"Everyone has a good chance here in Bosnia and Herzegovina, we only need to change our attitude towards work. We do not have to be outsiders in everything. Why shouldn't we be able to create something in Bosnia and Herzegovina that can be made elsewhere in the world, it is just a matter of one's attitude towards work and life", says Teskeredžić.

Salih Teskerežić, a furniture designer from Sarajevo, together with Zlatko Tanović and Keni van Halderen, is one of the co-founders of the brand "Gazzda" and a professor at the Academy of Fine Arts of Sarajevo. He designed a chair and a bed called fawn, an armchair called dedo and a table called tink. These four pieces of furniture, made by Teskeredžić himself, won the ''Red Dot'' award, which is known as the ''designers’ Oscar'' in the world of design. During his interview with the newspaper ''Nezavisne'', Teskeredžić said that it was important to acquire working habits from the West, and that it was possible to work and earn well in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

"In our country, the life abroad is frequently mystified, people frequently believe that once you cross the border, you come back with a bag full of money, which is not true. What we need to learn from the West is the culture of work, an honest attitude towards work, which is lacking in this region. On the other hand, there is no difference between work in Austria and Bosnia and Herzegovina. If you work well, you will achieve the same success in Austria and Bosnia and Herzegovina", says Teskeredžić.

He is of the opinion that there is a great advantage in case of work in Bosnia and Herzegovina, since there is no strong competition in any of the segments. ''I remember, when I opened my atelier in Vienna, there were thousand registered ateliers. One has to maintain himself/herself with such a competition'', explains Teskeredžić. He emphasizes that in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the initial investment is much lower than somewhere in the West and that another advantage is also the communication itself, which, in his opinion, is simpler. ''Everyone has a good chance here in Bosnia and Herzegovina, we only need to change our attitude towards work. We do not have to be outsiders in everything. Why shouldn't we be able to create something in Bosnia and Herzegovina that can be made elsewhere in the world, it is just a matter of one's attitude towards work and life'', stresses Teskeredžić. He emphasizes that the brand ''Gazzda'' is not oriented towards the domestic market at all. "I do not think that we are thereby humiliating our market, far from that. We simply export our products throughout the world. In case of Europe, we mostly export to Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Austria, and lately also to Finland. In addition to this, we also export to the USA, Asia, Korea and Israel", explains Teskeredžić. He explains that there are no problems regarding exports and that the world is small when it comes to economy, that one can export anywhere, irrespective of the distance. The greatest demand is present in case of dining room furniture, and they produce everything except for kitchens and bathrooms.     

The brand "Gazzda" works with high-quality materials. ''We work in the same way as we learned to buy high-quality goods coming from the West. We develop our own products. These are our own products that we come up with and design ourselves, produce them and then sell the products on foreign markets'', says Teskeredžić. He stresses that we would be surprised to find out how many successful persons and companies there are throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina and that the brand ''Gazzda'' cooperates with domestic furniture factories in Gračanica, Gradačac, Lukavac, Hadžići, Ilijaš, etc. The brand ''Gazzda'' produces chairs, tables, sofas, mostly living room and dining room furniture.

"We are working on the development of our own product and brand and this is where we see our future chances. We believe that this is the chance to intensify the cooperation between the creative industry and economy and use the potential we have. It is not a new matrix, it is a matrix that has been functioning for centuries in the modern world. It is not difficult, we only need to change our way of thinking and understand that we can do it, too. The main issue lies in us, in the fact that we have a different perception. For you, it is completely normal for your phone to be produced by someone in China or Sweden, but you cannot imagine that your phone could be designed and produced by someone in Bosnia and Herzegovina", explains Teskeredžić. He says that as a young man, he wanted to become a painter, but then he chose architecture instead. While studying, he received a scholarship from the company ''Šipad'', so that after completing the studies he was obliged to work for several years as a product designer at ''Šipad''. ''My beginning in the field of product design was a coincidence, but it was a true revelation for me once I understood what could be achieved in that field and somehow chose my whole professional life'', explains Teskeredžić. He stresses the importance of fairs, since, as he says, without the attendance of fairs, it is very difficult to good business.

"A trade fair is the meeting place of everyone from an industry. That is the easiest place to be seen and to see, and without visiting a fair it is difficult to establish the right contacts", stresses Teskeredžić. At the beginning of the year, the brand "Gazzda" was present at one of the most prestigious global furniture fairs in Cologne. "We are planning to attend the Paris and Stockholm fairs and we are preparing new products for this occasion", says Teskeredžić. He emphasizes that awards are very important, especially in marketing and sales. "It is, in a way, the confirmation of the quality by renowned global designers and experts, both in terms of a designer's work and the whole brand", says Teskeredžić.

The article was taken from Akta.ba.