In Conversation with: Santa Living
Meet César and Josep, the Barcelona-based duo behind Santa Living, whose practice moves fluidly between interior design, textiles, and art direction. Since founding their studio in 2019, their work has been guided by a quiet, intuitive approach—one shaped by a desire to create spaces and objects that feel personal, grounded, and emotionally resonant. Rooted in the values of slow living, they approach design as a way of building atmospheres that reflect life as it is truly lived. For this collaboration, we invited them to interpret and style the STOFF Nagel collection—bringing their instinctive sense of composition and openness to objects that evolve, adapt, and invite play.
In your view, what makes an everyday object resonate emotionally in a space rather than just fill a spot?
Spaces should reflect the people who live in them. It doesn’t matter if there are many objects or just a few, what really matters is that everything makes sense for who you are and the life you’re living. Every object, material, and corner helps to create a unique atmosphere, one that speaks about your rituals, your way of living, your memories, your environment, and what truly makes you feel good.
Lately, we notice that many homes are full of things but somehow feel empty, they don’t really tell the story of the people living there. A home should be a safe place, where every object around you helps you feel present, grounded, and even healed.
How did Santa Living start as a design studio, and what has shaped your creative path since 2019?
It all started during our trip to Japan. That journey completely changed us, both as a couple and as individuals. It helped us really listen to our inner voice and realize we wanted to create our own blank canvas, a space to express ourselves and build the world we imagined. Santa Living began as a small textile design brand, with very limited resources. That simplicity gave us the freedom to explore who we were and what we truly wanted to do. We came from work environments where we didn’t feel trusted or understood, and creating Santa Living together made us realize we had finally found the place where we truly belonged.
The studio grew very fast. In less than two years, we were not only selling products but also working as art directors and designing for other brands. Today, we design objects, spaces and unique atmospheres as interior designers, expressing a creative side we had never been able to fully explore before. Coming from small towns and humble families, we never imagined being where we are today. Looking at everything we’ve built truly moves us.
STOFF Nagel transforms a functional object (candle holder) into sculptural design — how do you think about this balance between functionality and artistic expression?
STOFF Nagel is a design classic that resonates year after year, generation after generation. That balance between functionality and artistic expression is clearly what has created its legacy.
As designers, we’re always chasing that same balance, not just in furniture, but also in how we structure and shape a home. When done right, it brings both efficiency and a sense of lightness to a space.
The Nagel candle holder, for example, lets you play with its design, creating ever-changing compositions that can evolve with you. Just as people grow and change, having objects that can adapt, not only to our lives but also to the spaces we inhabit, makes your legacy feel even more meaningful.
How did you like styling, playing and sculpting the pieces in the STOFF Nagel collection?
For us, styling or transforming spaces is like playing in a playground. Of course, we usually have some kind of guide or framework, but we love leaving plenty of empty spaces to let our creativity run free, the spaces and objects speak for themselves.
Composing is a ritual for us, a way to let go without any fixed plan. The STOFF Nagel collection perfectly allows that freedom, there’s no single “perfect” composition. Everything works if it feels meaningful and stands on its own.
STOFF Nagel has truly given us the chance to create without limits and express ourselves as we feel, letting our own essence shine through its legacy. You can really feel this in our creative journey at Atic Nou, our interior project in Barcelona.
