About Astana
I am for the first time in Kazakhstan, and I had an impression of the city and the country due to hospitable and friendly local people. I liked the crystal-clear sky in Astana. It is cold outside, but I missed such winter.
I see Astana is a young city with new buildings, there is a large concentration of the population. The younger generation will be interested to live in such a dynamically developing city when new shopping centres and buildings are being built around. I think it attracts foreigners as well. Astana has a great and bright future.
I heard about Kazakhstan earlier from our partners, I know here passed the Great Silk Road and there is a lot of oil.
About the company
My brother and I own a Sieger design studio — brother creates products and I do marketing. We have been working together for over 30 years. Our business started as an architectural studio, which was created by our father 50 years ago. Then they were engaged in the creation of the interior design for yachts and motor boats, then we collaborated with the company for the production of bathroom products, creating cranes, baths, sinks. We have been engaged in the design and production of tabletops since the '90s. Then we thought, why should not we create something that will belong to us with our own logo. Our surname Sieger means winner in German, therefore we decided to use it as the name of the company. We have brought a fresh and new look to the products in the manufacture. People like and appreciate it. Our company has been operating for more than 14 years, and the brand has achieved international recognition.
Our brand stores are in 25 countries. Astana is our new partner. We have another partner in Almaty who works in the segment of luxury bathroom fitment and home decor.
The main reason for my stay here is home philosophy — the first store in Astana with our brand Sieger opened by our partners from Kazakhstan. They visited our factory and design studio to understand our brand. Then we agreed that when they start to work, I will come to Astana. I thought I could help them launch products, tell more about our brand to people.
About design philosophy
Many people ask why we do not create a design for smartphones because they are more modern. But food still is an important part of German culture.
Today, everyone is in a hurry and the phones all the time, so if you are sitting with friends or family at the table you almost would not look into each other's eyes. Because of the phones, you don't know what they are thinking or feeling. Culture started to create when people sat around the fire in the cave and cooked food together, shared knowledge. For us, it is important for people to enjoy the surrounding decor, dishes, decorated table, this is our main motivation.
We want our products to be interesting and liked by people of all ages. If one day the craftsmanship will disappear and there will be no one to share the knowledge of how to polish or build, then even books would not help. Therefore, we try to be in trend and learn new ways of designing skills.
It is important to be sure your products will last for a long time. Now a lot of goods at a low price, but you will not use them for long. We try to stick to the classics that will never get old.
We want people to get satisfaction not only from food but also from tableware. We often create new products to do this. For example, a glass of champagne — crystal covered with gold to make it look warm and beautiful. We are not saying that drinking champagne from a glass is wrong, but our new product is an interesting alternative. We removed the snobbery from the champagne glass. When you pour champagne or just water into our glass, there is a feeling that inside is splashing liquid gold.
With our products, you can create unique sets that can emphasize individuality and that you are unlikely to meet anywhere else. We adhere to the principle that luxury tableware or decor can be varied. For example, if you bought a Louis Vuitton bag then everyone around has the same, but our products are never similar to each other and show your character.
About international design
I discovered Kazakh cuisine is something between European and Asian. We are trying to keep an eye on the local tableware. Once we have created the plate only for Italian cuisine. We try to adapt to the cuisine of the country in which we work.
I like travelling, meet people, listen to what they say. We can not create all the designs at once, but we can hear the wishes of people and work on this basis. It is important to keep the individuality of each culture. It would be boring If the goods around were the same.
When you leave the country, you always take some cultural element as a memory or a souvenir. For example, my brother likes Venice with its ancient architecture, gondolas. And these memories and love for Venice are reflected in our design.
