Contemporary Ukrainian design objects with strong roots in the rich tradition, but with a modern twist. Oksana Senyczak has been looking for this for years. She has been selling the most beautiful pieces at Objekty since the end of 2018. Her concept store recently moved to a more spacious building in Anselmostraat in Antwerp, including a coffee bar.
Warm plaids, cheerful sofas, candlesticks in warm wood tones, mouth-blown vases, carefully selected books, some timeless pieces of clothing, … The objectty in this store are clearly curated by someone with an eye for design and interior.
That eye belongs to Oksana Senyczak (54). Oksana grew up in Genk, the daughter of Ukrainian parents who were recruited for the Belgian mines after the Second World War. At the age of 21, after the Soviet Union collapsed, she traveled to her family’s country for the first time. She met her husband Ihor there and not only that. “On our travels I discovered many beautiful things that I wanted to introduce here. Makers who honor traditional culture and crafts by drawing them from folklore.”
Smoked ceramics
To emphasize her words, she shows a three-armed candlestick, in black ceramic. “The shape is a stylized version of traditional candlesticks. The ceramics are not painted, but smoked in a wood oven. The smoke penetrates the clay, oxidizes it and turns it black. Today, only a few makers master this age-old technique that is typical of the small village of Havarechchyna in Western Ukraine.”
“Today, only a few makers master the age-old technique of black ceramics that is typical of the small village of Havarechchyna in Western Ukraine”
Oksana Senyczak
Coffee bar
In 2018, Oksana’s dream and mission took shape and Objekty was born. Until recently, the concept store was located on the ground floor of her house in Lange Lozanastraat — “but it was a bit remote” — and she also had a pop-up in Kloosterstraat for a while. Now she has found a larger building with more passage in Anselmostraat. The coffee bar (with a beautiful terrace!) will also open in the rear part on May 9. And you guessed it… it also has a Ukrainian touch: “The coffee comes from Otara Kava, a Ukrainian couple who worked in a well-known coffee shop in Lviv. They have now set up their own coffee roasting company here in Mechelen.”
That it was a bumpy road, her store. First there was corona and in 2022 the war in Ukraine broke out. Everything stopped for a moment, but the Ukrainians were determined: “We have to keep working.” “The war led to a boom in private brands because stores like Zara, for example, had to close. Ukrainians have an incredible drive and togetherness. Ways were soon sought to be able to deliver internationally. In the meantime, I have to count on three to four weeks to get stuff here.”
“Ukrainians have an incredible drive and togetherness. We quickly looked for ways to still be able to deliver internationally.”
Oksana Senyczak
But it is not obvious. She points to a wooden bowl. “This is the very last piece I have from woodworkers from hard-hit Cherson. They stayed in their city for a long time because they did not want to leave their wood machines behind, but eventually they fled to Odessa.”
Oksana also shows wooden trays, candlesticks and serving boards. “These are from Sydorov Manufacture, a furniture maker from Sumy, in the east, close to the border with Russia. The company was owned by father and son Yura. When the war broke out in 2022, they decided to join the fight and defend their country. Yura’s 19-year-old sister Maryna stopped her studies to temporarily take over the business. She reorganized the company from large wooden furniture and stairs, which were unnecessary in times of war, to small woodwork that could be easily transported. They are so brave, but it is not obvious: the power goes out constantly, employees are called up to the front, they often have to take shelter. The products only get here in dribs and drabs.”
There is a story behind every item in the store. “I do have a webshop, but I mainly want to talk about Ukraine, about the people who live there. I want to present the country as something beautiful and positive, away from all negative connotations. I find it enormously enriching to have different backgrounds and to share them with the world.”
Tags: Objekty moves spacious building coffee bar show positive Ukraine
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