Hello my lovelies,
This month, I’ve chosen to stay with the theme of “Affaire Conclue” but with a ray of Spanish sun. In this interview, I invite you to discover the beautiful Leticia Blanco.
Passionate about antiques and vintage rarities, she is, just like Caroline Margeridon, one of the emblematic buyers of “Affaire Conclue”. She joined the team in January 2018.
Before being a buyer on “Affaire Conclue”, Leticia, mother of two, started as a blogger. Eleven years ago, she created her blog Vintage and Chic which made her the first Spanish interior design blogger.
Let’s see what this ray of sunshine had to tell us…
Hugs and Kisses,
– Kat.
K: 11 years ago, you created your blog. You were the first interior design blogger in Spain. What drove you to create your blog?
Leticia: I had just moved to a new house and had just taken a two-year sabbatical from my old job to see what I wanted to do in the future.
My children were very small at the time and I needed a change of scenery and to see what I really wanted to do with my time.
One evening in April 2008, very late, sitting in front of my computer in the quest for inspiration to decorate our home, I discovered some American and Australian interior design blogs and I knew straight away that I would have mine. Even though at the time having a blog was reserved for people related to the computer world… So that’s how I became the first interior designblogger in Spain. And for months, if not years, my former colleagues couldn’t understand how I could leave my job…
K: What do you like best about blogging?
Leticia: The ease of communicating with people from all over the world, inspiring them, helping them decorate their homes, and especially the community that is created around each blog.
On a personal note, having a blog has meant a big change in my life because I was able to make a living from publications and advertising at a very early age. I was able to do really coolthings thanks to my blog.
K: When we met, you told me that, in your opinion, everyone should have a blog. Why should everyone have a blog?
Leticia: I don’t know of an easier and cheaper way to show an idea, work and share what you do or like in any field. Of course, now there are social networks that can play the same role, but I think the blog format allows much more possibilities to express yourself, show photos and videos and tell stories that are a little bit longer… Content is easier to find on a blog when you have, like me, more than 3,500 published articles and tens of thousands of photos… Let’s say that a blog is like the mother ship of a project and the rest of things revolve around it. At least, that’s my case.
K: You have two kids, 13 and 16, you travel a lot. How did you combine being a business woman with being a mom?
Leticia: First of all, I must confess that I don’t consider myself a business woman. I’m more of an independent worker who loves to be one and who has created a personal project – see several – under the name Vintage & Chic and a mother who has found the best way to reconcile her work and her role as a mother (which is not at all easy in Spain with the hours that don’t fit in with a family life at all). I love what I do and I’m sure that for my children it does them good to see me happy in my work. Of course, I couldn’t have travelled so much when my children were smaller because they were always the priority, but now my husband and I are doing quite well ☺.
By the way, the main reason I decided to leave my last job was that I needed to start travelling all over Europe on a regular basis. And then I said “basta” and took my two-year sabbatical, which only lasted one year.
K: You joined the “Affaire Conclue” team in January 2018. How were you recruited for the show?
Leticia: That’s a very good question… for which I don’t have a real answer ☺. As time went by, I learned that the production (Warner France) wanted to give the show a little more “international” side following the success that Affaire Concluewas beginning to have in the fall of 2017. That’s when I was contacted to do an interview. Apparently, they looked in other countries and other accents and that’s when they recruited other fellow buyers, including Caroline (Margeridon), Stéphane or Gérald…
For the record, I will always remember the date and time of this day in November 2017 when I received this first message because I was holding the hand of my father, very ill, who passed away that very evening. I could not read the message sent by Warner until hours later. It took me a few days to reply because I couldn’t understand the purpose of the show. I didn’tknow who Sophie Davant was – she’s not known in Spain – or what France 2 was… And I hadn’t spoken a word of French for at least 20 years. So, that was my arrival…
I always say that for me the main challenge is not the language but the culture. France and Spain are still different in a lot of ways. As far as the show is concerned, I would say in particular the way of directing oneself to the sellers or the type of objects selected. But I feel privileged to be part of the daily program.
To think that I almost said no!
K: You sell all the “Affaire Conclue” items that you buy on your blog’s e-shop. Why did you choose to have only an e-shop and no shop?
Leticia: It’s something that seemed obvious to me from the beginning 10 years ago. No hours and a possibility to sell my items worldwide. One of my first sales went to Australia!
I can live in a provincial town and sell everywhere. If the day had 48 hours instead of 24, I would surely have a shop to enjoy being surrounded by my beautiful things…☺. In fact, it’s all about making the most of my limited resources.
I don’t want to grow, I’m fine the way I am now. I’d rather be in my studio restoring furniture or be in my office writing stories for the blog without being interrupted and without a schedule. I watch series on Netflix, I stop whenever I want. I’m very lucky. It allows me to balance my professional life with my private life as I wish. I can do this because I am lucky to have a blog that has received more than 20 million visits since its launch and I also have a strong presence on Facebook (130,000 followers) and Instagram (43,000 followers).
Otherwise, it would be more complicated.
K: When we met, you also told me that you are a feminist. What is your definition of feminism?
Leticia: According to the Academy of the Spanish Language, and I translate it literally, “Feminism is the principle of equality between men and women”. If that means something else in French, then I don’t know. So, I am feminista, very feminista in the Spanish sense of the word. I don’t see another possibility.
K: You are lucky to be in Spain and France very regularly. Are there any differences in the rights granted to women between these two countries? If so, which ones?
Leticia: I am indeed lucky enough to come to Paris about twice a month. I don’t see any difference between Spain and France. In that respect, we are very similar. I have a 16-year-old boy and a 13-year-old girl, so I always pay a lot of attention to this in each country, and I don’t see any big differences. There is still very obvious machismo in both France and Spain, but we have to keep taking small steps…
Did you know that one of the first countries in the world where women won the right to vote was Republican Spain in 1932? France had to wait until 1944. It’s true that after that we (Spain) had 40 years of dictatorship where women had to get permission from their husbands or fathers to do a lot of things, but we’ve caught up quickly in recent years. You only have to see Almodovar’s films ☺.
K: In your opinion, how should we fight for equality between men and women in the world?
Leticia: This is a question that is far too complicated to answer here and elsewhere. We live in such a diverse world. At home, it’s clear: the same rights and duties for my son and daughter. My brother and I were also raised that way.
K: To conclude, what are the 3 words that best describe you?
Leticia: I don’t think it’s up to me to give these three words because each of us usually has a slightly (or even very) distorted view of ourselves. But I will say that I am an honest person, who loves to laugh and is not afraid of anything… except spiders.
K: Thanks a lot Leticia !
My lovelies, I hope you enjoyed this interview. I invite you to check Leticia’s blog (vintageandchicblog.com). Don’t worry, the blog is in Spanish, French, English and German 🙂 You can also subscribe to her Instagram account (@vintageandchic) to browse all the beautiful items.
Big hug,
–Kat.
-ITW June 12th 2019