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Born in Canada’s capital Ottawa to a Lebanese mother and a Finnish father, Anastasia Nysten grew up in Finland, France and Lebanon and believes her magnificent cultural mix has created a mind made for interior designs with a difference.
She chose the Middle East to pursue her degree in Industrial Design at the Lebanese Academy of Fine Arts, and later to start her career with Lebanese-Armenian designer and artist Karen Chekerdjian.
After three years in London, where she worked with acclaimed lighting designer Cypriot-born Michael Anastassiades, she established her own studio in 2015.
Today, working from Dubai and Beirut, Anastasia has started picking up numerous accolades after experimenting with objects and interiors that combine stories of different cultures.
She has shown at Smo Gallery in Beirut, took part in the House of Today Biennial show Jungle Protocol and last year won the Talent Award at the Beirut Design and the Talent Award at Maison & Objet September 2018 edition.
Her Troll chair combines Scandinavian comfort with a bold look – one of the characteristic features of her work, which systematically pushes formal research beyond the classics, but always making use of natural materials. There are summer and winter collections and a choice of fabrics too.
“The Troll chair was primarily conceived for generous comfort,” she told InteriorsWeekly. “The idea was to revisit comfortable seating – a lounge chair combining structure and comfort and a bean bag.
“A wooden structure acts as a skeleton for loosely-stacked pillows. Its malleable anatomy naturally yields to each person’s posture.
“The Troll collection is really about being comfortable with oneself. It will never be sitting perfectly upright or look very tidy. It will just be the way it is – relaxed and confident.
“My mother’s Lebanese and my father’s Finnish, I’ve lived in both countries and I feel I’ve collected the aesthetics and process of thinking from both. My task is to find the right balance. The Troll collection for example - it’s aesthetically very simple, clean lines, with a very comfortable and generous seating.”
Anastasia’s neat Newton tables have also received critical acclaim for their geometric vocabulary referencing modern abstraction. It’s about the unseen - coloured metal sheets envelop a central structure of a reflective nature to balance positive and negative space.
They seem to be weightless, displayed in a series, as well as individually. The repetitive qualities create playful compositions. The Newton tables were created this year and were first exhibited at the Beirut Design Fair in September.
Anastasia explained: “It’s about the unseen. You need to look twice to understand what’s going on. The coloured metal sheets envelop a central reflective mirrored stainless steel structure.
“At first you would think the table is hollow but it is in fact reflecting its surroundings. We tend to not give much attention to things around us, a second look can reveal much more than you think!”
The tables come in two sizes. Most people use them as a central coffee table or as a pair. They come in a variety of colours and the most popular features a degradation of seven different tones of green.
Anastasia is delighted to have picked up so many accolades in such a short space of time. “It’s priceless to feel recognised and know your work is appreciated,” she admitted. “Creating objects that surround us every day is a very big responsibility and also a very time consuming one.
“In my opinion what makes my pieces special is that people want to live with them. It’s not something I can decide by myself, it’s up to the market and time to decide if a product will stand the test of time and create an emotional attachment with each user.”
She has also designed a bookcase and a cloak chair. “I’m currently working on some new pieces, I have a feeling 2019 will be an exciting year!”
For prices and more details contact info@anastasianysten.com
