Ladies and gentlemen of the press,

today we would like to introduce you to the design studio zerunianandweisz and their current projects, first at Beirut Design Week (May 19—26), then at an exhibition in Paris, the Pop-in Amastan, curated by Alice Stori Liechtenstein (May 29—June 4).

Peter Weisz and Nadja Zerunian founded the studio in 2015 and have developed a strong reputation as a result of their work with Roma craftsmen in Transylvania. The two designers are convinced that there should be no sentimentality for dying crafts. Instead they create, in close collaboration with the artisans, contemporary objects that fit well in today’s design cosmos and have stimulated significant interest and demand from customers.

The duo’s vision for a new take on traditional crafts was cemented in their collections7000 blows and fremdes vogel, which were shown at last year’s Vienna Design Week and the New York Collective Fair in May 2016.

In Paris, the collection is titled WAYS TO DISSAPPEAR. Exhibited in the chic setting of the pop-in at the Amastan, the collection deals with transience and dissolution. At the6th Beirut Design Week in Lebanon, a series of table-top accessories will be on display: FULL HOUSE, inspired by the idea of oriental hospitality and the tradition of sharing.

Both series were realized in cooperation with Lebanese craftsmen from Tripoli,Algerian copper smiths from Constantine and Transylvanian Roma artisans.

As with 7000 blows and fremdes vogel, zerunianandweisz have created small vignettes through narrative arrangements of delicate pieces – made of brass, silver and copper, sometimes combined with vintage objects. Trays, bearing witness to the special craftsmanship, serve as the stage.

The objects are the fruit of an intense, intercultural and sensitive process, becoming fetishes and the objects of curiosity. The perfection of execution is evocative of craftsmanship and customization, a reminder of a lost world, while at the same time seducing with light-heartedness and playful subtlety.

Delicately, the design duo interacts with the longings and desires of the viewers, from occident to orient.

Please contact us for further information at press@anaberlin.com.

With kind regards,
Ana Berlin + Team
on behalf of zerunianandweisz

The focus of zerunianandweisz is on traditional craftsmanship while their design and diverse collaborations anchor them in a contemporary context. Since 2016, they have provided their creative expertize to UNIDO’s Creative Mediterranean project. This allowed an intensive collaboration with metal smiths in Constantine, Algeria. They are also developing a brand for an Armenian jewellery cluster in Bourj Hammoud, Beirut and are supporting silver and goldsmiths in Batna, Algeria with creative advice for new collections. Since 2014, the two designers have been pro bono experts for the Erste Foundation Roma Partnership program and are realizing collections with traditional Roma artisans in Transylvania.

“Our challenge is to remove sentimentality from handicrafts and push these traditional products into the contemporary universe. We wanted to prove that items made with ancient skills have a place in today’s design world.”

These collaborations not only enable craftsmen to secure their existence, but also give them a sense of pride and social participation.

For their first collections 7000 blows and fremdes vogel – zerunianandweisz created precious object landscapes in copper, silver and brass. The table-top accessories are small narrative scenarios, “object landscapes” with sensuality and wit; a kind of ode to the material used and skilled craftsmanship.