Aiste Zalatoriute Pauksciu tako g. 22 14013 Vilnius Lithuania Phone: +370 5 2729235 E-mail: aistule@takas.lt "Hi! I am Aiste Zalatoriute. I live in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. I’m 27 years old. I graduated from Vilnius Academy of Arts, Design Department. At the moment I’m working as a freelance designer in furniture, interior and lighting design field. Speaking about design tradition in Lithuania, I think, it is quite old and reaches the time of the independent Lithuania in the interwar (1918 – 1940). The various artists - architects, painters, graphics artists, furniture masters that came from the folk tradition of furniture building were creating design objects at that time. They were seeking for national authentic character and the links with folk art. During the Soviet times a designer had two working places – an institute of aesthetics and an office of furniture construction and designing. There they created projects for the realization in different factories in Lithuania and the whole Soviet Union. After the independence in 1990 the situation in the whole country changed, also changed the working conditions for the designers. Many factories were closing up. Many designers changed their activity field. Advertising agencies were building up – and there came good times for the graphic design. In fact, graphic design and advertising design is one the strongest fields of design even nowadays in Lithuania. Later, furniture industry recovered. Furniture specialists began to pay attention to their image and the design of their products, started thinking about export and inviting designers for new collections and creation of models. Recently construction industry recovered after stagnation - new social and private buildings are built, what gives a lot of work for interior designers and architects. Design studies are available in a few places in Lithuania. First of all, Vilnius Academy of Arts, Design Department which was established in 1961, on the professor Feliksas Daukantas initiative. Also, there are possibilities to study design in the branches of Academy of Arts in Kaunas, Klaipeda, and Telsiai. There are quite many colleges and private design schools. At Academy of Art deep attention is paid to the relationship between the worldwide influences and local esthetical traditions. Design and designer situation will not change radically after becoming the EU members. But I hope that relations with other countries will become stronger, will increase the number of opportunities for communication, ideas exchange, foreign studies, work abroad experience, invitation of foreign professors in our design schools. Another good aspect is connected with the industry of Lithuania. Producers will have a chance to realize that the design is one of the very important factors in market competition. Producers will change their opinion and give more opportunities for designers to express themselves in industry field. In general, we have been feeling influence from the West and America for more than 10 years with all the positive and negative consequences. Therefore, it is too late to be afraid of such influence. I think designers in Lithuania are full of ideas, active and creative enough to be competitive and feel well in the EU, being full-right members there."