Volver: Art Under Foot

Norwegian design studio Volver is one of the latest studios to push the limits of art and design, while incorporating the best of Scandinavian elements—resulting in a curated collection of premium, sustainable rugs for private and public spaces. The passion project of Tallinn, Estonia, born designer Ksenia Stanishevski, Volver dares to confront stereotypes of what a rug is, all while pushing the possibilities of technology and traditional handcraft.

“I was born into an artist family in Estonia,” says Stanishevski. “I grew up surrounded by art and always knew I wanted to become an artist myself. I attended the Art School and the master classes at the Art Academy. However, I also always had an interest in physics, mechanics, and architecture.”

It was upon moving to Oslo, Norway, that Stanishevski had the opportunity to merge these interests while studying industrial design at the Oslo School of Design and Architecture. Though, prior to launching Volver in 2018, she spent 10 years in the corporate world, working in analytics and strategy.

“It was an invaluable business experience and was grounding, but I started missing the artist in me,” says Stanishevski. “My soul started withering out, and although at the peak of my consultancy career as an advisor for sustainable city development, I quit. At the same time my marriage ended, and I started a new life as an entrepreneur.”

Stanishevski’s intention for launching Volver was to bring individual artistry and creativity into our environments, be it home or work—“inspiring expression” in each of her clients and in each project. Ksenia believes in an original and intuitive design point of view merging individual creativity, needs of the users, and technological possibilities. Her approach is at the intersection of challenges and breaking stereotypes, finding unexpected expressions between the new and familiar. 

“My ex. father-in-law ran a Persian rug shop,” says StanishevskiI. “I was fascinated with the artistry and especially the craftsmanship. However, I missed the diversity of expression, the modernity and innovation. Upon studying the techniques, such as hand knotting, weaving, and hand tufting, I realized that a rug surface is like a canvas. You, as a designer, can express anything.”

Volver works with some of the best Norwegian and international talents, such as designers, artists, and architects. The studio never gives a design brief, but rather deep dives into what narratives, messages, and expressions matter most to the artist. 

“It is always a dialogue, at times reflective, at times provocative, and at times pure intuition.” says StanishevskiI. “Each process is just as unique. Andreas paints full size acrylic paintings, Kaja sculptures a rug as she approaches a stone, Jørgen dissects wood under the microscope, Borgny shows me how to embroider stars and layer up the monotypes. They invite me into their creative universes, and it is my task to bring them out to the new audience, give them an enhanced platform. We never compromise the artistic idea and balance our business on the edge between the commercial and cultural.”

There is no special template to a Volver rug. They are sometimes drawn by hand, other times, painted on a wall, sculptured, digitally manipulated, woven in paper, or made as a collage. All the designs are transferred to CAD and it is StanishevskiI’s task as creative director to navigate the designers and find the optimal translation of their ideas into a final product. To follow, the studio has a close dialogue with the technicians and craftspeople at the workshops to find the best production method to match and enhance the original artistic idea. 

“We laugh that each project brings about an innovation, it is never a streamlined process,” says StanishevskiI.  

With sustainability continually in mind, all Volver rugs are handmade in only natural materials. The rugs are crafted from New Zealand wool, Indian wool, and bamboo and are also very durable and can serve for decades if treated right. The hand-tufted rugs are also Green Label Pluss certified.

“Volver is a creative house, not only a rug producer,” says StanishevskiI. “We continuously expand our rug collections and all of our designs can be customized by size and shape, and some of them in color as well. We also offer designing bespoke rugs and work closely with interior architects and estate clients. We have delivered bespoke rugs to public buildings such as National Museum and Deichman Bjørvika Library, corporate offices, retail, hospitality and private residences. I really like working on bespoke projects where we explore creative ideas from scratch.”

In Spring 2022, Volver will launch two major collections—“Attraction”, a series of intricate flat-weave designs by a legendary Norwegian artist Borgny Svalastog and “Pan”, in collaboration with Norwegian architect Jorgen Tycho. This year, Volver also launches Volver Contract, a new range of rugs and wall-to-wall solutions for the contract market.

“I am very curious about the world post-pandemic,” says StanishevskiI. “At Volver, I see that we’ve shift from efficiency to resilience. This means also being able to reinvent and adapt fast while still carrying out our values and identity as a brand. Agility is an essential tool for us to withstand the pandemic and enter a new wave of optimism. The pandemic accelerated a shift towards a more digital world. It triggered both online shopping and the way we organize our operations and communications. However, the values of more transparency, more trust, and more human connection became even more important.”