Gruden managed to find her place is the ruthlessly competitive German market with hard work, persistence, and defiance. Luck played a smaller part. Her clients are mostly foreigners (even though she dislikes that word because she says that “virtually everyone is a foreigner in Berlin”), as well as various artists, journalists, and actors. “They are overwhelmed with their work, so they don't have the time to construct or decorate an apartment.” She says that she has more trouble getting clients in Slovenia, particularly ones who would allow her to carry out an interior design project to the end, “as far as she could take the project in Germany, mostly due to financial reasons.”
Quality materials and well-chosen pieces require a certain financial investment that doesn't fit all budgets. That’s why it’s important that such investments pay back in the long term -- “at least 30 years,” she adds. "I always try to create a timeless interior that isn’t subordinated to the latest trends, since interiors should give their users the freedom to modify them according to their needs."

Photo: Jeniffer Endom, Evey Kwong, Rok Kette, Mare Mutič