“That was the first time the idea to bring this product to the Russian market crossed our minds. So our honeymoon was really the beginning of a new life for us!”

As Julia tells it, “During our honeymoon we visited several showrooms and were so absorbed by the idea to open our own business, that we continued our work after we returned. We looked through hundreds of websites and at last picked 13 factories in Bali and Java. We visited them all and at last realized that the only furniture worth bringing here was Carlo.”

Carlo Pessina is an Italian designer who turned a short break from hectic Europe into a 26 year long working holiday. Initially enthralled with textiles he branched into furniture with a commission for the presidential suite in the Singapore Grand Hyatt. Building his own factory in Bali where he employs 300 craftsmen Carlo has pioneered the use of unusual materials eschewing the teak and ironwood that together with rattan dominates the traditional Balinese furniture scene. Instead he uses natural materials such as coconut shell, sea penshell, tree bark, terrazzo and pebbles.

The Italian personally designs each timeless item and his signature is clear - traditional natural materials combined with the exotic. So stylish dining tables, elegant chairs and beds, magnificent consoles and lockers, modern accessories and many other items - and all with a smack of the exotic are born in the master’s mind and turned into reality. “This is really a luxury product that was new for the Russian market. So we signed the contract and bought our first container. In the meanwhile we had to find a nice location for the showroom and do a million different things necessary for the beginning of the work,” Julia recalls.

While their Moscow showroom at 1 Spirodoneyevsky pereulok in the heart of chic Patriarshy Ponds area was being renovated, they boldly took their furniture to the public at the Interior Show in November 2007 and a month later opened the shop under the name Indomebel. In the year and more since opening Julia, who is general director of the company says “we are gradually developing and are still happy to bring our beautiful product to our sunless reality!”

The image of Indonesian furniture, is cheap woven rattan. “We are breaking this stereotype. When people actually enter our showroom, almost everyone becomes really impressed with what’s on show and are amazed by the talent of the designer and the skills of craftsmen creating these items! People start touching and examining them and some don’t actually believe that all these are natural materials and hand work. Almost always this is absolutely not what they expected; it is rather something beyond their expectations.”

“Right now it’s a little bit difficult to think about future development because of the economical situation in the world. But in the long run we plan to open showrooms in major Russian cities and focus on furnishing hotels, spa centers and restaurants”, she says.

“Of course, not everyone can afford these items and not everyone can integrate them into their homes. This style is still rather unusual for the Russian interiors, but the situation is changing quite rapidly. Our clients are mostly open-minded creative interesting people who travel a lot and can feel emotional link with these items. They value natural materials and hand work really high. These people want something special in terms of interior and they get it here, at Indomebel,” says Julia.

Indomebel: (495 967 4024, an e-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

John Bonar

Carlo Pessina INDOMEBEL