Meet the artisans behind Soho House Mexico City

The aesthetic in all of our Houses is inspired by their local surroundings, and Soho House Mexico City is no different. For the design of our first Latin American outpost, we called on Regina Pozo and Camila Apaez – two highly-esteemed creators from the Mexican capital – to create some special pieces for the final touch.   

Pozo, an independent curator and design advisor, was director and curator-in-chief of the pioneering architecture institution, Archivo Diseño y Arquitectura. She went on to found txt.ure, a design collective that focuses on new ways of designing and making traditional Mexican folk furniture, including the woven chairs she and her team have crafted for our CDMX House. 

We also invited Mexico City-born founder of Ila Ceramica, Camila Apaez, to design ceramic lamps in her signature style, which will be a feature at the reception desks of the new House. Apaez’s detailed exploration of ceramics began during her studies in arts and cultural management in 2018. The ceramist has since produced a range of works from sculptural vases to lamps to small furniture at Ila Ceramica (the studio is based in Guadalajara, western Mexico, which has long been a centre for the country’s finest ceramicists), and is known for her bold, fluid take on the natural world, bodily experiences and feminine archetypes. 

Here, we get to know the artisans, their creative journeys and the story behind their CDMX-inspired creations.

Camila Apaez 

What led you to design?
‘My path was rather spontaneous and unexpected. My first approach to clay was personal, since I began wheel-throwing as a way to experience some inner silence and direction. This hobby eventually became more serious until I set up my own studio and then my own brand.’

What inspires you?
‘My main sources of inspiration come from the natural world, whether it is walks in the forest, objects that I collect, or the hillsides when I am on the road. Also, the history of feminine archetypes and matriarchal periods are constant sources of inspiration.’

How would you describe your work? 
‘I like to think of it as organic, as something that recalls prehistoric times – or roots of trees or female silhouettes – where functionality is always a possibility but it’s not set in stone.’

Why is community important to you and your work?
‘I would say that the whole process of clay requires community. In our studio, we are a small team of four women, but the job of every single one of us is crucial and makes a great contribution to Ila Ceramica at large. Also, the ceramics community has grown in the past years, which has led to a wider network of ceramists not only in Guadalajara but in the whole of Mexico. It feels really good to have a community that supports each other’s work not only in its final stage but also in the build-up of common knowledge.’

What inspired the pieces you designed for the House?
‘We had freedom to propose finishes and silhouettes, so we tried to go for two pieces that could dialogue with each other in a symmetrical way while maintaining the organic quality.’

What would you like our members to know about you? 
‘That Ila Ceramica is the result of many joint forces of people, mainly women. I would like to give a personal mention to the whole team, Cintya Munguia, Denisse Monje, and Lilian Kieffer. As a team, we are deeply thankful for the resources we get to work with and are always on a quest to improve the way we dispose and work with these, from our energy inputs, to the water we use, to the clay that we get. Our work would not be possible without any of these.’

Regina Pozo 

What led you to your current path?
‘I am a curator interested in how culture speaks, through design specifically. After seven years in my position as a director of a private foundation devoted to the subject, I started my own design practice as a curator, collaborating with designers and artisans. I do not consider myself to be a designer; I collaborate with designers in order to materialise my vision.’

What inspires you?
‘At the moment travelling and nature. I have been splitting my time between Mexico City and Baja California, and I have found the raw nature of Baja truly connecting and inspirational.’

Do you have a playlist you work to?
‘Thousands and they are all published in my Spotify channel, here.’

How would you describe your work? 
I have a very flexible approach towards design. I like to experiment and have fun with it. We just presented a new showroom with many new pieces that we have been developing over the past year at txt.ure. I think that showroom speaks very well of where we are in terms of design.’

Why is community important to you and your work?
‘txt.ure is first and foremost a social design infrastructure. We have collaborated with artisans and designers for eight years, with direct positive impact on around 10 families and some 35 people who depend on us. It’s all about good practices within the social realm and we have also created a tight community of returning clients and customers who decide to invest in our brand, because they acknowledge our ethical approach towards design.’

Why are you excited about the House coming to Mexico City? What are you most looking forward to?
Colonia Juárez is a burgeoning creative epicentre of Mexico City. I like to call it the new design district of CDMX, as locals call Mexico City. So, for the Soho House opening we are preparing a contemporary design guide for the la Juárez neighbourhood, Juárez 0. The guide is a collaborative effort between txt.ure, Can Can Press and Soho House, which aims to represent contemporary culture generated in our neighbourhood.’

Why is collaboration important? 
‘Collaboration is an important virtue of today´s creatives. It didn´t work like that in previous generations, but having the openness and flexibility between creatives allows so much more of a free flow of good energy and creativity that is also in the Mexican design culture. And I enjoy that very much.’

What inspired the pieces you designed for the House?
‘The lounge chairs that the architects Sordo Madaleno selected for the House are pieces from our classic Tule Collection, which presents a contemporary approach to traditional pieces, with an elevated sense of handcraft execution and quality. I think these pieces represent what Mexican design is and has been over the decade and speaks about Mexico in a sophisticated way.’

What would you like our members to know about you? 
‘I am eager to meet the members I haven´t yet. I am sure we are going to make of this House one of the best in the Americas and – why not – of all the Soho Houses in the world.’

Apply for Soho House Mexico City membership, here