INTERVIEW WITH BEDUENDE

What does BeDuende stands for?

Duende is an inexplicable feeling of a heightened state of inspiration and expression. At least how we understand it, it’s like literally going into a trance and while you are in it you cannot stop creating. It’s like your brain becomes a transmitter of ideas - nothing stays inside, you just want to let it all out and it usually happens at ease. The Spanish poet Federico García Lorca used it for the first time in relation to artistic form and in his words: “…the duende climbs up inside you, from the soles of the feet…it is not a question of ability, but of true, living style, of blood, of the most ancient culture, of spontaneous creation.” So our plead to the artists that we work with and our customers is to nurture this feeling, let it dominate them, and in the end be it. We try to facilitate that by taking care of the most of the uninspiring work.

How would you describe the work featured in Be Duende?

We put a lot of hard work into discovering the works that we feature on our website. We mainly work with Bulgarian creators or those who are based in Bulgaria, so we are working within a limited space and we have to carefully select what we like and what we think our customers might like. We always look for timeless pieces, that are not dependent on trends to please the bearer and be aesthetically well sustained. We also look for authentic and original works that give our customers the feeling that they discovered something that no one has or no one knows about, works that provoke but do so effortlessly.

What services does Be Duende provide for its artists?

Our idea from the beginning was to empower independent and small-scale creators who don’t have the resources to compete with bigger brands in the global market. Within our website we present the artists and their products via series of articles, interviews and editorials. We also give marketing advice and do product photography. We have also organised a couple of exhibitions and now we are taking part in Cluster.

Where is Be Duende’s HQ?

We are based in Bulgaria and most of our artists are either Bulgarian or are based here. Our idea was to unite all those artists in one virtual space and promote them to the world. That is not to say that we would like to limit ourselves to one country. Provided the chance and the timing we would like to integrate artists from other locations into our small world.

What is Be Duende’s USP?

We discover and curate items that customers would hardly stumble upon and through this we facilitate self-expression and individuality. Our website is for people who like to stand out and consume things that are authentic and timeless, and through their consumption support independent talent.

What would you like to achieve by exhibiting at Cluster Crafts?

We would like to meet with some people of the industry and potential clients. We constantly look for feedback so that we improve in accordance to the changing world and needs of customers. Being an online website we miss one to one conversations with our customers and that’s what I find most valuable in Cluster.

What is your favourite part of Cluster?

It’s the accessibility and the fact that it unites so many different creatives under one roof. The possibilities from there are endless. We all know how expensive and time consuming it is to take part in fairs. We think Cluster is a very good alternative to that.

What you will be exhibiting at Cluster? Who are the artists you will be bringing?

We will bring a part of our jewellery and ceramics portfolio. The creators are well known to the Bulgarian scene but they are also pretty accomplished abroad. We have jewellery from Nikolay Sardamov who always pushes the boundaries in his jewellery in terms of form and material. We will exhibit his The Secret of the Garden collection in reference to Cluster’s current theme: metamorphosis. We will also bring objects from Simo Shomov, part of which will be exhibited for the first time at Cluster. Another jeweller, Victor Pavlov and Silvia Chaneva, ceramist, will take part with things that are an ode to nature and its natural forms. We will also bring some modernistic tableware in the face of Vera Gezenko and tochka & tochka studio, with the hope to show the diversity in categories and styles that people can find in www.beduende.com