A workshop in the backyard

In the summer of 2012, during his student holidays, Sergei Lvov sketched out a business plan for furniture restoration on a scrap of wallpaper, and his brother Aleksandr got involved. In the evening of the same day on the city's notice boards there was an entry: ‘let's buy old furniture’. Instead of a flying holiday, we dragged into a lorry taxi another dilapidated chest of drawers, which we bought, to the surprise of its former owner. Acquiring and accepting donations of interesting specimens, in our spare time we turned them into contemporary art. The apogee of this period of creativity was the Levantin Redesign work exhibition in the Museum of Local Lore. Its exposition included various furniture and interior décor, which were then placed in the city's first co-working space.

Thus, a frivolous summer hobby, united the professional paths of Sergei Lvov, a graduate of the Department of Industrial Design of the Kharkiv Academy of Design and Arts, and Aleksandr, who received a bachelor's degree in management from the Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute, which allowed them to start developing their own products. However, restoration determined the main principle of work: conscious creation, —  to enrich the world with valuable products, and to be proud of each individual unit. Thinking about the name, we wanted to identify ourselves with the objects, so we chose a close to our hearts "Levantin" —  it is a modified surname of Lvov, our childhood nicknames. And the horns on the logo are a detail of the facade of the first restored chiffonier. They are a reminder of where we started and how many branches we still have ahead of us.
 

Creative manufactory

After several years of craftsmanship, we decided to realise our own design, starting with pure engineering forms: geometric compositions of symmetrical lines. Our work attracted the attention of the foreign press and won the first design awards in France. A vibrant portfolio full of bold ideas was not warmly welcomed by local factories, which needed more mass-produced and impersonal products. However, we did not lose our enthusiasm, so we decided to organise our own production, gathering around us a team of enthusiasts and independent artisans. We started selling memorable products that are the fruit of the labour of passionate people. Each product is created with a soul, with the hands of craftsmen who respect their work and proudly show the result!

Sergei Lvov oversees the creation of the brand's overall design vision and the introduction of new products. His design style is driven by a blend of modern metamodernity with elements of natural aesthetics: ‘In my practice, I strive to create original objects in line with modern lifestyles, which are described by the concept of Wow in your space! They have artistic value and bring pleasure to our clients. Experimenting with clean lines and simple shapes, I am passionate about exploring natural textures, forms and textures, giving new meanings to familiar things."

The love of corporate clients

We like to be involved in the contemporary interiors of public spaces of corporate brands and HoReCa segment. Our task is to bring to their interiors author's items with storytelling that are in line with their values and are soul mate. We can imagine with bated breath how an office manager or hostess will tell guests about a local brand that conducts design experiments touching on topical themes: plastic recycling, revival of crafts, co-operation with local creators and workshops. We also receive export requests to complete creative spaces, including offices and headquarters of IT companies, a skyscraper hotel in Singapore, a coffee shop in Qatar, an art school in Austria and others.

We aim to develop the Ukrainian market of design objects, so it is very important to mention our like-minded partners among our partner furniture showrooms. They share our values and recommend Levantin design products to their clients. We are also open to co-operation and communicate with furniture showrooms, showrooms and agents in Poland, Austria, Germany and the USA. We are also chosen by private clients - modern residents of big cities, with an active life position. They are not going to buy absolutely rational and tasteless items. They need things consonant with the urban lifestyle, made qualitatively and freshly. We are always happy when we are favoured by famous people, often trendsetters and influencers, who support interesting products and services.

Design for international brands

We exhibit at Ukrainian exhibitions every year and also receive requests to participate in international exhibitions and festivals. We managed to take part in collective and partner stands at Maison&Objet, Paris Design Week, Stockholm Furniture Fair, High Point Market, Barcelona Design Week, Warsaw Home and others. By showing the world our vision of the objects around us, we have proved that it can be distinctive, but also in demand, and we have started working with international manufacturers. In our work we realise our own artistic vision, which is crystallised in collaboration with the manufacturer. A technical specification with the purpose, materials, production processes is always required. Because constraints are one of the tools of creation. From this collaboration, passing through the vortex of these constraints, a beautiful new thing is born.

War, production and peace 🕊️

After a six-month pause, we resumed production in Kharkiv, beginning to ship finished orders and accept new applications. During the first months of the war, we were forced to stop the work of our workshop, converting our industrial premises in the city centre into a shelter for several dozen people and their pets. Very grateful to our staff, partners and customers, without whom it would have been impossible to continue making furnishings during this difficult time.

Since 2022, our design department is located in Meda, the heart of the Italian furniture industry near Milan. Thanks to two years of craft practice, we have become deeply imbued with the conceptual Italian approach to industrial design: the fusion of tradition and innovation. In an endeavour to address the heritage of previous generations of creators, combining craftsmanship, new technologies and current symbols. Our cross-cultural background, filled with avant-gardists, constructivists; brutalist architecture and socialist object design, allows us to look at European crafts, traditions and materials from a new angle and find fresh ways to bring them to life.