On her place of power

Everyone should have a place to recharge one’s batteries, a place to exhale and recuperate. To me, such a place is in the Baltic. When I was a child, I would spend every summer there. It was there that all my childhood dreams were born. Now I try to go there at least once a year. I especially love the Baltic Sea in autumn and winter. When the gushing wind freezes you near the roaring grey sea. When you look at the empty beach with the fine, almost invisible sand. When you walk on the dunes, hearing only the silence and the pine forest. At such moments all I can hear is my heart and it is as if nothing else exists – this is true freedom.

I especially love the Baltic Sea in autumn and winter. When the gushing wind freezes you near the roaring grey sea. When you look at the empty beach with the fine, almost invisible sand. When you walk on the dunes, hearing only the silence and the pine forest. At such moments all I can hear is my heart and it is as if nothing else exists – this is true freedom.

If your mum is a flight attendant

You cannot excel in every single thing. Having it all means you might end up with a nervous breakdown. Another option is to get everything done, but later you inevitably have to go back and fix the errors you made in a rush. No matter how enticing the image of a ‘superwoman’ is, it will require sacrifice in your work-life balance. When you take a career challenge, you have to realise that this is not a temporary situation. One task entails another, with even more ambitious challenges. This is something you cannot easily give up, so you have to make your choices before you commit. I choose to be imperfect and curb my own craving for perfection.

On weekdays I have very little time for my family. My four-year-old son believes that I am a flight attendant wearing Aeroflot’s pretty uniform, because I fly so frequently. Looks like my little man will be in for a disappointment when he realises that the truth is not even close to the romantic image he has created. However, on weekends I love being imperfect. I throw on jeans and an old sweater, let my hair down and go to the country with my family. Or we may just stay in town and take a walk.

Setting sail

I love driving long distances. I can easily cover up to 800 km per day. Out of curiosity, I overcame my fears and got a boat driving licence. Now I am a licensed boater. I wish we had a better climate for boating. Driving a boat gives your freedom, and, unlike the road, water opens up new horizons.

On the passion for old furniture

My passion is old furniture and drawings. Especially the 1960s’ Mid Century Modern, the post-war breakthrough growth that started in the 1950s. My ‘career of a restoration artist’ started fr om a cupboard and two armchairs from the 1970s that used to belong to my grandmothers. I sandpapered, painted and reupholstered each item with my own hands. Now they proudly stand in our cottage. I must say the process ruined my hands. Paints, varnishes, solvents leave your skin looking horrible, so when you work with clients you cannot afford a hobby like this one. However, no one can stop you from dreaming – I have made acquaintances with furniture sellers from St Petersburg and Moscow who work both in Russia and in Europe. Their assortment of furniture are always an inspiration.

On engineering graphics

After giving up the career in restoration, I found another vocation in engineering graphics. As a college student, I majored in chemical technology, and engineering graphics was one of our primary subjects. In fact, it was my favourite. I even worked as a tutor of engineering graphics at the time.

My hobby resulted in successful design projects for my friends’ properties. Those are commercial premises for small but really nice businesses. It is important to differentiate between engineering and artistic design. My hobby is space management and geometry solutions; it fully complies with the requirements set by the Bureau of Technical Inventory. At the moment, four places use my designs. I am attracted by business projects, because your work is evaluated by people other than your friends and relatives. I wanted my solutions to be comfortable and ergonomic for them. I am not in it for the money, but the project needs to be exciting – that is my only requirement.

All the process of creation, from concept to drawing, may take varying amounts of time. I usually make decisions when I am on an airplane or in a car – when you just want to take a break from work and think of something else. Making a drawing is relatively quick and usually takes one or two days. My only instruments are a pencil and a ruler, although if it were my job, I would of course use AutoCAD.

On music for the soul

I listen to music of various epochs and styles. The sound of a particular medium matters a lot to me. I understand that every artist has his or her own favourites. I love vinyl. Its sound is matchless. When you are looking for a record player, you should probably consider Japanese devices from the 1970s.

You can purchase such players at flea markets or specialised web sites wh ere you get acceptable price for high quality. The player itself is made of fine materials: metal, wood, glass. And the speakers? They are masterpieces – to any aesthetic taste and to any ear. Recently, I found a recording of Crow by Linda, a Russian female singer. It was gorgeous, I had not heard that single for many years, so I was in for a big surprise when I discovered a vinyl record.

Knowing about this hobby of mine, my friends are getting records for me from all over the world. It is a very thoughtful gift, because vinyl has to be in carry-on luggage and handled with extreme care. I am fairly new to collecting vinyl records, I have only been doing it for two years.

For now, I have 50 records, not counting the old squeaky player that we keep in our cottage and sometimes set up on the veranda to listen to famous singers of the past like Shalyapin.

I think I grew to like vinyl in my childhood when I was often seated down to listen to fairy tales. Now when I have guests over, listening to vinyl records is a sort of a ritual. Without a remote control or auto repeat, you have to change or turn over the records by hand. Many are especially amused when I ask, “Shall we listen to this side again?”

I think vinyl is a lot like snail mail letters. It creates a certain mood. I think it brings people together.

On films and reality

Generally, I do not like comic books, but there are two exceptions. I like films with meaningful detail, such as Watchmen by MARVEL. Do not even get me started on all the sublime accents the director put. Speaking of more recent good films, I enjoyed Guardians of the Galaxy. My son is a big fan of its soundtrack. After we watched the film, I even had to go online and find the legendary Sony Walkman, like the one that belonged to Star-Lord, the protagonist, and use my friends’ recording studio to have the Guardians soundtracks recorded on a cassette. The only problem now is that the batteries drain pretty quickly.

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