Engel Olga Design: Unique Charisma and Charm
people • makers
Olga Engel is a successful product and interior designer, who harmoniously mixes luxury with minimalism, functionality and ergonomics with a light mood and a touch of irony.
Her projects are always filled with the objects by her own design. Olga`s design is always a personal story, that involves unique charisma and charm for each and every object and the space itself. She pays special attention to the proportions and harmony, to the quality and philosophy. As the designer says: “I put a sign of equality between the words “beauty” and “harmony”. An object can only be beautiful if it was filled with content, and expresses a strong idea or an emotion".
WEBSITE: engelolgadesign.com INSTAGRAM: @engelolgadesign
Words: designeers
june 2024
designeers
Could you please give us a quick introduction? Describe what you create:
olga
I create collectible furniture (armchairs, sofas, chairs, tables, etc.), light fixtures (ceiling lights, floor lights, wall lights) mirrors, etc.
designeers
Tell us how you got started in this field? What drew you to this type of design?
olga
My story started in my childhood. I was always interested in anything to do with art and anything that is hand made. I made my first piece when I was 12 years old. It so happened that in my family I was taught to make things with my hands - my grandparents taught me how to create things, and it was always interesting for me. Anything to do with art, drawing was always interesting, so my choice of profession was obvious to me. Specifically, I focus on pieces of collectible design – not industrial. This gives me more of an opportunity to be creative with materials.
designeers
Describe your favourite you’ve created pieces to date and how they have shaped you as an artist.
olga
I love all of my pieces in the moment that I create them, and the first time that I see them in their completed form in real life – this is the most inspiring moment for me. After the piece starts to get sold to clients, it begins living a life of its own, and I fall in love with something else.
designeers
What do you feel is the most challenging part of being an artist?
olga
I feel that the most challenging part of being an artist is the production process itself. When, despite all of the difficulties, the piece that gets physically created fully matches the vision that I had in my mind.
“After the piece starts to get sold to clients, it begins living a life of its own, and I fall in love with something else. ”
olga engel
designeers
What does a typical day look like in the studio?
olga
Typically, the morning is dedicated to community with the workshop and addressing any technical issues that come up during production. Usually, the rest of the day is spent on solving other issues related to shipping, orders, and when I get an idea for a new piece – I try to take out time specifically to bring it to life. Sometimes, the process of creating a new piece takes weeks – or months. I make sketches, notes, etc. Only then, when I am ready to start creating the piece visually, I take time to do this, and we start making a 3D model.
designeers
What’s the best mistake you have ever made?
olga
One time, Dior offered me to make some sculptures/pieces for them, and the timeframe for creating them was very small – it was right before Christmas (high season for orders). I needed to concentrate and think of something unusual and unique for Dior. I created several installations, and when I sent them my letter, I wrote the curator’s name incorrectly. Following this incident, my cooperation with Dior concluded, as it is considered highly disrespectful in France to address someone by the incorrect name. The project with Dior ended, which was unfortunate. However, from this experience, I developed numerous new ideas and concepts that I am now using to create new pieces.
designeers
Your top 3 main sources of inspiration and references you are drawn to regularly?
olga
My sources of inspiration are the emotions that I try to express through my pieces. These can be warm memories from my childhood or simply pleasant moments that I have experienced. For example, I am now making a new collection of pieces called BOXES. These are armchairs made to look like a pile of boxes, and when someone sits on this pile of boxes, they are themselves a piece that is unpacked from those boxes. We all love to receive presents, and this moment of unboxing, when we can’t wait to see what is inside. Also, in this collection there will be lights that also look like gift boxes, and this will be a flash of the moment when we unpack a gift box.
designeers
On your coffee table right now?
olga
Rothko by Jacob Baal-Teshuva
Emmanuel Renaut – Nature’s Table
Houses – Extraordinary Living (Phaidon)
Le Corbusier – Le Grand (Phaidon)
Ark Journal Vol VIII
4 sculptures from the artist Tirdu, from a French gallery on Ile de Re Galerie Sophie Le Mée
A menorah
designeers
Design hero:
olga
This is a difficult question because as I change during the course of my life, my heroes change as well. The only thing that hasn’t changed – I am a devout fan of all designers that work in a minimalistic style. When a piece seems simple, or a work seems simple, but in reality it isn’t with all of its elements. I am a fan of artists and designers that, with the use of simple and minimalistic forms, create great works of art.
