Interview with Arcadi Martín, founder of the interior design studio Nada and the craft project Ajuar.

We delve into the world of interior design and Mediterranean craftsmanship with Arcadi Martín, founder of the architecture and interior design studio Nada and the craft project Ajuar. With a trajectory that dates back to his days at Elisava, Arcadi takes us through his memories and experiences that shaped his path in the design industry.

Nada was born at Elisava during the 2016-2017 promotion of the Master’s in Interior Design. For someone like me coming from the world of communication and marketing, it was quite a challenge. In fact, I had to prepare for a year to be at the same level as my classmates before starting the master’s. Naturally, insecurities and imposter syndrome were present from the beginning in an environment where most of the students came from technical backgrounds. In the end, I think I somehow turned that around to my advantage by enhancing what I knew I did best.

That whole stage was very beautiful. During that year, I juggled the master’s with my job at a company where I had been for 8 years. I was very demotivated because I really wanted to do interior design. So Elisava opened the doors to a world where I had always wanted to train. I fell into a group of really cool people with whom, 7 years later, we are still in touch. I also greatly appreciate the teachers because they taught us projects that I still refer to today for references and resources. Furthermore, I remember with much affection Joaquim Matutano, Agustí Costa, Ricardo Guasch, Marcos Catalán, and Lola Doménech, among many others. The idea of finishing the course and having to go back to my previous life terrified me. Luckily, the path was very different from what was expected.

During the master’s, we teamed up with Edu Covelo and Borja Hernández. We had worked on some projects together in class during the master’s, and after finishing it, we joined forces to work on small projects that arose in Valencia and Barcelona. Soon after, Edu Covelo had to return to Galicia to accept a job offer that was impossible to refuse. Borja and I continued to work on projects while juggling our jobs. And so, if I remember correctly, we were at it for almost three years. Many sleepless nights, lots of caffeine, junk food, and very long weekends. Then more and bigger projects started coming in until I had the confidence to leave my previous job and dedicate myself fully to the studio we called Nada.

So, if I can rate that stage on a scale from 1 to 10, it’s a 10 for me. My professional career completely shifted towards a sector I’m passionate about. Personally, it motivated me to embark on new paths and to take leaps of faith.

I remember we were on a Euromed train heading to Valencia to visit the site for what was supposed to be our first project, although it didn’t pan out in the end. We were thrilled about being able to tackle this first project, and we wanted to give a name to what we had been calling “the proto-studio” up until then. We threw out three or four silly names that we didn’t like, and then someone said, “well, ‘nada’.”

And with “nada,” we got excited because it’s a feminine word, with good phonology, short, simple, and memorable. Besides, it completely expressed our design vision, and with that word, we could explain it: “Nothing can be excessive, and nothing can be lacking.” We want to create honest design, without artifice, and without trivial ornamentation. We aim to design sincere spaces. So, “Nada” seemed perfect to us.

At Elisava, I learned that design has to provide a solution to a need. And that good design is the simplest way to solve that need. And that the object or space that solves that need will be better designed if it contains less material and the fewest possible pieces. That’s what we try to make Nada. We want to create honest spaces based on these premises.

Well, actually, Ajuar is not strictly a personal project. It’s something I share with my partner, Ricard Sampere, whom I actually met during that year of the master’s at Elisava.

Ajuar stems from the trips we take together, almost always around the Mediterranean. Additionally, part of my family is from the south, so I have always had ceramics and crafts from Andalusia very integrated into my home, especially in my grandparents’ village house. There, I learned from a young age what objects and utensils are used for, things I would never have seen in the city.

The thing is, purely out of passion, over the years we have been visiting and getting to know artisans who have been producing objects in the same way for generations. These are simple objects, with no pretensions beyond fulfilling their intended function. Furthermore, they use materials and techniques that are completely respectful and sustainable. Then, each region, each village, imparts its tradition in the colors and decorations, which are also not trivial. Each color, each shape, and each brushstroke has a reason and an intention.

So, although they may seem like different worlds, essentially Nada and Ajuar have a lot in common. Both speak of respect for materials, for pre-existence, and for being faithful to offering a solution.

We are interested in the story behind each piece. Also, their peculiarities and “imperfections.” For example, one of the artisans makes us palm-shaped candle holders just like the ones I’ve always seen in my home and at my grandparents’ house. When I was little, the power used to go out much more frequently than it does now. There was always a palm-shaped candle holder with a candle and some matches together on a shelf in the dining room.

When I rediscovered this object, I thought it was very well made and also beautiful. You can carry the candle without burning yourself, it has a base where the wax drips in case it doesn’t burn properly, and where you can also leave the matches. I’ve stopped buying candles in glass containers because they involve packaging that needs processing. At night or during dinners, I light a candle in one of these candle holders, and I feel much more connected to who I am and to our tradition.

It depends on the case. Sometimes we have an idea and look for who can make it. Other times, we talk to the artisan, let them tell us the story behind each piece. If we like the story behind it, we include it in the catalog with as little alteration as possible.

We have a thousand ideas waiting to be developed, everything has happened so quickly that we haven’t had much time to think. With the first ceramic collection, the first order from Mercí Paris came immediately, then orders from Belgium and the United States. Last December, we collaborated with our friend Pepo Moreno. He is an artist from Tortosa who lives in Paris and has been exhibiting around the world for years. We created a limited collection of 76 pieces that combined this pottery tradition with messages and illustrations that present a dystopian future from an irreverent, provocative, and queer perspective. The collection was presented in Paris at a five-day pop-up.

We also have bowls whose decoration is inspired by the paintings found in the archaeological sites of the caves of Almanzora. This artisan has kilns in his pottery dating back to Al-Andalus, and his production process has varied very little since then. So for us, these bowls are a true work of art as they combine entirely handmade production with a connection to a culture. In this case, we haven’t changed a single stroke because we want to respect all that narrative.

In Nada Studio, we strive to be more faithful in approaching what we believe good design should be. It’s not always achievable due to budget constraints, because the client is looking for something else, or for a myriad of other reasons. But at least we try to be more purist in that sense. Then, each project is a creative and technical challenge. So, the learning process is continuous.

However, Ajuar is my playground. Even though it shares a common base with Nada, it allows me to play more and express a different kind of message. With Ajuar, I allow myself to be more mischievous and guided more by instinct. It’s a project that we’ve always been clear about not doing for money. Our goal is to give visibility to the crafts of the Mediterranean region and to help businesses with several family generations that now have a very uncertain future.

To have a critical outlook, to see things from a deeper perspective, not to just scratch the surface. It has provided me with references and resources that I can continue to use for learning and staying informed.

It has also given me all the professional layer of something that I started studying purely out of interest and with no job aspirations. They gave me the tools to professionalize interior design and, although I still have much to learn and plenty of fears, to be able to take the plunge into entrepreneurship.