Power of flowers

At the threshold of a Spring-Summer 2019 wedding season Vintage magazine interviewed successful decorator from Almaty, founder of “Lorina Décor & Flowers studio” Irina Abitova, and asked her about nuances of an event organizer

Interview by Irina Abitova for
VINTAGE magazine

Irina, how did you develop the love towards art and how did you find your career path?

As far as I remember myself, I’ve been a creative person; I’ve been doing dance choreography since early years. Was fascinated with handcrafting, sewing, etc. Later on I started decorating rooms of my children.

Did you know you will become part of events and decoration business? Were there other options?

No way had I known it! It took me a long time to get here. I’ve always wanted to become a journalist, but the place I am originally from didn’t have a school to learn that profession. I dropped out from three universities; I studied psychology, travel business and wanted to become a social worker. After some time it was getting obvious that it’s not my path… It took me a long time to find my true passion in life.

When did you decide that decorating events is your thing?

- I entered this business on the advice of my friend; she has a gift to discover hidden talents in people, and she has been working in the event business for a long time. When the wedding decor appeared in my life, I immediately realized: that’s it - a career of my life! This is exactly what I always wanted to do. This year our company turns four years old. Of course, our first projects were not serious and it’s ridiculous to recall it, but over the time scale has changed.

What is the main thing in your business?

- In addition to talent and organizational competence - experience, self-control and an ability to work in force majeure circumstances are a must ... It is also important to have an ability to communicate with people and let every person who works on the project know what result you want from him.

Irina, do you control all the projects yourself?

- Yes! I always personally participate in the installation process - from beginning to end. It is important for me to control absolutely every stage of work on the project and, most importantly, I must be satisfied with the result. I am a perfectionist - I will never finish project if it does not exceed my expectations. If for some reason I do not like the result, I will add the missing elements, even at my own expense.

According to your works you manage to positively transform any space, even the most dull one. What materials and textures do you personally like?

- I like to work with fresh flowers - it is a win-win option. We always use them in the decor. We also actively use acrylic materials, banner constructions, floral panels; if the room is beautifully decorated, then there is no need to make large floral compositions on the tables.

Event industry is mostly aimed to evoke emotions, how do you manage to constantly surprise a sophisticated client?

That's what we work for! Our priority is customer comfort. We try to immediately understand hopes and wishes of the customer and not to annoy with endless confirmations. The wedding or any other celebration is a day to be spent happily and unforgettably, customer should not worry about any organizational moments. Therefore, from the very beginning we try to take care of all chores during preparation ourselves. We want our clients to be emotionally relaxed and confident in us.

What inspires you?

Absolutely anything can inspire me. I love watching fashion shows of trendy designers, these superb decorations ... I like to be inspired by the front windows of European shops - they are always stylishly decorated. And I bring a lot of ideas from traveling.

How do you spend your free time?

- I try to spend my free time with my family; I don’t have it as much as I would like to, so I can’t say that I read books a lot, go to theaters and exhibitions.

What is the attitude of your loved ones towards your irregular work schedule?

- Fortunately, they always support me in everything I do, and I am very grateful to them. My husband accepts my late night installations and protects me in every way.

Irina, what do you especially like in your profession? What brings you joy most of all?

- All creative people work for emotions. When the project is completed and everything is in the right order, the admiring glance of a passing by person is the most precious one. But the process of creating those projects is no less exciting: the search for ideas, promenades at the construction markets, romantic time of late night installations...

What project are you especially proud of?

- There are lots of them, and every one of them is dear to my heart. I can say which project was the most difficult to fulfill. Recently, we were decorating a wedding in a hall that required golden string lights all over the place. We tied up nine thousand meters of those string lights in one night! It was amazing! Just imagine - thousands of burning lights on a black background. Another project is especially memorable because we have decorated a huge hall with lilac only. The customer’s budget was limited, but we’ve got out of this situation in such an original way. All the guests were thrilled.

Do you decor your family events too?

- Of course! I always want to please my loved ones.

Do you look to western trends in decor?

- Yes, in the west, the event decoration business is very developed, and we follow global trends. Moscow decorators have also seriously succeeded; not only we follow them, but also actively learn from them.

Rapid-fire questions
Favorite artist
Claude Monet
Film
“La vita è bella”. Can watch it without getting bored.
Book
“The Master and Margarita”
Place
My home. A place where I want to come back.
Color
Mix of gray and fuchsia
Mountains or sea
Mountains by the sea
Main gastronomical weakness
“Baskin Robbins” ice cream
Quote that helps you in difficult times
“Speak in French when you can’t think of the English for a thing, turn your toes out when you walk, and remember who you are!” ― Lewis Carroll, “Through the Looking Glass”
How do you recover after a hard day?
I enjoy the moment and recall all the good things that happened during the day.

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Almaty, Kazakhstan