RUTAR, the general sponsor of Ljubljana Art Weekend!

We spoke to the company's CEO, Gregor Rutar, about family traditions, social responsibility and the potential he sees in local cultural and artistic projects.

Rutar is the general sponsor of a young local initiative, Ljubljana Art Weekend, which is being run for the second time this year. It seems that such ambitious funding of cultural and artistic projects is relatively rare in our region, as most people find the investment too high and the results, at least apparently, too small. So where does the ear for a platform like Ljubljana Art Weekend come from?

In our family, we have two passions: cuisine and art. I was born into the tradition of collecting – although I would not call myself a collector (yet) – so the love of art was ingrained in me, but it also became an instinct. At the same time, we are also the only completely Slovenian and, above all, family-run company that sells interior furnishings. Our 60-year tradition dictates that we act in a socially responsible way; therefore, it is almost natural for a regional company to support a regional initiative with which we share many values and visions. We are aware that young, promising creatives need the most support at the beginning of their path, and at the same time, we have confidence in their success, which will benefit everyone in the long run – in other words, the entire community.

The official slogan of the company is "And my home comes alive". In your opinion, what makes a home come alive and what role does art play in the context of this living culture?

The ambience of a home is of utmost importance for health and well-being, it represents (at least) the beginning and the end of each day; it is an intimate environment that reflects who we are and what we think. Therefore, how we set it up is crucial so that it fits our lifestyle and grows with us. In my opinion, several factors contribute to a high quality of life. One of them is certainly that the home is designed with purpose and involves some kind of creative work, be it architecture, design, fittings, furniture, paintings or a piece of kitchenware – every little detail counts. Thoughtful and high-quality home design leads to well-being.

How are your family traditions and the living vision you speak of reflected in your extended sales programme; do you want to influence your customers in this sense to ensure that they make a conscious purchase?

Our philosophy is reflected not only in what we sell and how we sell it but also in the relationships we have with the people who visit us. In our shops, we want to create a forum, a meeting place, a place of encounter and exchange. A special feature of our shops is the restaurant, whose menu reflects the aforementioned preference for good food and good wine. We want to offer visitors more than the (sub)average visit to a shopping centre, but a holistic experience.

The fact that you think hard about "what you sell and how you sell it", as you put it, and that you stay true to the values and guidelines you have set for yourself, is also shown by the smaller projects you are working on, both inside and outside the sales programme. We are talking about the Rutar Talks, the Made in Slovenia product series and, last but not least, the art workshops during Ljubljana Art Weekend. Can you tell us more about these projects?

With this answer, I close the circle to the question of the significance of the local. Made in Slovenia is a series of products sold at the salon in Ljubljana that, as the name suggests, are designed and made in Slovenia. It is a collaboration with the Centre for Creativity and the Museum of Architecture and Design. We are also collaborating with them on the Rutar Talks project: a series of short, relaxed talks with Slovenian designers who have also designed specific products for our collections. With the same viewpoint of supporting local creatives, we have embarked on the organisation of four art workshops with different artists, which will take place on the four Saturdays in May. On these days, visitors to our shop in Rudnik will have the opportunity to interact directly with the artists, learn from them, socialise with them and create something themselves. And that is exactly what we are striving for on every step of the way – to be a place of inspiration and engagement.

RUTAR, generalni pokrovitelj umetniške iniciative Ljubljana Art Weekend!

Z direktorjem podjetja, Gregorjem Rutarjem, smo se pogovarjali o družinskih tradicijah, družbeno odgovorni naravnanosti in potencialih, ki jih prepoznavajo v domačih kulturno-umetniških projektih. 

Podjetje Rutar je postalo generalni pokrovitelj mlade lokalne iniciative, Ljubljana Art Weekend, ki letos doživlja šele svojo drugo izvedbo. Zdi se, da so tovrstne ambiciozne podpore kulturno-umetniških projektov v našem okolju relativno redke, saj večina ocenjuje vložek kot prevelik, rezultate pa, vsaj navidez, kot premajhne. Od kod torej posluh za spodbudo platformi, kot je Ljubljana Art Weekend?

V naši družini imamo dve ljubezni, to sta kulinarika in umetnost. Tradicija zbirateljstva – čeprav zase (še) ne bi trdil, da sem zbiratelj – mi je bila položena v zibelko, zato mi je ljubezen do umetnosti bila priučena, obenem pa je postala tudi instinkt. Hkrati pa smo tudi edino v celoti slovensko in, pomembneje, družinsko podjetje, ki se ukvarja s prodajo notranje opreme doma. Naša 60-letna tradicija nam narekuje, da delujemo družbeno odgovorno; skoraj samoumevno je torej, da regionalno podjetje podpira regionalno iniciativo, s katero si delimo marsikatero vrednoto in vizijo. Zavedamo se, da mladi, obetavni ustvarjalci podporo najbolj potrebujejo prav na začetku svoje poti in hkrati zaupamo v njihov uspeh, od katerega bomo dolgoročno imeli koristi prav vsi – torej celotna skupnost.  

Uradni slogan podjetja se glasi »In moj dom zaživi«. Kaj je tisto, kar po vašem mnenju dela dom živ in kakšno vlogo v kontekstu te bivalne kulture pripisujete umetnosti?

Ambient doma je izjemnega pomena za zdravje in počutje, predstavlja (vsaj) začetek in konec vsakega dneva; je intimno okolje, ki odraža, kdo smo in kaj mislimo. Kako ga bomo uredili, da se bo skladal z našim načinom življenja in z nami tudi rasel, je torej bistveno. Verjamem, da k visoki kakovosti bivanja prispeva več faktorjev, eden izmed njih je prav gotovo, da se dom oblikuje s čutom in ozirom na inkorporiranje neke vrste kreativnega ustvarjanja, naj bo to arhitektura, oblikovanje, oprema, pohištvo, slike, kos kuhinjskega pribora, vsak najmanjši detajl šteje. Premišljeno in kakovostno oblikovanje doma vodi do dobrega počutja.

Kako se vaša družinska tradicija in bivanjska vizija, o kateri govorite, zrcalita v vašem razširjenem prodajnem programu; želite v skladu s tem razmišljanjem vplivati tudi na kupce, jim zagotoviti informiran nakup?

Naša filozofija se ne odraža zgolj v načinu kaj in kako prodajamo, pač pa nam veliko pomenijo tudi odnosi z ljudmi, ki nas obiščejo. V naših prodajalnah želimo ustvariti forum, zbirališče, prostor druženja in srečevanja. Posebnost naših poslovalnic je tudi restavracija, katere jedilnik odraža že omenjeno naklonjenost do dobre hrane in vin. Obiskovalcem želimo ponuditi več kot (pod)povprečen obisk nakupovalnega centra, pač pa celostno izkušnjo. 

Da v podjetju intenzivno razmišljate, kot ste sami rekli, o tem »kaj in kako prodajate« in da se pri tem zvesto držite zadanih vrednot in vsebinskih smernic, pričajo tudi manjši projekti, ki jih pripravljate tako v okviru prodajnega programa kot tudi izven njega. V mislih imamo pogovore Rutar Talks, serijo izdelkov Made in Slovenija in nenazadnje tudi umetniške delavnice v sklopu Ljubljana Art Weekend. Lahko o teh projektih poveste kaj več?

S tem odgovorom lahko zaokrožim nazaj k vprašanju o pomenu lokalnega. Made in Slovenija je serija izdelkov, naprodaj v salonu v Ljubljani, ki so bili, kot namiguje ime, oblikovani in izdelani v Sloveniji. Gre za sodelovanje s Centrom za kreativnost oziroma Muzejem za arhitekturo in oblikovanje. Z njimi sodelujemo tudi na projektu Rutar Talks: to je serija kratkih sproščenih pogovorov s slovenskimi oblikovalkami in oblikovalci, ki so za naše kolekcije po naročilu oblikovali tudi specifične izdelke. Skozi isti vidik podpore domačim ustvarjalcem smo se lotili tudi organizacije štirih umetniških delavnic, ki se bodo z različnimi umetniki zvrstile vse štiri sobote v maju. Obiskovalci, ki te dni obiščejo našo poslovalnico na Rudniku, lahko tako pridejo v neposredni stik z umetniki, se od njih učijo, družijo in sami ustvarjajo. In prav to, biti prostor navdiha in angažmaja, si prizadevamo biti na vsakem koraku našega delovanja.