The arts and crafts industry experienced its personal economic crisis long before the onset of the global one. In the early 1990s, along with the last signs of the Soviet past, the infrastructure for the sale of folk craftsmen's products (that is, republican wholesale depots and the Berezka chain of stores) sank into oblivion. More than three hundred factories that existed in the country actually faced the new economy one-on-one: almost a quarter closed immediately, just as many were on the brink or even beyond bankruptcy, the rest also eke out a very unenviable existence. The paradox is that high-quality souvenir products are always in demand, but the enterprises that traditionally produce them are unprofitable.
Moscow undertook to change the stalemate a couple of years ago. It must be said that the capital is vitally interested in this: being the main tourist center of the country, it, like no other city in Russia, needs a sufficient number of high-quality souvenirs. Today, counterfeit and counterfeit products predominate in this market segment (according to experts, only 6 percent of handicrafts sold in Moscow are genuine). The city's vision is simple: for arts and crafts to become competitive and profitable, it is necessary to establish direct contacts between producers and consumers. Naturally, to establish contact, you need not only desire, but also a place. And Moscow built it - the "Folk Art Crafts" complex was erected in the north-east of Moscow on Zorge Street. Bureau "Panakom" was invited first to develop a project for a VIP showroom in this complex, then a corporate identity for the "Give!" Brand, and then Arseniy Leonovich accepted the offer to act as a design trooper in the Russian hinterland.
Creative cooperation with the plant in Gus-Khrustalny began in May this year, and the first collections of designer vases created by Arseny are already on sale. They bear pronounced international names - Dolce Vita, Odysseia, Enigma - and are designed for the elite segment of the market.
"Crystal Vase" is a kind of sociocultural stamp, especially for those whose childhood was spent in typical five-story buildings. Monotonous pictures immediately appear before the eyes - a low object of a characteristic shape slightly expanding to the top, excised by cuts and edges, which, refracting light, create iridescent reflections. The plant in Gus-Khrustalny still maintains its classic assortment, but these products, with all their high quality workmanship, are stylistically identified as signs of a bygone era. Therefore, the first thing the designer-reformer started his work with was to try to change the prevailing stereotype about the obligatory modest scale of a decorative vase. “The modern generation of buyers no longer lives in Khrushchev, they do not have sideboards and slides from the GDR. The vase has ceased to be a purely utilitarian thing, having turned into an element of taste and quality of a modern interior, Arseny is convinced. “Today, plastic art can and should be large, significant, it should submit and sell itself.” The designer is also trying to get away from the traditional diversity of crystal decor. “The modern world has radically changed its attitude to the design of glass products - today the form is in the first place in terms of importance. The texture and pattern work for it, emphasizing the form, and not coming into conflict with it. " Another thing is that in the case of crystal it is impossible to do without a pattern at all: this material in many ways manifests its essence precisely in the diamond workshop, where a pattern is applied to it, otherwise the product does not fully reveal the potential and richness of the material.
Over the past six months, Leonovich has already had six business trips to Gus-Khrustalny. According to his own recollections, at first the modern design proposed by him caused a lot of discussions at the plant. But Arseny - a man as keen as he is, so stubborn, - showed persistence, which gradually won respect among the sculptors of crystal.
“I started with a very complex design, proposing to the factory intricate and very time consuming vases projects, using several techniques. And from a technological point of view, not all of my proposals could be implemented. Gradually, an understanding of the material comes, and now I see that the key to success is in self-sufficient simplicity. The form should be laconic - and the ornaments, largely inspired by folk or even archaic motives, should be just as clear and obvious. As a result, it seems to me, we managed to create a series of minimalist patterns for working with surfaces."
Along with the excessive decor and deliberately popular names, the new products of the Gusevsky Crystal Factory are losing their strict adherence to a single standard, which was so characteristic of vases of the Soviet period. It would seem that the production of art glass is by definition a piece production, however, even here they have always tried to adjust the “human factor” to GOST standards. “It took some work for me to influence the attitude towards some irregularities, imperfections and air bubbles, to explain that this is not necessarily a marriage, but it may well be a sign of the uniqueness, natural style of objects,” says Arseniy Leonovich.
Each vase in his collections is truly unique, but at the same time they are united by the softness of lines unexpected for Russian crystal combined with the general massiveness of the form, the use of smooth and deep color transitions (from cobalt to tea, from colorless to violet), cuts in the form of matte and smooth lenses that "flip" the image. Arseny Leonovich promises that the first collections will be presented in Moscow in the very near future, but he is not going to stop there. He plans to continue experiments with possible textures of crystal surfaces, sometimes completely unexpected, to create a collection of "drink" (glasses) and implement a project of a nesting doll made of crystal.
