Studio Anva’s award-winning interior architect, Alyssa Anselmo, reveals her tips on how to make design unforgettable from social media to real life.
We sat down with award-winning interior architect, Alyssa Anselmo to discuss her path to interior design, the art of discovering your personal style and her innovative use of Mattoboard.
Since I was very young I always knew that I wanted to do something creative. I just never knew exactly what. I had many hobbies that resembled a creative field such as music, art and some photography but I will say above all I have always been strongly affected by my environment, to the point that my entire mood would depend on my surroundings. I felt so strongly affected by this, so I started making the connection between environment and architecture and how if I feel so terrible in all of these spaces that I go to, why not start creating my own spaces that fuel me with energy and actually inspire me.
I absolutely love to travel and learn especially about architecture and see the beauty in the smallest of details abroad. I truly believe that if I never left my hometown in Canada, I would be a very different designer, and person for that matter, than I am today. I have learned infinite amounts about what makes “good” architecture from my studies in Italy, timelessness and elegance while living in Stockholm and the importance of bringing what feels like the “impossible” to life while designing in Canada.
Truly thank you for this. I try to focus all of my importance on making sure that every single material, construction or object has to have a purpose that contributes to the overall concept. I really feel that without a concept a project can’t flourish. I’ve always tried to avoid “themes” in spaces and rather dedicate countless hours to developing a strong concept from the beginning. I absolutely love a deep focus on materials - combine that with a unique layout and I am happy! I would say that I am still constantly learning and it has taken me not just the last nine years in design to develop my style, but really bringing in those curiosities that I had from childhood as well that really help grow my style.
I genuinely feel most inspired when walking around outside and picking up on strange materials around me, seeing how people interact within the environment around them and lighting is a big one!
For this reason I would say what keeps me inspired is just the amount of joy, fear and excitement that I feel every time I begin a project. It feels like the biggest risk in a way, you never know how something is going to turn out, but then by the end of it I get fuelled by an abundance of fulfilment and want for more projects. It’s so invigorating to create buildings from nothing!
I would say that the first studio that comes to mind is Note Design Studio. I believe that they have achieved an excellent recipe of clean lines and timelessness using raw, very unique materials. On top of that they have always stayed true to their approach and I really respect that. There’s just something that I have always admired about them from day one. There are many studios with a similar feel specifically in Stockholm for me. The biggest way that they have influenced me is to just continue creating exactly for myself. There is so much out there that is trendy and “fast” in design and I really love the idea of slow design. These studios taught me that there will always be an audience that thinks and sees the world from the same lens that we do.
My biggest piece of advice is to TRY EVERYTHING. It has been the “ugliest” materials for example that I originally thought looked terrible on their own until I experimented with them and placed them into an unimaginable combination. Try to steer away from the trends and really find what makes your light glow. I strongly suggest walks through the city like I mentioned earlier, seeing how other creatives work and if you look at something and don’t see the beauty in it initially - try again until it WORKS.
I began Studio Anva two years ago and work there by myself where I design developments worldwide (from my computer) and do everything in house from start to finish from concept development all the way down to final instalment and architectural photography. I guess this fades into how I always knew I wanted to own my own studio because I absolutely thrive on working on a project from start to finish. When I worked in a studio in groups I always wanted to do so much more than what was handed to me and my creativity was heavily restricted. I remember even questioning leaving the field because I didn’t feel inspired to do anything anymore. The question seemed to always be: “how can we make this quicker and cheaper?” rather than “how can we inspire and make this unforgettable?”.
I have been extremely blessed with social media being my main client source ever since I shared my last Childcare Center project with Bambini. I would say that might just be the best strategy out there right now because we are able to reach up to millions of people in a few days. I still like to stick to my thought of “the right people will come to you” and to not get discouraged if not everyone wants to hire you right off the bat. Social media can sometimes feel forced, so I really believe that as long as you keep designing for yourself, the people who value your design will find you either way.
Mood boards are such an important aspect in pairing my concept with a visual that embodies all things texture, tones and quality that, altogether, paint a sort of story. It is almost the match that sparks the entire project for me. Usually I will see some kind of interesting and unique material while I am walking outside that grabs my attention and I really try to understand why? What are the qualities that make this so unique? And then how can I bring out the best in this material in all of the ways that it deserves? From there I begin to piece together textures, colors, metals, anything that compliments each other. I always seem to find amazing materials in the most unusual places and I will take photos of them as a memory and sort of "introduction" to my next project. I have to really feel that everything featured has ultimately a purpose to it and I will always have an explanation of why each material was chosen and what it offers the project as a whole.
The most beautiful thing I know as a designer is that when I am sitting in meetings and trying to express both to the client and everyone else involved (contractors, developers, etc..) the exact vision that I have for this project, I tend to automatically assume that everyone has the same vision as I do. Many times I will even explain a certain material that I wish to have all over the project and I can just see the look of despair in everyone's eyes, that is until I introduce the mood board! I always include a description of each material on the board in order to give reassurance and build trust with the client so that they know something was not chosen out of randomization, but rather because it serves a very important purpose. Being able to translate my design vision to my client is so exciting and fulfilling, it really feels like that's the REAL beginning of the project. I am really obsessed with the look and feel of materials so generally I will carry them around with me on site to a project so that I can compare the small sample to what has been built.
-min.jpg)
This is still such a tricky question for me, because everyone that knows me, knows that I am the last person to be posting on social media daily. As I’ve mentioned previously I do not like the “curated/fake” feel that is presented on platforms. I truly believe that good work speaks for itself, however today I feel that it is inevitable and that we must take advantage of the reach we are able to have. Still to this day I get anxiety even from just being on my phone let alone posting consistently, yet I always remind myself of the network I have grown and the wonderful people I have been able to connect with in the process! I had a video reach 14 million views on TikTok and I quite literally freaked out. I think this was the start for me when I really realized that I could grow my business and potentially create the life I’ve always wanted.
I always try to answer my message requests from my community, although there have been so many lately that I have actually created a booking link on my Instagram for those who need any advice from simple design suggestions to career advice for up and coming designers. I also offer full consultations for actual projects! Aside from that I am always posting on social media to keep that connection and allow my community to watch me grow as a designer, it’s so exciting that they’re on this journey with me!
It’s funny because I know of ways that I could post content that will captivate and make me grow very quickly from where I am now, however those would not fuel me nor feel authentic to me. I would say I am always trying to make content that resonates with me as a sort of artist so that my audience can see their life through my eyes. I usually come up with new series of projects that I am working on that I know they would like to join along the way and see the outcome.
Honestly, be authentically you. I learned so much about social media in the last year and my one suggestion is don’t compare yourself to other designers, don’t post what others are posting because you know their videos do well. Music is such a good example of this. When I began posting, I would always use trending sounds because I was told that they would help the algorithm and one day I just felt so dull because I truly hated the songs that I was using, so in a way I went against myself. Once I started creating videos with songs and artists that actually make me feel something, I was able to help my audience feel the way I feel about design as well. Show what inspires you rather than what you think will blow up.
Mattoboard is a 3D tool for designers. Our drag and drop technology helps you design quickly & experiment endlessly. Stay on trend and use visual storytelling to create mood and material boards.
