Интервью корреспондента журнала "SALON Interior" с Олафом Ковалько, директором фирмы Schroers & Schroers

Passing the gallery

Text: Vasily Lifanov

Magazine: (42)

Мы сидим с Олафом Ковалько, директором фирмы Schroers & Schroers, в баре гостиницы "Балчуг-Кемпински" и мирно беседуем под звуки арфы о материях выносливых и прозрачных - о стеклянно-деревянно-стальных подставках под разные аудио- и видеочудеса, без коих современный человек свой дом уже и не мыслит. Беседа проходит "в теплой дружеской атмосфере". - "Business card" of your style - glass. Why? - Glass is a material that is permeable to the eye, thanks to which it seems completely weightless. This is a very important quality, because, in our opinion, a modern person, in whose “submission” there are already many objects, does not want to “weight down” the appearance of his home. In addition, glass is a very artistic material that is capable of creating a very special atmosphere in a house, entering into a relationship with light: passing it through itself, reflecting and refracting. We view our coasters not only as furniture, but also as objects creating and transforming light. This becomes possible only under one condition - the corners of the shelves must be specially processed. - Something like cutting diamonds? - Very flattering, but in general, the correct comparison. We even strengthen this moment, equipping some models with additional illumination. In addition to practical use - and, as you know, watching TV is better if it is illuminated from behind - this also provides a magical decorative effect: the light passes through glass shelves and plays on the edges. The stand becomes a kind of luminous "frame" for equipment, increasing its importance in the interior. - That is, in the dialogue of materials from which your coasters are assembled, the main role belongs to glass? - We very consciously limit ourselves to a variety of materials, mainly using them "in pairs": glass and steel, glass and wood. Three materials harmoniously combine much more difficult. Moreover, glass (even if it is colored) in our case is combined with such an interesting substance as light and becomes much more active. And we let him "solo". - And if we consider the visual "dialogue" of your stand with audio and video equipment - what comes first? - Должно быть соответствие. Нам бы не хотелось, чтобы неудачные по дизайну предметы ставили на наши подставки. В этом не будет никакого смысла. Впрочем, ценовые соотношения таковы, что люди, которые могут себе позволить приобрести подставки Schroers & Schroers, обычно покупают телевизоры довольно-таки хорошего качества. Наша философия - "форма следует за функциональностью". Мы весьма трезво оцениваем все происходящее на рынке электроники, чтобы адекватно реагировать на изменения функциональными возможностями своей мебели. Прежде всего это выражается в увеличении размеров и общего количества полок (до шести) и в возможности регулировки их по высоте. Поэтому в новой коллекции мы предлагаем подставку длиной 1,2 м с толщиной стекла 20 мм, которая выдерживает вес до 150 кг, и все потому, что телевизоры стали производить все шире и шире, все тяжелее и тяжелее. Кроме того, большинство наших моделей можно поставить на ролики, а верхнюю полку оснастить специальным поворотным диском, который позволит телевизору "смотреть" в нужную сторону. Насколько мне известно, ни одна из фирм, кроме Schroers & Schroers, такого не производит. - That is, the general trend towards multimedia, to the unification of different hardware units into a single whole, is fully reflected in your products? - That is how it is. My partner Peter Schreyers, the developer of all our products, constantly travels around the world and regularly visits both electronics exhibitions and furniture stores. Therefore, he is well aware of what is happening in both markets. That, you see, is quite logical - because our products are located on the border of two environments! - Is your company, Olaf, ready to undertake a radical change in the design of your coasters if the fashion in interior design goes away from hi-tech and minimalism? - Usually, we publish a catalog of our products for two years. During this time, Peter is developing a model of the next "generation". I do not know what he will bring to me next time. For me it is always a surprise. - How was your alliance born? “Until I met with Peter, and that was 10 years ago, he did a little market research in Germany and came to the conclusion that there are absolutely no furniture designs in this price category and with such functionality. And then Peter said: "Well, I will try to come up with something in this genre," and came up with. And then he turned to me. And we decided to combine our efforts and work in this market. For us it was and remains a great adventure. - How do Olaf-businessman and Peter-designer interact? Do you have any disagreements? - Everything is very simple. Peter's job is to bring an excellent product to the warehouse, and my task is to remove this product from the warehouse. And we have a rather strict border - he does not interfere in my work at all, and vice versa. It's fine. We are a great complement to each other, and both - 50 x 50 - are the owners of the company. - Are there cases when Peter "puts"? - He, suppose, brings you a sketch, and you see that he, a sketch that is, although beautiful, is unacceptable from a commercial point of view. What do you do? - Yes, in such cases, he comes to me, takes a piece of paper and starts drawing something (here Olaf begins to quickly strike something on a piece of paper - author's note), and then asks: "Can you sell it? " - I say: "I do not understand what you mean!" - He once again tries to explain, and I say again that I do not understand his ideas. Then Peter declares: "I know for sure that it will look great!", - and I answer: "Well, make a prototype." He does it, and then we call a "consultation" from our distributors ... Do you believe that we have a lot of prototypes in our office! But seriously, usually only two out of ten models go into production. And that's fine ... Yes, Peter quite often comes to me with crazy ideas. He is always looking for some combination of everything and everything. And I absolutely can not imagine what will replace these models. But I know for sure that this will happen not earlier than in two years. Otherwise, our distributors may rebel. But our plans are extensive.