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Artisan

Conversation Series with Zoran Jedrejčić | Furniture Designer | Art Director

INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

1. What sparked your passion for furniture design? What was your vision when you started in this field?

I fell in love with design in high school, thanks to a “young gentleman from Sarajevo” who briefly served as a substitute art history teacher while our regular teacher was on maternity leave. He introduced us to industrial design, and when he showed us the work of Enzo Mari, I was speechless, completely fascinated. Mari was a true icon of Italian design from the 1960s until he died in 2020. I was captivated by all the products he created for Danese Milano, especially by his beautiful synthesis of form and function. It was at that moment that I fell in love with furniture and industrial design.

A few years later, I had the incredible fortune of studying under Enzo Mari in Florence, alongside Paolo Deganello, Andrea Branzi, Isao Hosoe, Denis Santachiara, and many other legends of Italian design.

At the time I was studying design in Zagreb, my vision was more aligned with the simplicity and functionality of Bauhaus and Ulm. However, that changed drastically when I moved to Italy, where almost all of my professors were key figures in the Italian Radical Design movement. My design philosophy deepened even further during my seven years of close collaboration with Ettore Sottsass in Milan.

 

2. Can you share the story of how you first connected with ARTISAN?

I still clearly remember the moment when I first encountered Artisan and learned about their decision to enter the design furniture production field.

It was back in 2012. I had just moved from Milan, Italy, where I had lived and worked for over two decades, to Belgrade, Serbia, to follow my love, now my wife, Ana.

During that time, I started teaching at the Academy of Fine Arts in the Design Department, aiming to share the knowledge and experience I had gained in Italy, particularly with Ettore Sottsass. I wanted to pass this on to students and, hopefully, to the local and regional industry as well. However, finding manufacturers who truly understood the power and potential of design and design thinking was challenging.

So, when I heard that a “crazy” manufacturer in Tešanj was trying to incorporate and embrace design, along with their passion and expertise in solid wood production, I immediately contacted them to explore the possibility of collaboration. Two weeks later, I found myself at the Artisan factory, developing the Pasha Table and the Malena Chair.

DESIGN PHILOSOPHY AND APPROACH

3. What is your design philosophy, and how do you incorporate it into your work?

In every project we undertake, we aim to introduce a sense of simplicity, aesthetic comfort, and innovation—whether technological or practical—along with a dose of provocation or the message we want to convey. When it comes to designing furniture, the approach depends on the context and the space for which the furniture is intended.

I often have conflicting views and criteria regarding the objects we design and the ones that surround me. Sometimes, I enjoy designing subtle objects with classic proportions and a clear purpose—pieces that, when you notice them, feel as though they have always been there, perfectly fitting and in harmony with their environment. At other times, I find joy in designing objects with a strong, dominant personality—pieces that may be far from functional, comfortable, or composed, yet are provocative and unique at first glance.

In a way, it’s like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

 

4. How do you ensure that your products align with contemporary design values and philosophies?

To be honest, lately, I have been following international design trends and events less and less. I have the privilege of observing the scene from a distance, allowing me to focus on what matters most to me right now: the development of the regional design scene, supporting regional design producers and creating an authentic design language that originates from this culture and these areas while respecting Mother Nature and the needs of conscious end users.

Fortunately, natural materials are once again in the spotlight, such as solid wood, which is readily available in our region, along with the knowledge of how to shape it. Solid wood has its memory. When I say “memory,” I mean that you remember when your son or daughter scratched that table, and even ten years later, that mark still reminds you of the moment, carrying a memory. At first, you might be upset, but later you realise it has its own story. You can’t get that same effect with plywood or plastic. People have carved the names of their loved ones into tree trunks, emperors and rulers into marble. Wood is an immediate material—accessible to the masses—but still fascinating in its own right.

I’ve always enjoyed working with wood because it doesn’t suffer from imperfections in the same way other materials do. It has natural characteristics you can’t fight against. You need to understand the material deeply to create something meaningful. It’s very different from working with plastic, marble, or glass. Wood is a natural material that can crack if it gets wet, but it can also be tamed if you know how to use it properly. In this sense, it’s a material meant for true connoisseurs.

So, to conclude, we align with contemporary design values in our unique way.

 

EXPERIENCE AND HIGHLIGHTS

5. Can you share some highlights from your journey as a furniture designer, including your favourite pieces for ARTISAN?

I have many anecdotes and beautiful moments from this wonderful journey called design. One of the most memorable was my first meeting with Artisan back in 2012. I didn’t prepare a formal presentation, but rather a painted story about a potential project for a future table, which later became the Pasha Table.

I immediately found myself wondering who usually selects the table for the home—is it the wife or the husband? Of course, it’s the wife… but I made sure to leave the husband at least a small sense of choice—perhaps one leg designed according to his preference.

Of course, this was not the sole guiding principle of the entire project, but it’s a hidden story that few people know.

CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE AND BUSINESS GROWTH

6. What experience do you aim to deliver to customers through your designs and overall approach to furniture?

When we design objects, spaces, or furniture, the first thing we focus on is creating an interaction between the end user, passers-by, and the space or object itself. If we can establish a positive interaction—whether it’s respect or even a sense of affection—we believe we’re on the right track to saying the project has been successfully designed.

At the end of the day, we keep and care for the objects we love—those that evoke positive feelings. We enjoy their presence, and we hope to pass them on to our children. In this way, we also contribute to the preservation of the environment.

 

7. As a designer-turned-entrepreneur, how do you nurture your creative spirit while also focusing on business growth?

I have always believed that design is a multi-layered profession. The more boundaries, requirements, and diverse information you incorporate into a project from the outset, the more freedom you ultimately have to experiment with various solutions. This is only possible if you truly understand the languages and challenges of different fields, such as economics, marketing, photography, psychology, statistics, ergonomics, and so on. While you’re not expected to be an expert in all of these areas, it’s essential to view them as interconnected parts of the overall project.

In both design and business, you need to be creative, intuitive, brave, and persistent. For me, it was natural to continue pursuing the path of combining these two “opposing characteristics” of mine.

 

SUSTAINABILITY AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS

8. With sustainability increasingly important in design, what emerging trends do you foresee in the furniture industry?

I hope that, in the future, the idea of quality and the beauty of life—and by extension, of products—will prevail over superficiality, mass production, and consumption.

 

9. Are there any exciting projects or innovations you are currently working on that you can share?

We recently completed an interesting project for a company in North Macedonia that specialises in electric heaters controlled via a mobile app. These heaters are more like sculptures than traditional radiators, exploring new ways of interacting with both the end user and the space in which they are placed. In 2025, we are set to begin developing new products for a Bosnian brand that produces solid wood flooring, with a focus on technological innovations and the integration of sound, vibration, and heat conduction.

Of course, we are also continuing the development of new products for Volumen, a brand that has distinguished itself in the world of upholstered furniture with a strong emphasis on sustainability, circular economy, and the use of natural materials.

 

INFLUENCES AND CONTEXT

10. Are there any regional or historical factors that influence your design concepts or processes?

Like everyone, various factors have influenced the development of my views, design language, and processes.

Professionally, the greatest influence on me has been Italian culture, along with my professors and mentors during my studies in Florence, and later, my collaboration with Ettore Sottsass in Milan. However, as I get “older,” I realise that growing up in Split and Dalmatia provided me with the greatest inspiration. I am a child of that Mediterranean midday, full of scents, flavours, and colours—where the soft stones shaped by the sea over thousands of years contrast with the sharp mountain rocks carved by the wind.

 

When you are born in a city with more than 2,000 years of history, where you walk daily on stone floors laid in ancient times, and drink water from a Roman aqueduct that is still in use, you quickly learn what quality of life and quality design truly mean.