About 500 professional designers and architects, partners and friends of the factory, journalists and celebrities interested in design and fashion gathered in one of the most fashionable places in Moscow, in the loft of the Trekhgornaya Manufactura. The presentation of the Karma project with the amazing light show by RadugaDesign and the electronic music by a young and talented Nikola Melnikov impressed the guests with its eccentricity and scale. And, of course, the main "dish" of the evening - an exclusive line of models developed by a specialist included in the TOP-10 industrial designers of the world - without exaggeration, made a furor among the public.
The guests enjoyed talking to Karim Rashid, who flew to Moscow from New York specifically to personally demonstrate the developed concepts and talk about his experience with the largest furniture factory in Russia.
- It is a great honor for me to work on a project together with Maria, said Karim Rashid. - I wanted to create something original and authentic for the Russian consumer. And I did it. The development of the kitchen project is associated with a lot of technical difficulties and usually it significantly limits the bold ideas of the designer. But I am happy that we found a common language in solving the most difficult technical issues. Working with the factory team was very easy. They are people that are full of enthusiasm, in love with what they do. See how quickly we realized the project. Only eight months - and we are already presenting the world with an excellent collection. This is a very good result!
The CEO of the furniture company Efim Katz told why Maria decided to cooperate with Karim Rashid.
- We used to attract foreign specialists in the field of design before - they were Italian professionals, who are recognized as fashion legislators in the design of kitchen furniture. But a year ago we decided to go to the next level, to look far ahead, namely across the ocean. We wanted the influence of the New World and we liked Karim's style. We knew how many successful projects he had in different countries, he really is one of the most productive specialists in the world with great experience in creating kitchen collections. We understood that we have something to learn from him. And we were not mistaken! We learned a lot about the possibilities of our own production. And now we feel strong enough to show the market new models oriented to a narrower professional audience.
One of the honored guests of the closed show called the presented kitchen concepts "true works of art". The famous TV presenter was among the first ones to see the concepts of Karma, Klutch and Volna. At the presentation, Ksenia Sobchak talked with the legendary designer Karim Rashid and the CEO Yefim Katz.
- It turns out, "Maria kitchens” produce 120 kitchens every day! More than 500 studios all over Russia! - Ksenia wrote in her account in Instagram. - The ingenious designer has developed projects specifically for Maria Kitchens. Very bold, stylish and attractive!
A well-known expert in design, Olga Kosyreva shared her impressions of the presentation and the collection:
- It was an enchanting holiday, where beautiful and intellectual, emotions and practicality were combined. On the one hand - three kitchens made by a Russian company and a world renown designer, which will definitely become a magnet for the Russian consumer, a step forward for the entire Russian furniture industry and a guide for other Russian manufacturers. On the other hand, the public, who made this holiday with their emotions, their indifference, their inspired attitude to the presented novelties. And with the third, Karim Rashid, whom many stereotypically consider monotonous and even superficial, delivered a programmatic speech, a manifesto where every word hit the point where every phrase was true, deep, powerful. What he said is how we should all live. And this is the best support and the very idea of his invitation to work with the Furniture factory "Maria", and that new, unusual for most of the consumers of the product, which with his help turned out.
At the closed Karma show, the factory's CEO Yefim Katz expressed his gratitude to the huge team that worked on the ambitious project:
- Thanks to the team of "Maria" and all our partners. A special gratitude to the American manufacturer DuPont, which provided an artificial stone for our models, and the German company Hettich, which developed exclusive hardware for our concepts, including exclusive accessories, which until now have not been on the Russian market at all. Together we made an innovative, bright, extraordinary project.