ZANAT
Tradition in Modernity

ZANAT'S RAISON D'ETRE

The question we repeatedly ask ourselvs at Zanat is--how to materialize our vision into exquisite objects that introduce grace to spaces we inhabit, while not jeopardizing, but protecting and contributing to well-being of our and future generations? We do so by bringing to the table cerefully chosen and exceptionally talented designers, craftsmen, creative minds and skilled hands, in a process whwrw design is a dialogue.

In the world where a mere touch is becoming a distant luxury, we create heirloom products with artistic beauty, warmth and tactility. We aim to bring genuine sense of shelter to interiors, to give a pause, a moment to reflect and feel. Zanat connects product makers and their ultimate owners through the grains of solid wood and textures skillfully carved into them. It connects us to our heritage.

As a Company Zanat endeavors to reconcile nature and civilization, traditional craftsmanship and technology. We tune the rhythm of our production and product longevity to the rhythm of nature replenishing itself. We arecommitted to measuring success not through the profits we make, but through the value we create for our employees, customers, and the world around us.

ZANAT'S IDEA OF DESIGN

Extraordinary design is almost unnoticeable: it doesn't scream, but rather whispers. At Zanat, we see design as a powerful tool that enriches humanity. We see design as means to preserve craftsmanship, to protect our environment and in instrument in the service of sustainable socio-economic development.

In Zanat, we connect art and design, craftsmanship and technology, tradition and innovation. We rely on high-quality natural materials of timeless value. Today we easily acquire things and dispose of them even more easily. An alternative approach is connected to a notion that things can be inherited and passed down from one generation to another.

We collaborate with the leading creatives of our time, striving to create functional art, heirloom objects for future generations. For us, good design is where aesthetics meets etics!

ZANAT DESIGNERS FAMILY

Monica Förster, Naoto Fukasawa, Sebastian Herkner, Harri Koskinen, Michele De Lucchi Jean-Marie Massaud, Jasna Mujkić, Patrick Norguet, Ludovica+Roberto Palomba, Studioilse Wingärdhs

UNESCO World Heritage Meets Extraordinary Design

In our family, we have been making heirloom-quality hand-carved furniture for four generation. My grandfather's eldest brother registered his woodcarving business in 1919 after he was introduced to the craft by his father, a hobby woodcarver. While most products created today are ephemeral, it is remarkable that furniture pieces made by our grandfater Adem and his three brothers have been passed down through three generations and are still treasured in numerous historical residences and museums throughtout South-East Europe. Some of our father's and grandfather's exquisite pieces are on the list of National Monuments of Bosnia and Hezegovina. Thanks to our family and other notable woodcarvers, our town, Konjic, has become a symbol of woodcarving and a distinct interior decoration style throughout South-East Europe. Over the last two centuries, Konjic woodcarvers have created an impressive catalogue which was formally inscribed into the UNESCO list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2017.

In 2015, I left the position of senior economist with the World Bank and joined my brother Adem, an architect, on a mission to build Zanat on the bedrock of our family business that survived two wars and lifetimes of political upheaval. Our aim has been to preserve this beautiful heritage of craftsmanship, and woodcarving in particular, and to present it to all those who can enjoy and appreciate the value of extraordinary craftsmanship and fine design. Through know-how and hard work, passion, and certainly thanks to extraordinary design partnerships with some of the most distinguished designers of our time, we have created a notable collection of contemporary products which has received global acclaim. Zanat has won numerous international design awards. Our products are sold through a growing global network of more than 200 premier design stores. Thwy are sought after by tastemakers to complement their exceptional interiors - from extraordinary yachts to royal family palaces, gorgeous historical libraires to homes of discerning collectors with a vision for sustainable craftsmanship.

Thanks to Zanat, the survival of the Konjic woodcarving tradition is no longer questionable, as it was less than ten years ago. We have trained and hired more than sixty young craftsmen and craftswomen. The craft is in a renaissance and Konjicis becoming Europe's informal woodcarving capital. The Konjic Woodcarving Museum, which we built to preserve the memory of the craft's past and showcase the vision for its future has won two prestigious museology awards (Luiggi Micheletti Award 2022 by the European Museum Academy and the Best Slavic Museum Award 2022 by the Forum Slavic Cultures). We have paved the way and are happy to see other companies following in our footsteps in trying to combine contemporary design with traditional crafts and woodcarving techniques.

Orhan Nikšić