The Allure of Fresh Bread Informs the Design of a Bakery by Studio Shoo

There’s nothing more comforting than the contrast of the crisp crust and soft, pale interior of a loaf of freshly baked bread—unless it’s a bakery inspired by those textures. For their third joint project, clients Nastya Antsiferova and Zhenya Druzhkov of the Russian café Muka & Fartuk and Studio Shoo founder Shushana Khachatrian baked up a tasty idea: a location in Yoshkar-Ola, the capital of the Mari El republic in the basin of the Volga river, that looks as good as it smells.

“We were inspired by close-ups of the textures of artisan bread—the mesmerizing lines along with the bread cracks,” says Khachatrian. Those lines informed small choices like the textured diffusers of the pendants, but also are echoed in the terrazzo floor and the crumbly brick tiles and silky plaster across the walls. “Thinking about the concept, we wanted to pay attention to the fractures and color tone.”

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Custom furnishings include tables shaped liked baguettes in their bags and others with bases resembling bakery funnels. For seating, Khachatrian created a banquette with a back like a row of cookies, covered in a bright floral pattern, along with elegant chairs in pale wood and cane. But the focus, of course, is on the baked goods: an arched wall, itself rounded like a bread loaf, offers views of ovens and proofers, with built-in transparent displays for desserts. “It’s about the memories associated with bread from childhood, the happiest stories,” she says. “Everybody has their own.”

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