This interview was originally published on September 5, 2021, in Lazo Magazine’s weekly newsletter. It’s a conversation between Lazo Magazine’s founder and Editor-In-Chief, Cristina Maza, and Nissa Kinzhalina.Her designs blended the traditional with Nissa’s personal, modern touch. We discussed her decision to use a 3D printer to create a modern saukele and her career as an innovative furniture designer.
Cristina: So, tell me what inspired you. What made you decide to make this saukele?
Nissa: Honestly, I didn’t want a traditional wedding. But the saukele is made for a specific wedding ceremony in Kazakhstan called ‘the viewing of the bride.’ It’s a joyous and sad ceremony because it symbolizes the daughter leaving home. The mother of the bride puts the saukele on the bride before she is given to the groom. It’s a symbol of the marriage.
Cristina: Does the saukele have some symbolism related to the family?
Nissa: Yes. I’m not a strict adherent to Kazakh traditions. I didn’t want the wedding to be done in this traditional style. But my mother really wanted it. It was so important to her, and I wasn’t sure what to do.
My husband suggested I make my own saukele in an absolutely modern style. I thought about it, and then I sat down, and in 10 minutes I had an idea for a saukele.
Cristina: What made you decide to 3D print the saukele?
Nissa: We only had a few weeks, so that was the quickest way to make it!
Cristina: In your experience, do many young women in Kazakhstan want modern weddings and to eschew the old traditions of giving away a bride?
Nissa: Yes, absolutely. But many girls also want to get married at around 20 years old. They think 29 or 30 is too old for a Kazakh girl to get married.
I believe you should get older before you get married because marriage isn’t a game. You need to have experience before you live with another person. At 20, you don’t even know yourself. You need to know yourself before you can be with someone else.
Cristina: Did people pressure you to get married younger?
Nissa: Yes, of course. Everyone from the nurse in the hospital to my mother.
Cristina: Tell me about your work. What did you study in school, and how did you develop your career as a furniture designer?
Nissa: I knew who I wanted to be from childhood. When I was little, I was interested in how things work. My parents would give me a toy, and I would take it apart and see what was inside.
At around 12, I started drawing a lot. I thought that I would be a fashion designer. I was always drawing dresses and models, and I had a rich imagination. I could see ideas everywhere I looked.
When I was 17, I entered the architectural university in Almaty, met my future mentor, and started to study Japanese architecture. I completed 5 years of school, and during that time, I began to notice small details in houses.
I realized that I don’t want to make furniture that will fit in houses, I want to make furniture that you want to build a house around.
Cristina: What is it like to be an independent female entrepreneur in Kazakhstan?
Nissa: There are not many young female entrepreneurs in Kazakhstan, especially not in design.
You have to have a really strong character. Every day I am trying to make something unique. Every day I am trying to make something unique. Every day I am trying to explain what I am doing, and not many people understand me. So it is challenging.
You can check out Nissa’s website here and her Instagram page here. She ships her furniture worldwide, and all of the materials are sustainable and locally sourced in Kazakstan.
