By: Adriana Ermter
“I have such an interesting background and I really wanted to create something unique in the world of interior design,” says Alina Tacmelova, the founder of YA Phygital Fabrica, which launched in January 2023. “I envisioned the objects we create as pieces that can be used in the home and also treated as wonderful pieces of art.”
Describing these luxury items as pieces of art may be an understatement, however. Th e collections that fill Tacmelova’s Vaughan, Ont.-based studio, located on Rivermede Road, are truly reminiscent of childhood trips to the candy store. Each brilliant grouping of work feels like real-life bursts of happiness manifested into lava-red side tables, hot-pink and seafoam-green coffee tables and a smattering of glossy, one-minute hourglass-shaped black structures. Boasting names like “Digitree,” “Aventurine” and “Bowtie Land,” each collection contains a handful of extraordinary items, each one functional as furniture, while simultaneously acting as standalone art sculptures. And all are born from Tacmelova’s visionary mind.
“You can use them and enjoy them; they bring character to any space,” adds Tacmelova. “There hasn’t been anyone who has brought this type of work to the market, which, in Canada, is very conservative and typically filled with grey, brown, black and white pieces. I’m not scared to take a risk with colour, and I create objects that can be passed down from generation to generation.”
Fuelled by Generation Z’s quest for sustainability , the Soviet Union-born and Italian-style-inspired Tacmelova’s unbridled joie de vivre is simply infectious. Her life’s experience as a psychologist and florist, combined with her current status as a creative designer, makes her this decade’s epitome of a renaissance woman. Although, she’ll humbly claim she’s merely an entrepreneur, “I am a businesswoman,” affirms Tacmelova. “I certainly have interesting talents. I always know what will be at point A and at point B, but I don’t always know how I will move to and from each point. I ultimately believe in this creative process.”
“I REALLY WANTED TO CREATE SOMETHING UNIQUE IN THE WORLD OF INTERIOR DESIGN. I ENVISIONED THESE OBJECTS AS PIECES THAT CAN BE USED IN THE HOME AND ALSO TREATED AS WONDERFUL PIECES OF ART.”
This process includes YA Phygital Fabrica’s seven-member team, including Tacmelova’s engineer-educated husband, Yury Goncharov, and a computer numerical control (CNC) machine. While Tacmelova conceptualizes and designs each piece by first drawing it on paper (no artificial intelligence is used in the early stages), the company relies on the CNC machine to vet each sculpture’s dimensions and to build prototypes which are then, later, individually crafted and painted by hand. Using mixed materials such as polystyrene, oak, epoxy and copper, each luxury piece is built layer by layer in limited editions of five and manufactured in house with prices ranging from $7,000 for a small bubble-gum pink “Bowne” side table to $14,000 for a large seafoam green with copper detailing “Aventurine” coffee table.
“My art installations, when they are placed and used in people’s homes, bring a positive transformation,” says Tacmelova. “I know Canadians can be quiet and my pieces are quite loud, but I thought I would try my hand at this business. Because I was a psychologist first, I connect life with design and art. It brings a more positive energy to an environment. It is how I talk from my heart.”
