“We are very similar”. The owner of José Ignacio’s most iconic deco store and her daughter welcome us to their esteño havenBy Fernanda Sanguinetti

There where Uruguayan geography takes a curve, with the José Ignacio lighthouse in the background, Sun Wheel (70) y Anushka Elliot (34) they cross the day to immerse themselves in a universe of objects that come from distant lands, aromas, Dutch dishes, travel, textiles and clothing that unite them as much as genes. Mother and daughter share the tireless search for the beautiful and the unique. “Anushka still denies a little, but although it is difficult for her to admit it, we are very similar physically, emotionally and, of course, in aesthetic pursuits,” Sol will say, amused, about the youngest of the four daughters she had with Horacio “Chicho” Elliot, her husband and founding partner of Sentido, José Ignacio’s iconic store. And Anushka, who is a fashion designer, for her part, will say: “Natasha, María del Sol and Panda [así llaman a Stephánia, que es música y la única que no está vinculada el emprendimiento familiar de decoración], my sisters, listen to us and tell us that mom and I are the same. I renounced, perhaps, in adolescence. She was the youngest and I was trying to find my own way! Except for a few differences, I admit that I am a carbon copy of her. [Se ríe]. And it’s great: everything my mom has passed on to me is incredible.”

Anushka and Sol, in one of the rooms of the house preferred by the whole family. Behind, an incredible view of the sea and the José Ignacio lighthouse. On the table, decoration and photography books – chosen by Sol and Natasha –, fashion books – selected by Anushka – and cooking books – chosen by Chicho, Sol’s husband. Tadeo Jones

–Where does your aesthetic eye come from?

Anushka: For me, the style, the choice of colors, the mix of textures, the desire to play and go for new and original things that my sisters and I – each with their particularities – share are born in Sentido, in that great family project. that condenses life stories, travel, nature.

Sol: Venezuela has a lot to do with it, where we and Chicho lived for more than thirty years and where the girls were born. I had a plant store there, which later diversified. I was searching a lot; I aimed for the details. He trained all of our eyes. But I would also say that it has been a conjunction. Chicho, who is a frustrated architect [se ríe], knows about numbers, dimensions, textiles and is a great chef. For him, what is on the plate and how you present it “provokes more,” as they say in Venezuela. The same thing happened in my paternal house: with my brothers [Sol tiene diez]we had the mission of decorating always overcrowded tables, an activity that we lived from celebration and joy.

Anushka: My sisters and I inherited that. In Venezuela, while mom and dad cooked, we decorated the tables with little: flowers, tree roots or snails that we brought from Los Roques or Morrocoy… A small detail changes everything!

“We started thinking about this house when we returned from Venezuela, in 2004,” says Sol Rueda. She, together with Chicho Elliot, her husband, and the architect and artist Juan Bautista “Pachi” Firpo designed this minimalist construction, but with a tropical air, with many rooms and playrooms for children, grandchildren and friends. Tadeo Jones

On the terrace – another of the privileged spaces of the house from where you can see José Ignacio’s Brava –, a living room with rattan furniture with polypropylene rugs, a novelty from Sentido that the family incorporated for picnics or going to the beach. . Tadeo Jones

The details are everything, say the Rueda-Elliots. Tadeo Jones

–Was deco a door to landing on clothing?

Sol: When I was in sixth grade, Anushka announced that she was quitting school and was going to make clothes… and she cut off all my pants. [Se ríe]. We gave her a sewing machine. She always had a bionic eye with fabrics and a very personal style of dressing. When we returned to Argentina, she was 15 years old; and, while girls her age only wore jeans and white t-shirts, she embraced textures, prints, and colors. That moment was brave.

Anushka: I felt different! Also, she was the only Anushka. Nobody was called that! With her temperance, Mom helped me adapt while remaining authentic. She is the most present mother and grandmother on earth: with my sisters, we still don’t know how she manages to do so many things and be with us and with many others at all times. She encouraged me to make my own journey, to be persistent.

Sol: He complained about the name, but ultimately chose it for his brand. [Se ríe]. Anushka was always curious and enterprising: after studying [en la Saint Martin’s School of Arts, de Londres, y en la Universidad de Palermo], worked at Bergdorf Goodman in the United States, in fashion magazines and at brands such as Jazmín Chebar. At 20, she went to Dubai and India to look for fabrics and suppliers. In three years, he surprised us all.

“What would I like to have in my house? With that question as a driving force, we started putting together Sense,” mother and daughter say about José Ignacio’s iconic establishment. Although it is a shopping site, it is designed to be a sensory experience for the whole family: there are sofas and a library with books with topics for all tastes, from golf to cooking and children’s texts.Tadeo Jones

–Máxima Zorreguieta and Juliana Awada have chosen Anushka garments. And you, Sol?

Sun: Yes! I use everything. And we share it with my other daughters. We lend ourselves everything. Sometimes I want to put on a shirt, I look for it and I look for it and, after a while, one of them confesses that she took it and has it in her house.

Anushka: Mom never paid attention to brands or what was fashionable. But she always dressed with a lot of personality. Before going to Venezuela, she had a clothing store: she sold very original clothes. With my sisters, we always took out her clothes. And now she wears everything from Anushka. [Se ríe]. She loves the looks that I put together for her in ten seconds; She knows that what I thought for her is going to look good on her.

Anushka, the youngest daughter of the family and owner of the brand that bears her name. Tadeo Jones

Very original, the designs of Anushka, who created her own clothing brand in 2014, have been chosen by Juliana Awada and Máxima Zorreguieta. Tadeo Jones

–Looking for originality all the time must be a bit exhausting…

Sol: Although we understand that so much demand is not good, we are all very perfectionists. We do a lot of research: we try to have things that others don’t have. If some store copies what we have, then we look for more.

Anushka: To look for inspiration for Sentido we all traveled to places like Vietnam, Morocco, Syria… Much of what is raised goes to help the school and chapel of José Ignacio and others in northern Argentina, such as those of El Alfarcito, Salta, to which Mom is committed through her spiritual and social work.

–Do you make many plans together?

Sol: We function as a clan. [Se ríe]. Having lived abroad brought us together a lot. We make many decisions together. If the girls don’t like what my husband and I choose for Sentido, we leave it. We want to agree. When Anushka is about to launch a collection or make a wedding dress, for example, he asks us for our opinion… although he then follows his intuition. [Se ríe].

Anushka: When I launched my brand, in 2014, I partnered with Sentido, which has been in Argentina since 2017. We complement each other with my sisters: Natasha [estudió Comunicación en la Universidad Austral] is in charge of interior design, marketing and networks; and María del Sol, of numbers [estudió Economía Empresarial en la Universidad Di Tella].

Sol, with his four daughters. From left to right, María del Sol, Anushka, Natasha, Sol and Panda

–What is the routine like at José Ignacio?

Anushka: We get up early and, before starting work, we go to the beach. The whole family loves the sun and the sea! At noon, we prepare the table together at home, which is the family’s place in the world since we arrived from Venezuela.

Sol: We pass by the beach again in the afternoon, after closing the store: some swim and others surf. And later, we meditate. My daughters accompany me on this path, each one in her own way and not necessarily linked to religion, as I do. Daily meditation with the family is, for me, a very valuable moment; It is an encounter of silence that saves in difficult moments.

Mother and daughter, with their bicycles, at the main entrance of the house. “We hardly ride by car here: we use these bikes even to go to the beach,” they say. Tadeo Jones

At the door of Sentido, one of José Ignacio’s iconic establishments. Tadeo Jones

The magazine cover Hello! This week.Getty Images

María Fernanda Sanguinetti

Themes

HOLA! MagazineInterviewsDecoDecorationPunta del EsteJuliana AwadaMáxima Zorreguieta

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