Kseniia Derr
Artistic Director and Lead Artisan
Kseniia draws, tufts, shears and finishes every rug, and paints each original canvas in the catalog.
About Us
An artist across materials
The work changes when it becomes physical. A line in a drawing has to become a row of yarn, and every color has to hold its place beside another. That translation is what keeps me interested.
My life has revolved around making things for more than eighteen years. I drew, painted and modeled as a child, then spent nine years at the Stieglitz Academy in Saint Petersburg. Painting led to exhibitions and sales, but it also taught me to think through materials: how an idea changes when it becomes an object.
After the Academy, I moved into metalwork, painted interiors and made decorative objects. Andy Warhol's painted cars then sent me in an unexpected direction. For eight years, I ran a studio for custom automotive finishes, working with color, airbrush, pinstriping and layered effects rather than routine bodywork.
Rugs brought drawing, color and physical making back into the same room. Every piece begins with a composition I can defend and ends with a surface I have cut and finished by hand. The works shown here are a record of that process, not a separate collection made for the website.
My references range from Impressionism and Fauvism to Pop Art. I am interested in color that carries emotion and in images that reward a second look. Whether the medium is paint or yarn, the aim is the same: a work with enough character to hold its place in a room.
In the Studio
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Artistic Director and Lead Artisan
Custom automotive finishes
- For eight years, I specialized in custom automotive finishes for classic and modern cars. The work included Candy colors, chameleon paint, airbrushing and pinstriping. One BMW 8 Series project drew on Andy Warhol's cars and on the palette of Impressionist paintings in the Hermitage.
Decorative metalwork
- At the Academy, I studied architectural and decorative metalwork, from repoussé and chasing to forging, jewelry, enameling and patination. I worked with copper, brass, steel, Damascus and Bulat steel, and learned electroplating, gilding, silvering and etching. That training still shapes how I plan a surface and how closely I look at detail.
Murals
- In my work on design and decorative projects, I created many murals for interiors, as well as several for facades, mainly commercial buildings. I used different techniques: painting, graffiti, and graphics such as grisaille and other styles. Murals were sometimes complemented with text elements, and the subjects varied: from portraits and figures to images of objects or products that reflected the specifics of the client's business.
Interior finishes
- I develop colors and surface finishes for furniture, fittings, lamps, radiators, hoods and other visible interior elements. When a standard finish does not suit the room, I build layered coatings that imitate aged or patinated metal or match an existing textile, wall or piece of furniture.
Painting
- I work in painting and graphics, with a particular interest in Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, Fauvism and Pop Art. I use different formats, textures and subjects, from abstract color fields to realism, and can add materials such as gold leaf when the composition calls for them.
Graphic design
- I use Photoshop and Illustrator to prepare accurate mockups before making a piece. For animal portraits, I draw the features by hand and use the software to settle proportion and color. The programs do not generate the image, and no AI filter is used.
The studio team
The people responsible for the artwork, client communication and the online shop.
Kirill Sumovsky
Marketing and Client Engagement Specialist
Kirill handles marketing and client communication from the first enquiry through delivery.
Alexander Martin
Technical Specialist: Web and SEO
Alexander builds and maintains the studio's website and online shop.
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