Despite her youth, Natalia Zubizarreta has achieved success in a profession in which she feels like a fish in water: that of “creating homes so that people are happier”, as she herself says.
Five years ago she opened her own studio in Bilbao, in a short time she hired two people and now she is in charge of a team of seven of which she is proud and for which she only has good words.
But this girl from "Las Arenas", with an Argentine mother and grandmother, has been linked to art and creativity all her life.
1.- How did it all start?
Since I was little I had a passion for decoration, perhaps the fact that my grandmother was an advertising creative has had something to do with it because I have always had the creative impulse to the surface and when they have left me I have started to participate enthusiastically, as in the first reform of our house or in my first job as a young girl in a decoration store….
I started Fine Arts, a career that I combined with interior design studies, but I ended up focusing on the latter, which has always been my true vocation.
2.- What is the key to the success of your interior design studio?
I am very proud of my team. I only have good words for them, they put their hearts into their work, we enjoy what we do and we defend values such as honesty, humility, ethics and knowing how to listen, above all else.
We work by surprise. 90% of our clients give us the keys and do not ask us what tile we are going to put on. We gave them the house fully dressed, even some with food in the fridge and they have all been a real success; They haven't changed a single vase. This for us is a gift.
Our style is simple, honest, we always try to adapt to the client. All my projects have a line that identifies them but at the same time I am chameleonic: I can make a very very modern or very minimal house and a very classic or very ornate house.
And then there is the passion. My passion for what I do is such that I have sacrificed a lot on the personal side, although I do not perceive it as something negative either, because I have always felt complete.
3.- A project that has marked you?
The first year in my studio I had the opportunity to participate in a fantastic project. A builder from Bilbao built a house in Ibiza that a well-known footballer bought and I ended up being his interior designer.
It gave me a lot of freedom to intervene and I was able to make a spectacular house that was on the cover of a magazine and was widely disseminated in the media. This work turned out to be a good boost, I soon held a cover of EL MUEBLE with another house and then more came along.
4.- How do you choose the dishes in your outfits?
As I mentioned, we work by surprise and although customers know that they will find details that we leave to dress their house, they do not imagine that they will find even the dishes ... and when they discover the table set they touch it and it is one of those elements that they most value having in your home: dishes adapted to your personal style.
The tableware is a piece that in each project is different, in some it is more rustic in others it is more modern, but it is always an extension of the project like this is the client's.
The tableware is for a house like that earring or that jewel to make it shine and complete the look of a bride.
5.- Tell us about Tacha, she is becoming famous, do you know?
Tacha is a hairy angel, a bitch's delight and perfect for posing. The El Mueble photographer is in love with her, they have taken quite a few photo shoots; now he has to come out in another project shortly.
Tacha is absolutely Zen, he listens to our instructions and obeys with a peace that is incredible. It has that noble bearing, like aristocratic, that doesn't matter where you put it, it always looks good. In the studio she is one more, everyone adores her and even has her own Instagram profile.
6.- To finish, how do you handle confinement?
For me it was the opportunity to stop, I was in a maelstrom. I don't know how, but since I got on my own every day I had more work than the previous one, I knew I had to stop the rhythm, but a pandemic had to come to stop this spin in which I was involved.
In any case, I recognize that I have stopped to “pamper” even more the projects that I have in progress and enjoy them without feeling the pressure of the times that always hangs over our heads. So on a professional level I have enjoyed more than ever. We have a lot of issues going on and the whole team is teleworking but now we are being more creative and more dreamy than ever.
My passion for what I do is such that I have sacrificed a lot on the personal side, although I have not perceived it as something negative either, because I have always felt full.
On a personal level it is being a stage of a lot of self-knowledge and connection with myself. I was afraid of suffering with loneliness, with feeling locked up, but I have discovered that I love my home, that I am a good cook and that I know how to stop. At the same time I think I have discovered what I really want and care about, and what I don't. I have also realized how extremely lucky I am with the life that I have.
If Natalia were one of our dishes it would be "Natural Brown". A chameleonic tableware that blends in with the style and desires of the diner. Perfect to serve a pizza or a tiramisu, as the star tableware at a Mexican dinner, or as an ideal option for a warm Christmas table with candle holders or candles.
