- Art & Design
In the December edition of Imagicasa magazine, we already wrote about Yakusha Design and their showroom, Faina House, in Brussels. Now, the Ukrainian interior design studio and furniture producer is launching a new collection called 'Following the sun'. Both the title and the designs are very uplifting and bring some light into our lives during this cold time of year.
Yakusha Design was founded in 2006 by Victoria Yakusha with its headquarters in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev. The multidisciplinary studio has since built up a rich portfolio of interior and architectural projects, but a few years ago also launched FAINA, its own collection of furniture, decorative items and other products that contribute to the creation of a unique domestic atmosphere. Feeling and experience are the most important guiding principles in Yakusha's work and life, and she does not allow herself to be dictated to by the market or certain trends. 
The latest collection of FAINA is again fully in line with this. Titled 'Following the sun', this collection too came about in a natural way. ‘We didn’t aim to invent anything new but listened to ourselves and followed the Sun,’ says Victoria Yakusha, who likes to be guided and inspired by nature. Living in harmony with this world, she says, makes for a ‘more balanced, quality life’. ‘From ancient times, the Sun was a powerful symbol giving the energy and powering all processes on Earth. People stood up with the Sun and built their lives around light cycles,’ the designer explains further. For her, this new collection means returning to our natural state, to our real self.
Consisting of floor lamps, sconces and a pendant lamp, as well as a coffee table and a bench, all characterised by round shapes (circles, like the sun), the collection looks like a soothing whole. FAINA also describes the style of the designs as ‘new primitivism’, featuring a ‘naive and simple design with living textures’. This is fully in line with the philosophy behind Yakusha Design, which stands for so-called ‘live' design, something that is alive and makes you live. 
Together with the launch of this collection, FAINA also announced that it will no longer produce new items regularly throughout the year, but will rather stick to two moments to do so: the winter and summer solstices that herald the natural start of something new. ‘In FAINA, we go with the Sun and begin our new cycle with it. Solstice is about regrowth and renewal,’ says Victoria Yakusha.
In this way, the connection of FAINA's designs to nature is highlighted even more, and we are looking forward to what we can expect from them in the future. 
Images courtesy of FAINA/Yakusha Design