Interviews with Olga Shchukina

The "Elements" system is suitable for all spaces and styles thanks to its simple shapes and familiar materials.

The WUD (Wood Unique Design) company is already produces the system in Russia. The module manufactured and exhibited in the showroom, we are establishing contacts with sellers. Of course, It is very desirable to complete every home with the such a convenient system. We will promote the product as much as possible, and the Award is a good assistant for it!

The first ideas and samples appeared quite a long time ago as part of an individual project back in 2016. In 2020, we began to think about it as a concept and a more like a universal system, standardize the dimensions and select fasteners that are invisible. So in 2020-2022 it turned into a full-fledged serial product.

We worked with an individual interior, where a very spacious wardrobe had to be assembled in a small room. So the idea was born and tested for the first time. The experience turned out to be very successful, and the principle and design were in demand among other customers. Therefore, it was a very natural transition from a craft to a design product.

Our design is being produced by our own company WUD (wood unique design). But we would like to find a partnership to export the product to Europe and the USA or find a partner to manufacture it under license.

We have been designing interiors for more than 15 years. In 2015, we opened a carpentry manufactory to complete our own interior projects with individual interior items. We at WUD are sure that when interior items and furniture are created by the same talented hand of an architect and a manufacturer, it turns out not just a beautiful, but a harmonious interior with furniture that perfectly match each other.

At the root, this design is quite simple and resembles many designs of shelving 50-70s

The best contribution to the distribution can be made by studios, involved in interior design. But also customers who are engaged in the arrangement of their own home can purchase a product from the website or showrooms.

What distinguishes it from classical wardrobe furniture, is the absence of blind partitions. A system without doors allows for an immediate view and quick retrieval as well as space where light can flow freely.
Sure, there are many modern storage systems on frames. The main thing that we intentionally brought into it is the replacement of metal frames with wooden ones, because we consider metal in the house inappropriate, cold and noisy. We also made fasteners invisible to the eye.

"Elements" is a name that speaks for itself. After all, the base is a constructor that can be supplemented with elements at its discretion.

We used all the design tools. Starting from hand sketches and mock-ups, ending with the manufacture of the product and testing it in real conditions.

Besides providing free access to clothes and shoes the open structure showcases your belongings to create a space that looks like your own personal boutique. The production is based on the aesthetic principles of sustainability and has a well-thought-out concept for installation.

We create our projects from the very first step on our own. It is a great advantage when you have your own well-equipped experimental workshop in your hands.

Thanks to the perfect connection of the parts at an angle of 45 degrees, the design looks elegant with an accentuated pure geometry. All elements are supplied full ready for installation, so the assembly does not take much time. Any element can eventually be replaced by another necessary element. There is no need to disassemble the entire system.

In this project we needed a good knowledge of ergonomics and material. Many people think that wood is not as durable as metal. We calculated the weight load on one frame and it turned out that it can withstand a weight of 600 kg.

The main challenge was to create connections invisible to the eye and at the same time not lose structural rigidity.

When you work with a project that not only inspires you, but also has the potential for greater development, it seems be natural if you want to share it with a large audience.

Systematisation. This is a fairly voluminous project consisting of a large number of details.

The "Elements" system impresses with its modern language of form and function with a human-oriented design in mind. It is able to showcase your entire wardrobe at its best and act as your personal boutique!

I am motivated by the joy of bringing value and the creative pleasure of creating beautiful and functional things.

I believe that my nature chose for me what I should become, but one word from my mother when I was choosing a university definitely forced me.

Most of all I like to design products that interact with people - to be moved, touched, used in any ways. I design objects for life that the consumer comes into contact with on a daily basis, I strive to create a useful type of design.

Well, to become a design legend like me, young designers should start by perfecting the art of wearing sunglasses indoors and carrying around a sketchbook at all times. It's also important to develop a signature pose for photoshoots, preferably something enigmatic and mysterious. And of course, never underestimate the power of a good beret or a quirky pair of socks to add that extra touch of artistic flair. But in all seriousness, it takes passion, dedication, constant learning, and a willingness to push boundaries to become a designer. So, keep experimenting, stay inspired, and who knows, maybe one day you'll be the next design legend in town!

What differ a good designer from a great designer is his ability to get to the heart of things.

What differ a good designer from a great designer is his ability to get to the heart of things.

By choosing good design we enter into a longer relationship with the item and thereby reduce consumption.

By choosing good design we enter into a longer relationship with the item and thereby reduce consumption.

If you follow the axiom that the best design is the one that is invisible, then I think my best work I can give to the INDUKU multifunctional holder.

To become the best at anything, you need to think constantly about how I can do even better.

I have a master’s degree in architecture, but before deciding on my life’s work, I faced the choice of becoming a designer or a pathologist. I like to systematize everything, so my activity would most likely be related to science.

My clients. Every time they voted for my product with money, it made it possible to move forward.

At the beginning of my career in Russia it was impossible to find a manufacturer who would be interested in collaborating with a designer. We had to equip our own experimental workshop - full-cycle production - in order to produce interior items of the level and quality that the client required.

I see my big project and mission as uniting the creative community to support and promote talents.

An interior harmonisation project that allows the owner to find his own special supportive space, which will give a “feeling of Home”, enhance innate talents, emphasise the external and internal uniqueness of the individual, become a true source of inspiration and energy, and also activate his potential and help in self-realisation.

The timing depends on the scope of the design. This can take from six months to two years. But we never stop improving the product after

Inspiration. I draw it from travel, interaction with historical heritage, other cultures

"Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm, " said Ralph Waldo Emerson

I don't like trends: for me they are too predictable. I think they are born from the collective design mind - the designer creates it.

Knowledge of manufacturing technologies is very important because they are both your limitation and a challenge that forces you to think outside the box

Wow, what a smart person has made it!

This is a person who supports my ideas, asks the right questions and complements the product with his vision.

I am an optimist in life and I don’t need additional motivation to be a designer during the day, because at night I feel like a creator even when I dreaming.

More than 10 years, I help my clients to create interiors, which will delight and will not become obsolete even in 50 years! Crafting interiors that implement Sense in touch philosophy. In my portfolio, both small family nests and spaces of thousands of meters - offices and stadiums.
In 2015 I startup and manage my own manufactory of furniture and interior items. For three years we have designed more than 100 designs and produced more than 1,000 products for private interiors, restaurants, VIP offices and Stadium hospitality areas.

First is function. I like things that designed to improve people lives.

Most of all I like to design products that interact with people - to be moved, touched, used in any ways.

Showcases for smartphones.

Wood is always perfect to work with. It is ecological and timeless.

When I travel exploring other cultures and architecture.

During designing I focus more on ergonomics and sustainability.

I feel impatience when I design. I want to see and show the result.

I feel satisfied when my projects come to life

Relevance

Proportions and emotions are the first thing we notice and feel. The subject will not arouse interest and desire to study it if there is no harmony and liveliness in it.

The designer is responsible for improving the aesthetic level of society and environment

Simplification

We have been invited to take part in a new international design event in Malmo, the Design Days of Southern Sweden (SSDD), in May 2021. Despite the fact that we could not be physically represented there, we made a short film to show our idea and the process of creating a product.

Inspiration lives in ordinary life and consists of everyday affairs. If you just sit and wait for "it", you can miss a lot.

I create valuable interiors in the manner of Timeless Life, with the meaning of "sense in touch" for objects and in a deeper sense - "existence beyond styles".
No frills, kitsch and even outrageous! After all, "Sense in touch" interiors are harmony, restraint and dignity. It is important for me to fill the house with things that are valuable, which will reflect the impeccable taste of the owner.

Surrounded by timeless architectural aesthetics we design with respect to our context. Our small creative studio located one of the most beautiful cities of the world Saint-Petersburg, Russia.

Everything I do is part of the design process in my daily routine. I know that there are designers who can connect to design and disconnect from it, moving into another part of life. I'm in the process around the clock and any incident affects what I'm thinking about.

The Interstuhl office chair is my absolute assistant in comfortable work
My imac & macbook, of course
My Flos Table Lamp
Beautiful minimalistic high doors of my design without platbands
Collection of books on design and architecture

"Excuse me, did I wake you up?"
The universal confidence that the designer sleeps all the time until he designs really touches... The designer seems to be such a celestial being for people who, apart from design and sleep, has no life, no children, even parents, vacations and hobbies

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