Russian Emirates can find interesting places in Dubai as well as interesting people. Today in the focus of our attention is Natalie Kisakanin, development director of Glamor Painting Works, an interior design company. She is the daughter of the founder and CEO of the company Zoran Kisakanin, as well as his "right hand". After a short tour of the workshop filled with blanks in the Al Quoz area, we, as if in theatrical scenery, sat down for a cup of tea to talk about the art, energy of Dubai, and how it feels to turn other people's dreams and thoughts into reality.
Natalie, share the story of Glamor Painting Works? 
We opened the company's office in Dubai in 2002, after my father, founder and director Zoran Kisakanin, visited Dubai for the first time and was extremely impressed with the cosmopolitan spirit of this city. By that time, we already had a fairly wide network of customers around the world, including Indonesia, France, the UAE and Australia. In Australia, the company office was then located. Zoran originally planned a short trip to Dubai, but it led to a decision to move to this city, and from here to continue doing business.
So after all, what specifically inspired you to take this step? Was there any kind of marketing research before this, how long were all the pros and cons weighed?
Not at all, the decision to move and to open a company office here was not the result of some long deliberation, rather it was a chain of events. Zoran has been working in the interior design industry for more than 30 years and is used to personally control the entire course of the project, from start to finish. As long as I remember myself, he traveled a lot, visited different countries, got acquainted with various cultures in which he drew inspiration for creativity. When he arrived in Dubai, he was simply struck by this city, a thick mixture of national colors, characters and cultures, its very special atmosphere. We can say that this is just a “nutrient" environment for creativity. In terms of business development, the Middle East as a whole is certainly a huge market for the interior design industry. Given that our customers live in different parts of the world, and we have to travel often, Dubai is very convenient in the geographical sense, as well as in the intensity of air connections with other countries. In general, everything pushes to live and create in this part of the planet.
Natalie, I know that among your clients there are members of ruling families in the UAE. What are the features of working with such VVIP clients?
Indeed, Glamor Painting creates and runs projects for the ruling families of all the UAE emirates, so far except for Fujairah. As in cooperation with other clients, we pay special attention to observing the work schedule, the smallest details, we monitor the progress of the implementation of everything that was personally planned on the spot. Once, a private jet flight to London was organized for us, when it was necessary to clarify some nuances with one of our clients. As a rule, during the implementation of such projects, rarely direct communication with members of the ruling families occurs, rather with their assistants and consultants. However, in some cases, we were pleased to accept the words of gratitude personally from the rulers.
Have you had any experience working with Russian clients? What are they from your point of view?
Of course, we had a positive experience. We continue to cooperate with many of them. Russian customers love luxury, and they sometimes show a taste for extravagant things. If we talk about the features, I can note the following: 
As a rule, in our work we act as consultants on a whole range of issues: from ideas and concepts to materials and methods of implementation. With Russian clients, this is often not necessary - they already have a clear vision of what they need. On the one hand, this simplifies our work, and on the other, it sometimes complicates its organizational work. Most of our Russian-speaking clients either live in the UAE permanently or come on vacation. The main projects were implemented by us on the island of The Palm Jumeirah.
Dubai has a large number of interior design companies, and the market here is very competitive. What special can you offer your customers? As the saying goes, “what makes a difference”?
I would say this is a combination of various factors. Firstly, this is our experience in multicultural, multinational communities, the ability to propose solutions to people with completely different life experiences and worldviews. The most important point is the interaction with our customers at all stages of the project. We never send our assistants to inspect the future place of work, we try to negotiate not by telephone, but immediately at the facility. We are convinced that the control of each stage, personal presence and attention to the smallest details is the key to success.
Natalie, what is a source of inspiration for you as a creative person? Where do you get ideas for new concepts and projects?
In my deep conviction, design is not a job, it is a way of thinking and a special perception of the surrounding reality. You must love art in general, but also be attentive to practical details, to feel in your heart what is right and what is not. You can learn the wisdom of design, but the most important desire is to live somewhere deep down, only then you can become a skilled craftsman.
The most important test in our work is the need to create what the client wants, to form a visual picture of his thoughts, ideas and feelings. When all this converges at one point - there is a feeling that you are giving a person a very valuable gift. So in our work, there is something from Santa Claus ... It is these feelings that allow us to love our work and delight our customers with new ideas!
