A Conversation with Anna Blakey
On design, inspiration, home and the journey from tablecloths to fabric and wallpaper.
Earlier this year, I had the pleasure of joining Anna Blakey for her Share My Table series, gathering around her beautiful table with a wonderful group of women in business.
Following our lunch, Anna and I continued the conversation, talking about my journey from designing tablecloths to creating fabrics and wallpaper, the places and experiences that have shaped my work, and the stories behind some of my designs.
The interview first appeared on Anna’s website, and I’m very happy to share it here too.
Here are the twelve questions Anna asked me, from Mexico and my international influences to favourite designs, dream collaborations and what might be next.
1. I’d love to start at the beginning - how did Studio Lizzet Frausto come about, and has the business evolved in the way you imagined?
Designing fabrics and wallpaper was certainly not what I imagined would become the core of my business. This current chapter came about after I had a few requests to sell the designs from my tablecloths as fabric for interiors. Once I did that, interior designers started asking if they could have them as wallpaper too.
It has been a very organic and gentle evolution, and one I couldn’t be happier with. I feel that what I initially had in mind was to design and retail accessories for the home, and now I’m wrapping homes with my fabric and wallpaper designs. It’s a dream come true — a dream I didn’t know I had!
2. Your designs have such a wonderful sense of colour, pattern and personality. Where does your inspiration come from, and how much does your Mexican heritage influence your work?
Thank you for the kind words about my designs. Every time I hear — or read — something like that, it still strikes me as if I’m hearing it for the first time.
I’m not really able to pinpoint where, within a design, there is a dose of Mexico. My designs are a reflection of my world today, which in turn is a product of my life experiences: I have lived outside Mexico for more than two decades, including in Australia, Asia and the UK. Along the way, I’ve met people from different backgrounds, seen other people’s work and simply walked around and taken in beautiful landscapes.
After such a long time away from Mexico, I sometimes wonder how much my designs would change if I were to live there again. I’d welcome the challenge!
3. Your fabric and wallpaper collections are such an exciting and growing part of the business. Can you tell me a little about how that side of Lizzet Frausto began?
It was pushed, really. I feel very privileged that other creatives saw my tablecloths and reimagined them in a different way. We can become so focused on what we set out to do that we sometimes fail to see the other possibilities.
It was certainly the best way forward for me and the business. Transforming my tablecloth designs into fabric and, more recently, wallpaper has led me to create new designs that are only available as fabric and wallpaper. I just hope I don’t get asked to turn them into tablecloths again!
4. When you’re developing a new fabric or wallpaper, where does the design usually start - with a colour, a pattern, a place, a piece of art or something completely different?
Every design has its own story, a true reflection of what I am doing, seeing or living at the time. Grace came from an autumn walk in Bushy Park, watching the leaves of the oak trees gracefully fall as if they were dancing. The pink was my way of showing the feminine side of such a strong tree. Solaris was inspired by my love of Japanese block printing and the work of Swiss illustrator Hans Fischer. It also coincided with the birth of one of my nephews, and I wanted to create something that celebrated life and dreams.
In short, for me, a design starts with a story, and then it materialises through the world around me. The colours and textures are dictated by the design itself. Magical.
5. I’d love to know more about the craftsmanship and process behind your fabrics and wallpapers. How are they produced, and how important is the way they are made to you?
Both my fabrics and wallpapers are digitally printed in England. I choose each company I work with not simply because of the price, but because I feel comfortable working with them and trust them to produce a quality product that I’m proud to offer.
With all the companies I work with, I’ve built a professional relationship that is also personal, which is very important to me. I like knowing the people behind the things I make.
6. Is there a particular fabric or wallpaper in the collection that you have a special connection with -and why?
Each one is very special in its own way, but I suppose Coco feels particularly special. It was inspired by the small, charming flowers of the Japanese quince bush in my garden and named after one of my pugs, Coco.
She was very sweet, but you had to beware of both the quince bush and Coco — they both had thorns!
7. Where would you love to see your fabrics and wallpapers used? Is there a dream room, project or collaboration you would particularly love to create?
I would be very fortunate if some of the children whose rooms are decorated with my designs remember them when they are older. It would be a privilege to become part of someone’s memories in that way.
But I also have a very big ego, and it would be fantastic to see my designs in a super-trendy members’ club or as the backdrop to a fashion shoot.
And as for collaborations, well, this is the time to dream big: Fortnum & Mason and/or Liberty. Both are English icons that I have loved and admired since long before I got into this industry.
8. And then, of course, we have to talk about the beautiful Casa Azul tablecloth and star napkins! What is the story behind that collection and where did the inspiration come from?
The inspiration for Casa Azul came from a strong desire to preserve my traditions while creating new ones. I found myself looking back at homes rooted in time and family stories, and particularly at the simple tiles often found in their welcoming foyers.
What I love about these tiles is that you see versions of them in homes across so many different countries and cultures. They are familiar, comforting and somehow make you feel at home, wherever you are. That feeling became the heart of Casa Azul.
I wanted it to be a simple design that could be used every day as well as for special occasions; something that would become part of a home and, hopefully, an heirloom. One of those things that warms your heart when you come back home.
9. I loved using Casa Azul as the starting point for our Share My Table lunch and building everything else around it. How did it feel seeing your designs interpreted as part of someone else’s table?
It’s beautiful seeing each design take on a life of its own in a new place. As designers, it’s healthy to let things go once they have been created and are in someone else’s hands. We no longer own them.
I loved seeing how Casa Azul felt at home on your dining table. It didn’t overtake the room; it simply added another beautiful layer to your already beautiful home.
10. What does entertaining and sharing a table mean to you personally? Are you someone who loves having people around your own table too?
I love sharing my table and my home with family and friends. It’s great to meet in a restaurant or down the pub, but there is something magical about opening your home to others, with food on the table, candles, flowers, laughter and, yes, a bit of wine too.
11. What did you enjoy most about our Share My Table collaboration - and were there any conversations or connections from the lunch that stayed with you afterwards?
I was thrilled to collaborate with you and to have my design in your home, becoming the backdrop to such wonderful conversations. Talking with other businesswomen was very inspiring for me, and I genuinely mean that.
After talking about my business with others, not as a sales pitch but as part of an honest conversation, I felt fuelled with what I needed to carry on and stand a little straighter. After that lunch, I went home and made a few decisions that I wonder how long would have taken me to make otherwise. I can only thank you and the other guests for that.
12. Finally, what’s next for Studio Lizzet Frausto? What are you most excited about as the business continues to grow?
I’m very excited about the positive feedback I’m receiving in the USA. It has motivated me to keep creating and to remain open-minded about where the business could take me.
As I said earlier, this is the time to dream big. I’m currently working on two collaborations, and I hope these will lead to more and even stronger connections. I’m very excited to see where it takes me.
