I first came to know of the beautiful eclectic design work of Eva Trevisan and Clara Boatto when the daughter of a friend of mine was part of a beautiful wedding in Puglia. I loved everything about that wedding, the table decorations, the flowers, the tambourines, the music, the fiat 500, and the music. And just like that, I was a mega fan of the girls who were then known as Chic Weddings. 

Eva and Clara, like the true creatives they are, kept on rolling and creating new versions of themselves and events for lucky folk to participate in from colourful creative workshops to out of this world parties and events known as the Design Anarchy Studio.

Their recent project is one that I think many people dream of and that is creating their own curated collection of accessories crafted by talented artists for soul gifting and memorable hospitality! 

They boldly state, “This is our story, we are different. You either love us or hate us. If you love us, it will be forever.”

I’m one of those lovers! And maybe you will be too?

Today Eva shares her knowledge on turning their dream into a reality.

You’ve had many incarnations as a creative, designing amazing weddings and private functions around the world, stylist, creating workshops for creatives to re-inspire them after a season of giving. What has been a useful talent, skill or value that has helped you bring to your incredible creative artisanal eclectic design products to life?

We always dreamt to create something unique that could express the real “us,” something that could represent our vision and show our audience what we really love but we were always reluctant because the risk was that our tastes would appeal to one particular clientele and automatically alienate another. 

From the moment we understood that, we just wanted to be ourselves and show who we really are. Letting go of our fears, we started running directly towards our online collection of items we love. The collection is for DIY brides, private event organisers, hotels, and restaurants looking for artisanal items for their tables and for all those seeking ideas for presents and thoughts for their guests or for themselves. It is a cabinet of curiosities aimed at showing beautiful pieces made by worldwide artisans. The crafting skills behind some items are incredible. We worked with artists who helped us to bring our ideas into reality and who created, in collaboration with our design, wonderful handmade items. Nothing is produced in big factories and with this, we hope to help the world of craftsmanship to be valued and appreciated more and more.

Courage is essential when we do something new or dare to move towards something we care about. I love how you embrace the concept of “be uncommon, be you” which is so refreshing in a world that finds it difficult to be themselves and stand out. What role has courage played in your new project, in leaning into your particular eclectic design style and vision, what has motivated you to be courageous with Design Anarchy Studio? 

We always chose to be ourselves even though sometimes it is not always easy to follow this path; it is a choice we made fully when our company grew, and I must admit we are still evolving and shaping into this decision. Sometimes, we feel the pressure from the world — especially the business world — for us to be more commercial, more similar to other companies. A good entrepreneur would probably focus on the business side of his company, while an artist would prefer to keep doing his art (and live on the street)… but we are a bit in between. 

We believe that as much as it is important to run a healthy business and that without a good profit, the business would cease to exist, we still try to run our company (with our vision in mind), always bringing our visions and personalities to our clients. We’re always aiming to meld art, our vision, and our knowledge of the market altogether to make the business more successful in all aspects.

After 15 years in this business, we have seen this market grow enormously in these past years. New agencies have been born and now the market offers different solutions for every budget or taste. We have understood that the only way to make a difference is to be ourselves, to bring our expertise and knowledge to this market with our skills and experience and with our dreams and creative visions. This requires a bit of risk — not every client might like a leopard-print tablecloth at their event, but like everything in life, we believe that risks are always paid back. Only in this way will we attract the right clients for us. 

We might change again in the next 10 years — obviously, we won’t be the same as we are now — but this is the beauty of life. Courage doesn’t come without fears, but when you are motivated by something creative inside, the jump always rewards you with surprises that would not be possible if you stayed in safer waters. 🙂

You are a renaissance woman moving across so many creative fields. What is one habit, tip, or behaviour that supports your ongoing creativity? What has creativity taught you about yourself? 

Sometimes, I personally don’t feel creative at all. While some days are better than others, I think it is the normal life of a creative person. 

When we were in lockdown in March 2020, I had this idea to create moodboards with items I found at home and to describe each moodboard with the names of an event or a journey. It was a super fun project which helped me and my business partner Clara, to “see” more and visualise more of the items we had at home. To divide in colour palette, to create from nothing…

What I have learnt about myself is that sometimes creativity is an inner talent. You don’t notice you have it but then you realise it belongs to you when you compare it with the world or when a magical idea comes in. A glimpse of creativity comes to me when I am at the cinema (which has a big influence on me, I looove the big screen) or maybe I’m just walking down the street and boom! I get an idea! I am a big observer when I travel and I always have my eyes open, so I think this helps a lot. I observe everything around me, from young generations in the way they live, act, dress to food markets, nature, buildings, and people…

Creativity has taught me that I cannot live without combining items, patterns, and colours together. It also makes me happy.

Women are often told that at 40+, they are too late to realise their dreams. How has your age and experience been a positive asset in starting this new adventure for Design Anarchy? What would you say to women who need to take their first step?

I think when you are 40+, you need to take your steps more consciously because at this age, you may also have a bunch of heavy luggage with you (children, husband, a house to pay, bills to pay, etc…) so let’s face it, it requires a good business plan. We started to change our company name in 2020 after 14 years in the business. It took a lot of courage but we were tired of being associated with something we were not anymore. We took the risk and now we are happy about our decision. We are not the same as we were 14 years ago, and our company name didn’t represent us anymore so we feel we did the right move.

40s is also the age when a woman feels more empowered with herself, more convinced of herself, and she has started accepting herself differently than during her 20s. It requires lots of constant work when taking the first step in achieving the dreams, hard work, and pragmatism but she also forgives herself easily. If she falls, she rises up again without being too hard on herself. To the women who are taking their first steps, I would say that it is important to plan well and play a lot, to enjoy each journey they have decided to step into, to take their decisions with a smile, and if they don’t work out, it doesn’t matter. To avoid acting like the worst judge of themselves but to be kind. To treat themselves gently. Whatever their dreams are, it is important to value them and to have a clear plan in mind, then once they’ve decided to take that step forward, be aware of all the roads leading to that dream, it is not all glam and fame but it is always worth the journey.

What’s a message, quote, or saying you would like to send out to the world about taking a risk and doing what you love? And why?

“It is better to be hated for what you are than to be loved for what you are not.” — Andre Gide

I think the quote summarizes everything.

You can check out the eclectic design work of Design Anarchy Studio here: www.designanarchystudio.com

Their new shop and artisanal range of artisanal eclectic design products here: shop.designanarchystudio.com

And you can follow Design Anarchy on Instagram here: instagram.com/designanarchystudio

A huge thank you to Eva for sharing her thoughts and knowledge.

Wishing you a beautiful, creative day.

Carla x