thousands. In addition, a lot depends on the company itself, its work, style, plans.
Russian manufacturers are still sparingly investing in Russian designers. It’s cheaper and easier for some of them to make copies of Western brands, because the promotion of a new name is expensive and difficult. It’s not just about advertising and production. A new product includes color proofing, selection of materials, textures, tests, prototypes. It takes a lot of effort, time and money.
There is one more problem. Many people are still convinced that our designers are worse than foreign ones and simply cannot do anything well. This is not true! Now we have many talented people, designers, artists, but they have to move forward on their own – that is, slowly. But my example shows that Western factories are interested in our designers, which means that Russian design has the future ahead. The young talented artists will soon be taken seriously at home as well.”
