Yana Molodykh about collaborating with YourFoRest
The YourFoRest brand has launched a new furniture collection - Mid-Century Modern. Classic lines and materials are combined with functionality and technology, and the geometry in the contours of the objects is light and playful. Designer Yana Molodykh took part in the creation of the collection. She told us how she worked on the pieces, what makes a classic modern and what inspired her in the process.
Yana, how did your collaboration with YourFoRest for the Mid-Century Modern collection begin?
My first object in the Mid-Century Modern collection was born separately. I was decorating a project where instead of a standard TV stand, the seating area should have a bookcase with an integrated home cinema and storage cabinets. I made drawings and visualizations of the shelf and YourFoRest designed it as an object. They offered several design options for the sliding panels that hide the TV. Everything turned out very well, and Yulia Korelska suggested a collaboration - to add this item to her Mid-Century Modern collection. That's how the ARC shelf came about, and soon my table was added to it.
Tell us how you created the ARC shelfs.
As well as being functional, the shelving needed to fit into the space in a classic way, giving it a French charm - softening the geometry of the coffered ceiling and the straight lines of the living room décor. This is how the plastic arches came about. The shelving unit became a place to store not only books, but also art - the client loves objects by Ukrainian artists and vintage items with a story. The lower drawers would be used to store family albums and toys for their young daughter, who spends most of her time in the living room.
What is the story of the Noble table?
The Noble table has been designed specifically for the Mid-Century Modern collection. It retains its classic tone but has a gothic accent. We wanted to create coffee tables with a large diameter, so we developed two versions: 110cm in diameter for larger rooms and 80cm for smaller ones.
The Noble coffee table is very dynamic because of the curved shapes under the tabletop, and the spheres on the arched supports lift the table off the floor and give it a sense of lightness. The table echoes the shelving unit thanks to two types of arch. Such arched windows can be seen on the facade of Tereshchenko's house in the center of Kyiv. The objects look light and do not weigh down the room.
Where did you get your inspiration when you were designing the pieces from the Mid-Century Modern collection?
In general, the objects are quite classical. They have geometric shapes and are made of classic materials that have been used for hundreds of years - wood, stone, metal. I was inspired by the space of Gothic cathedrals - their arched vaults that fill the space with air and light. I have also integrated some of Kyiv's classics in my designs. I was fascinated by the Tereshchenko mansion on Shevchenko Boulevard. It was built in the Victorian neo-Gothic style and has windows of two shapes - Gothic lancet and round arch. So the arches and arrows in the ARC shelving unit and Noble coffee table have elements of classic Ukrainian and Kiev architecture.
How to make a classic modern?
First of all, there is no modern art without the classics. That is the basis, the foundation, the roots. But I didn't want the shelves and the table to be too formal. So we created a modern interpretation of classical architectural elements.
The shelving, for example, is quite large and massive, but the arches visually lift it up so that it does not dominate the interior. Similarly, the curved shapes lighten the silhouette of the table and the spherical legs make it playful. You can probably see my personal style in this: I try to fill interiors with air. In addition, classics should be functional and adapt to the modern rhythm of life and human needs. For example, the television should be hidden because it does not decorate the interior. A bookcase system with restrained geometric shapes and natural wood, which hides the screen behind sliding doors, does the job perfectly.
How do you work during a full-scale invasion? Where do you find support?
For the first six months there was practically no work - all projects were frozen. Then I started to work on the interior of an apartment in Krakow and some movement began. Later, the projects that had been frozen when the war really started came up again.You have to change, be inspired and live in the moment. For each project I make up a story and tell it through the interior. About the people who will live here, about their dreams, about the aesthetics that respond to them, about a place of strength where they can recover and enjoy life.My work gives me pleasure. I am happy to work for people who believe in the future of the country, who stayed in Ukraine and live here, who decorate their homes or build a new family nest. I am inspired by businessmen who stayed here and are working, even though they had the opportunity to leave. I admire my clients. They are my inspiration and motivation to keep going.
Interview conducted by Tetiana Logvynenko
Learn more about the collection: https://yourforest.ua/en/mid-century-modern-furniture/
