Annika and Saskia
Anusha David spotlights the hottest styles and statements in and around Sri Lanka – from political leaders to celebrity CEOs, masters of the game to fashion icons and stars of the silver screen and stage. Here are society’s leaders talking about the determination, vision, smarts, competence and professionalism. Today, she speaks to Annika and Saskia Fernando.
Sisters Annika and Saskia have been blessed with both good taste, good looks, a sense of savoir foire and most important the desire to succeed and leave behind a lasting impression, something they have both succeeded in doing and at the early stages of their lives at that.
Hailing from a multicultural background, their mother being Dutch and their dad - the inimitable Shanth Fernando who says he is not interested in competition, but that his only competition is himself, a creed closely followed by his daughters who are both passionate about what they do and are perfectionists in their chosen fields, Annika and Saskia are an embodiment of today’s woman, who is talented, gifted, multitasks, and is not afraid to live her dream.
Describe life growing up in a multicultural background. What is the single most significant lesson in life you have learnt from each of your parents?
A : Adaptation, being able to adapt. To different situations, people, environments.
S : Not so much adaptation for me, it's been more a combination of gaining self-confidence, a sense of who you are. Growing up in a multicultural environment, it's difficult to fit in as it were to one particular culture completely. So you develop this unique identity which results in a particular brand of confidence at a later stage.
You have a background in hospitality, in your opinion where has Sri Lanka gone wrong vis a vis attracting the up market tourist?
S : I think the main area where we have gone wrong and I keep saying this as recently I have got more involved in the hospitality industry; we keep referring to a high season and low season and thus selling our product in the wrong way. We actually don’t have a low season in this country. This is a very big mistake we are making across the board and we need to change that mindset.
What made you set up your own gallery?
S : Wanting to be my own boss!
What needs to be done to foster and promote art locally?
S : People need to respect the system more and support it rather than work against it and be on their own ego trip and think that everyone can play a part in supporting contemporary art as a collector and working against the system, rather than supporting the system.
What is the hardest part about your job as a gallerist?
S : I would say maintaining professionalism across the board and the structuring of what we have been trying to do from the very beginning at the art gallery has been to implement a certain professionalism into the art scene; that’s what we have always been struggling with. Of course things have changed over the last six years and it gets better every day, but in all aspects to maintain professionalism is what is tough.
At any given time how many works of art and artists are featured on ArtSpace?
S : We started off with about 25 artists and over 500 pieces, but we are increasing that on a weekly basis.
In curating and dealing art, how do you decide which artist is more interesting than another?
A : That’s just personal taste and instinct. In a gallery you choose whom you want to work with and you go on a certain instinct and a certain taste that is personal to yourself, which is why it's called the Saskia Fernando Gallery. I acknowledge that it is influenced by my taste as well.
Do people actually enjoy looking at art or are big art openings simply an opportunity to hobnob?
S : People do enjoy looking at art, but people who are serious about art don’t necessarily come to openings.
How successful have you been vis a vis generating sales – say a monthly average?
S : We are six years old and still standing so I think that speaks for itself. It's difficult to put numbers to it. It depends on which artist is showing, the pricing, you can't really give a monthly average; it's a very interesting industry. What’s going on behind the scenes, the commissions, the projects, the exhibitions, there are so many different elements, you can't really average it out, because it's not a retail product, so to speak.
What made you venture into the jewellery business?
S : My sister. I always used to make jewellery, so when my sister was opening her store, she told me I should start my own line and she would sell it - so there you go. All set up and ready to go.
What inspires your creations?
S : Just what I myself would like to wear. I make pieces that I would like to wear. If I wouldn’t wear something, I wouldn’t make it.
What’s the best compliment you ever received? It doesn’t have to be work related.
S : Anything that I hear in relation to my work, if it’s appreciated, that’s a compliment. That’s what stays with me. When someone appreciates my work, what we are doing through the Gallery and compliments that and gives acknowledgement to that, that’s what stays with me. A compliment from Daddy - that’s really hard to get and what we really value. Compliments are not something that I really hold on to.
What has your experience in interior design overseas taught you and have you been able to translate that work locally?
A : Working in Sydney was one of the best experiences I have had and one of the best career decisions I made. It cemented my university education and prepared me for and gave me confidence and security in the knowledge of what I had to do. I have applied the knowledge I have gained from working overseas to every project I have worked on and no question that without the knowledge and experience I gained working in Sydney I would not have been able to do what I do now.
When you are hired to handle a project whether it's commercial or otherwise, is it your client’s taste that is the end result, or yours, or is it an amalgamation of both?
A : Firstly my passion in residential. I have handled commercial projects for clients whose houses I have done or where I couldn’t refuse. It definitely is an amalgamation. I would be a bad designer if I designed for myself in a client’s space, so it's about taking clients' needs, requirements, style more than taste and translating it into an aesthetic that works and a space that works.
Of all your interior projects handled so far which did you enjoy the most and brought you the most satisfaction?
A : All of them in different ways. What I love most about my projects is the relationships that I form. Because I do residences, I work very closely with my clients. They keep coming back to me over and over again so each time round we get to know each other better and it gets so much easier then. It’s a learning experience and I have met some lovely people. I can't single out any one project and say that was my favourite. Some projects can go on for up to four years – residential projects. By the time I have finished a project I am a completely different person to what I was one year ago or when I began that project. Whatever I do - well I’m very competitive with myself, I want to do the best. I strive for that.
Of all the architects you have dealt with, whom did you enjoy working with the most?
A : Murad Ismail without hesitation.
What is the most difficult aspect of your job?
A : Well in a very general sense, interior design is still governed by budget. Apart from that what is the most difficult aspect of my job is probably the lack of skilled labour. It's also drawing our quality within reasonable timeframes. Those are the challenges. Also dishonesty and the incessant lying amongst contractors.
Your clothing label Maus - what lies behind the name?
A : It’s what my mother calls us. It’s a German term of endearment. It was also a way of bringing my mother into business and to what I do.
Where do you see Maus in the year 2020 and what are your fashion predictions?
A : No fashion predictions. Maus was a business decision as opposed to a creative decision. I say this all the time as people think that I’m some sort of fashion person! I honestly let it take me wherever it leads me. If I get inquiries from overseas and I can pursue them, I do so. I try not to spread myself too thinly and take on only what I can handle. As for where do I see my label in 2020, hopefully as successful as it is today, and yes consistently so. When I work on a new collection for Maus, it's keeping it within that window which is what is the aesthetic of Maus, and I must say I’m very strong in that view point. I would say as long as I stick to that and if continue to have the positive feedback and sales that I have from it, and if Maus continues into 2020, then it is indeed a successful brand.
Who or what are your influences both vis a vis your clothing line as well as your interiors?
A : So many things. My father has played probably the strongest role in terms of my design perspective. Everything I have seen, my travels overseas, my former employer Meryl Hare in Sydney, she played a huge part as well. Each experience I have had, all of this has influenced me. Where my clothing line is concerned I always look at it as an extension of my wardrobe. It’s what I would wear, it fits the Paradise Road aesthetic, but has the feminine identity. Paradise Road has always been described as being quite masculine, so when PR was created it was about injecting feminity into it. Maus was a marriage of all of that. Maus would fit into a Paradise Road Store very easily.
How would you define taste? And what is good design?
A and S : Good design if you look at it from a technical sense, is something that’s functional, that works in a very scientific manner. But if we're saying it from a visual point of view, that’s quite subjective and personal. Taste is something that you either have or you don’t have. Good design is like good art. It's about proportions; there’s a science to it actually; what goes with what. There are different styles in design, and good taste comes from having a trained eye. You could be born with it, or you could be trained into having a good eye. There’s different styles like there is different art. There is also good in that what is proportionately correct and what goes together. In product design it has to work ergonomically as well. Good design is scientific and subjective. Taste is personal.
Do you think fashion should be widely attainable or the privilege of a few?
A : I don’t think one could work without the other. It has to be a bit of both and it is a bit of both. You have labels that appeal and are accessible to a few and there are labels that are accessible to more. Actually fashion is accessible to everyone anyway and if we are talking of different levels, that’s what makes it interesting and inspires one.
What’s the happiest or proudest moment in your life?
A : Having my son and every year I spend with him as he grows.
What’s your recipe to being a successful working mum?
A : I don’t know the recipe, I just try to do my best. I struggle every day to try to balance it the right way. I am lucky and I am privileged to be able to prioritise my son and 9 times out of 10 he comes first and I am able to do that because I am able to juggle my work around and spend time with him as well as pay my bills, but not everyone has that luxury. It’s a constant struggle and I have no time for myself.
What do you think has stayed the same about you throughout life?
S and A : Love for chocolate, principles, my shiners. In Annika’s case it’s her motherly nature. In Saskia’s case, well she’s always been a toughie. She’s a strong one and Saskia’s always got what she wants. She’s determined.
What’s your most cherished family tradition?
S and A : Birthday breakfasts, my mum’s birthday breakfasts. Also my mum’s birthday cake surprise. Always on our birthday our mum will make us a special, unique birthday cake and it's always, always been a different one every year. It’s always amazing and so creative. One year Saskia had a Limoncello Baked Alaska! I had what is Via Paradiso on the menu as my birthday cake one year. It's always been different every year and always simply amazing.
Name one person who has had the most influence in your lives.
A : Both my parents, but my mother as a human being; no question. As a mother myself, the decisions I make, what is right, what is wrong, how to love, how to be loved, it's my mother. Actually for all of us including my father, it's been my mother. My business decisions are all influenced by my father, the design aspect is influenced by my father. I look at work as a requirement, but my most important role in life is as a mother, which is why I said my mother’s role has influenced me the most.
S : Both my parents have influenced completely different aspects of my life but equally so.
Interviewed by Anusha David
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