That iconic smile on a Sonrisas cookie. The spiky trunk of a sacred ceiba tree. The curves of a human butt. These are the inspirations that shape the designs of Chuch Estudio in Mérida, Mexico. Cofounded by architect, creative director, and self-described “lady multitask” Aranza García, the studio is young, ambitious, and determined to make design a little more fun.

From the Banquito Pompis, or “booty stool,” to the hot pink Canel’s table inspired by the classic Mexican gum, Chuch infuses color and humor into designs that give a playful nod to Latino culture. “I love fun—not taking design seriously is very important,” says García, who founded the studio as a pandemic project along with her friends Lorena Madahuar and Oaxaca-based textile designer Natalia Ramirez, whom she met during high school in Switzerland.

After graduating from architecture school, García started working at a firm in Monterrey—however she left during the pandemic, started painting, and soon thereafter launched the multidisciplinary design studio, whose name translates to “cute” in Mayan. She wants Chuch to serve as a cultural space for creatives, and today it functions as both an architecture studio and a showroom for the firm’s furniture designs, which García started creating just over a year ago. “It’s like architecture, but on a small scale—and done in one day,” she says. “I fell in love with the process.”

The city of Mérida is home to a fusion of Mayan culture and colonial-era architecture, and García suspects the building Chuch occupies was built in the 1800s. The five-room space with soaring ceilings houses furniture prototypes, living room and bedroom vignettes, an open office for her design work, and a flex space where the firm will soon host a photo exhibit.

The original floors and architecture remain untouched, aside from the walls. García scraped bits of the plaster here and there to reveal layers of history—blue in one room, yellow in another. “Lately, everything is white and beige, and nothing is fun,” says García. “It’s important to have color in life.”

“Right now, we are living this difficult life. When I think about our children and future generations, I want to leave them with a little happiness. We need that.” —Aranza García

In her architecture practice, García embraces bold hues—a rendering for a pizza restaurant touts a sunken, yellow living room, and a multifamily rental uses distinctive color themes to differentiate each space. “I have my own personality—you can see it through my projects and architecture,” García explains. “You know I’m not going to do anything that is beige. Don’t even ask me to do that.”

To create Chuch’s playful furnishings, García works with some 20 different makers throughout Mexico—from ceramicists to woodworkers. “Everyone is really proud to be from here,” she says. “So they are more into the product. They are not machines—it’s more of a passion.”

And it is for García, as well. Her enthusiasm is infectious—she lights up talking about her work, pausing only to hug a lamp modeled after the prickly ceiba tree, which towers above her. “Every time we close the door at night, I say, ‘I love Chuch! I want to live here!’” she exclaims. “I love to see my designs.”

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Project Credits:

Designer: Chuch Estudio / @chuch_estudio

Appears In

Meet the Young Firm Shaking Up the Design Scene in Mexico