The love for design awoke in the owner of the Kare Furniture Salon in Split Tihana Runja during her studies, and after a decade spent abroad, mainly in France and Belgium, she decided to dedicate herself completely to interior design and graduated from the Italian design school Callegari. , and collaborates on numerous projects in Croatia and abroad. Following many years of cooperation, the leading people of the company in Munich offer her the Kare design franchise, one of the most glamorous in terms of furniture salon in Europe. Tihana accepts the cooperation and opens the Kare Furniture Salon in Split. The salon quickly achieved great success, and attracted customers from all over the region with its unique offer, also offering a complete interior design service. On the occasion of Kare’s 11th birthday, we talked to the designer, who always stays true to her belief that the project must be unique, and not a copy of another project, and she adds a part of her casual and rebellious style to everything she does …
How did your Kare story start in Split?
– Kare has been to our city before and I was their customer. When I was arranging something, I often just bought in Karea and on one occasion there was a topic that the store would close or change owners, and since I love interiors, it sounded interesting to me and I thought how I could deal with it. below the ad
How did you decide on this venture given that you graduated from colleges that have nothing to do with this job?
– In the meantime, I finished interior design, while the path of life took me to completely different paths. As a girl, I was an athlete, so I graduated from the Faculty of Kinesiology, then I got my master’s degree from the Faculty of Economics, and after that I finished in interiors and I deal with that today. It’s my job, my hobby, something I love. Therefore, this store is one of my big offices where I like to stay and, as they usually say, my job is what I love and do with a smile. There are days when I am literally in operation 24 hours a day, but I always have satisfaction when I see the final product and that the customer is satisfied.
Why did you decide on Kare?
– I like the Karea brand itself because it offers different styles that everyone can find, and so does the price. They offer from minimalist pieces to the most ornate, from industrial design to shabby chick, French design … That’s why anyone who comes to our store can go with a piece. What I prefer in my store is to be a boutique, we change the collections every now and then because people like to look at what we offer, that is the charm of Kare and the store itself.
The birthday celebration started yesterday …
– Considering that we are celebrating our 11th birthday, and that is also my lucky number, we have prepared an action for our clients, which lasts for a week and started on November 11th.
What do the people of Split look for the most when decorating their interiors?
– Split has always preferred the Italian style of home decoration, where straight lines and the same furniture are represented, however, other trends have started to follow in our country, so the industrial style of interior design is in great demand, Oxford sofas and beds are always current. Wooden furniture is very popular for decorating apartments, but I can’t single out anything special because, after all, Kare has over seven thousand items. Realistically to exhibit all the items that Kare has should fill this entire Mall, so we always try to choose the required pieces and novelties to bring them closer to our customers.
What is current this season in interior design?
– This year, the most popular combination with rose gold is rose gold, from tables, lighting and the like, because it is also current in fashion.
You are working on numerous projects …
– I make interiors for apartments, business premises, shops, apartments, hotels and hostels and I always try to make each of the spaces different and to combine the experience of something I have seen abroad. A lot of things go stenciled with us, if one chair is current in a couple of months, ten bars have such a chair. I kind of try to impose something different on my customers, something no one has, that’s my point. I try to make the decoration with a dose of classics, as my clients are not obliged to change the interior every now and then due to trends. I love timeless pieces and I don’t like to blindly follow trends, but rather to have a dose of classics, naturalness and I don’t like unnatural materials. Stone, leather and wood attract me the most and so far everyone has been satisfied and I hope it will stay that way.
How much does fashion affect interior design?
– It’s all followed with each other, now I don’t really believe that they are blindly followed with each other, but fashion today is nonchalant, today you have a hole in your T-shirt and you call it modern, so it is with furniture. It looks more shabby, but it’s more interesting and goes through styles like shabby chick and industrial design. It’s the same in fashion. Everything is somehow connected, and I like to follow both, so I’m happy.
What is it like to be an entrepreneur in Croatia today?
– Terrible in the sense that you are a woman because it is getting harder for you. I know that many men would not agree with that now, but it retaliates a lot more because you need to be twice as persistent, educated to take you seriously. Even if you are attractive, they look at you more than they listen to you, and that doesn’t help you in the long run. As I lived outside Croatia for a long time, I didn’t work, I was a mother and a housewife, so I told myself to at least study something I love.
Today you can choose what you will do …
– Exactly. The state itself does not give you any incentive for work, you need to have huge nerves and perseverance and great ambition not to give up after three months. Today people don’t have money, they would want anything for nothing, and that’s impossible.
As you yourself said, the situation in the country is not easy at all. How to make something attractive for a small budget?
– I practiced to make something that looks like a big budget for small budgets and I think it’s art today. It’s easiest today when someone gives you open arms and an unlimited budget, and when you start with a small one and it goes down, it’s exhausting. We live in such a situation that I have to work twice as hard for something, I am not against work because my family members rarely see me at home, but no one today can charge for their work as much as it is actually worth. People underestimate other people’s occupations, but they do not know what a man does 24 hours a day, and many will agree that it is both the most beautiful and the hardest thing to work with people. Happiness in everything is that I love this job and I have my own ultimate goal, and that is the satisfaction of my customer and when people around me are proud of my success.
How satisfied are you with the location of your store?
– I am satisfied with the location and it is available to everyone, I sincerely hope that Mall’s future will be better than its beginnings. However, things are getting better, so I believe that everything will come to its own. Ultimately, a skating rink will soon arrive in front of Kare, so people will stop by us as well.
What are your plans for the future?
– My wish is to do this job as successfully as before, to work on the most interesting projects, challenging and for my store to operate successfully. In addition, my family’s health is first and foremost a desire for the future. I am oriented towards furniture and design.
End message …
– We invite everyone to our 11th birthday. In our birthday environment, we have prepared numerous benefits and actions that are attractive to everyone. Here are opportunities for our fellow citizens and their guests to choose something at lower prices. They will be greeted by friendly staff, which I want to emphasize. I am happy to work with people who love their job because this is not the job of salesmen but of young and ambitious people who love design and have finished school, who are getting into it. Come to work and see their smiling faces, it comes at no cost.
