Dizaina Studija. Telpa Forma Laiks

The readers of “Dizaina Studija” do not need to be introduced to Māra Skujeniece, the founder of the studio “Skujeniece”– an interview with the designer was published in the 4th issue of the magazine in 2006. This year Māra visited Latvia again under the framework of the Dutch Design Days: as well as leading a creative workshop at the Latvian Academy of Art, the artist also read a lecture and participated in a seminar, where together with the design marketing specialist, Danielle Oosterbeek, she described Dutch design and told about the opportunities in developing a brand. In late May Māra took up a creative residency with e-text+textiles, working on an individual design project and establishing new professional networks with Latvian manufacturers.  

Jana Kukaine: Has anything changed in your creative activities in the last year?  
Māra Skujeniece: The most important thing that has changed is collaboration with manufacturers. Earlier I designed and manufactured myself, and in my studio there was a huge industrial kiln, now I work only on producing sample collections. If you produce everything yourself, then you have no time for creative work! I make samples, which I then pass on to the manufacturers.
In Holland there is currently a huge demand for small manufacturers, who can make creative projects in small series, for example, two hundred small towels. This kind of partly commercial concern is very popular, because none wishes to be an unskilled worker anymore.
J. K.: How did your collaboration with Latvian businesses begin?
M. S.: I have had a number of orders from Latvia. Until now I have worked with “Nakts mēbeles”, but a year ago I created felt door signs for the Albert Hotel, which are hung on the numbered doors. Other projects are also in the process of discussion. Currently I am planning to work for the “LM” weaving studio, which would allow for me to use hand work more. Earlier I used to use hand work to accomplish that which could be achieved with a machine, until I understood that this is wrong. The weaving at the “LM” studio is at a very high level: what’s more, by using materials that are accessible in Latvia, it is much easier to set an appropriate price for an item. This will also be an opportunity to turn my attention to colour as such, because up until now I have been more interested in form, and therefore I have mainly worked in muted tones. The use of a grounded colour palette is safer; now I want to accentuate the bright Latvian ethnographic colours. I also need this contact with Latvia on a personal level. The more often I come here, the better. There is a different market here, and different technologies are used here. You can tell that design is still conquering its own territory in Latvia. I have the opportunity to live in two cultures, and I want to use this opportunity. It is interesting to gain an impression on what is going on here. This is why I wanted to lead this creative workshop for students, to find out how design is taught in Latvia, which methods are used.  
J. K.: Was there enthusiasm on behalf of our students?  
M. S.: There was a large amount of interest in the workshop. Students from the Art Academy’s Design Department (functional design and environmental art) mainly took part. Seven working groups were formed, which worked on a particular project – some students worked on a product, others created a presentation during this time. Students needed to create their own design tool. We went to the “Latgalīte” market, where we bought the necessary materials. They didn’t have much time to think, because it was important to begin work without knowing what the result would be, to look for the materials on an intuitive level. At the market we found texturing tools, a dumpling press, a meat mincer. The girls bargained for an old ventilator frame, which they later filled with copied five lat notes (five lats was the daily allowance for the workshop). The machine was called the “Idea Generator”: It issued banknotes – ideas – one at a time. A bubble machine and a macaroni maker were constructed, which came with a set of glasses that made everything smaller, so that you could eat more! Judging from experience, I could say that students in Latvia are the same as they are in Holland – curious, full of enthusiasm and ideas. It is possible that the educational tasks that they are given differ.
J. K.: A Latvian accent can be discerned in your design style, which is expressed through your choice of materials, colours and motifs. Is the layer of Soviet culture also able to be converted into the language of design?
M. S.: There are things that inspire me and I want for them to be next to me. For example, the old three litre glass jar with its well thought-out design or also the two litre aluminium can, with which I went to the neighbour to get milk in my childhood. I need these disappearing things. Even the Dutch appreciate good old functionalism. I would not say that nostalgia has become a fashionable thing, but it does influence design, creates particular combinations of materials and colours. Yet the opposite tendency is also pertinent – to find radically new forms, by using very advanced technologies.
Sometimes I get ideas while I am working. For example, porcelain which has been poured very thinly transforms when heated, and a new, unpredictable form is created. I recently made one such collection of dishes for auction. A porcelain dish, when it has already hardened, can be filled with plaster – this repeats the shape of the dish very precisely – and porcelain can then be poured again. In this way the matrjoshka style dish collection was made. Inspiration occurs when playing with technology. For me, the most important thing about design is the story – this is told either by the material used, or technology, or a nostalgic reference to the past. Perhaps the story itself cannot be immediately seen or it is only understandable to me: although often it can be sensed by others.
Design has to include both an artistic, and a purely functional aspect. It is important for the object to invite you not just to look at it, but also to use it.