Anastasia & Pavel Kahotski

Nastassia Aleinikava Studio

Eyewear maker

©Vojtech Veskrna

Finding inspiration everywhere

The company is run by a married couple
She makes jewellery, he makes glasses
The glasses began life as Anastasia's diploma thesis

There is a real versatility in the work of Nastassia Aleinikava Studio. Some collections evoke past eras, some seem to come from the future; some express a solid link with nature, others seem to nod towards artificial technologies. Yet there's one uniting, striking feature at the core of the studio's work: a certain character which makes every piece distinctively theirs. It's like flicking through the diary of a rich mind which perceives the world in all its forms. "I look up and see a building that I've never noticed before, and I'm stunned. Inspiration is everywhere. Life itself is inspiring," says Anastasia Kahotski, whose nickname gives the studio its name. She founded the award-winning company in 2009 and was joined by her husband Pavel in 2016.

Interview

©Vojtech Veskrna

©Tomas Svoboda

How do you divide roles?: Anastasia: Though it was me who came up with the glasses, I'm a trained jeweller. So during the making process, I found my limits. That's when Pavel stepped in. He's a motion designer but has some manual skills and technical reason that I lack. He completely revitalised the work.
Do you also collaborate?: Pavel: We both design the glasses, and we try to push each other's limits. Yet some boundaries are fixed; for instance, we aren't able to make an exact copy of a piece, there are always minute differences. But that's the beauty of handmade, bespoke work.
What is your creative approach?: A: I'm fascinated by the time before the industrial revolution when glasses were made by goldsmiths; they were a sort of jewellery. P: Glasses are more than a medical tool. That's why we always try to understand the customer's personality.
What about your jewellery?: A: There's always a theme. The Voyinich collection is based on drawings of fictitious flowers in a 15th century manuscript, while Comet explores the relationship between a comet's body and tail, and Baroque draws on the complexity of once fancy textiles. But remember, glasses are jewellery too!

Anastasia & Pavel Kahotski are expert artisans: they began their career in 2009