The Making of a Table

Feb 2

Last February, I was thrilled to be invited to participate as a table designer for Naples Tables, a fundraiser for The League Club in Naples, Florida. The League Club has provided over $8 million in grants to local nonprofit organizations supporting the environment, education, children and families. I knew immediately where I wanted to look for inspiration for the table: the artisans of Guatemala and Mexico.

The piece that inspired the entire design is a vintage huipil I purchased in a market during one of my visits to Guatemala. It comes from the community of Santiago Atitlán and features beautiful hand embroidery around the neckline, layered over a grid pattern that is traditional to this town. That combination of structure and detail became the foundation for everything that followed.

Designing with Layers of Texture and Depth

As with all of my design concepts, I begin by thinking about layers. Layers of texture, but also layers of depth and meaning. Each element should complement the next while adding dimension to the overall composition.

Building the Foundation: Table Linens

To create the foundation of the table, the tablecloths, I took inspiration directly from the colors of the Santiago huipil. I developed a new colorway of our Falseria fabric by the yard to use as the base tablecloth.

To add more depth, I layered a handwoven Mexican ikat textile between two layers of handwoven Guatemalan fabric. This added complexity to the table and served as an ode to another place that continues to fill my heart as a designer and connector of cultural storytelling and craft.

Dishware Rooted in Textile Tradition

For the next layer of the table, we partnered with Topis Ceramics, a workshop of expert ceramic painters located in Antigua, Guatemala, to create the dishware. We drew inspiration from the traditional textiles of Nahuala and shared these designs with the ceramic painters, who brought them to life on each plate through meticulously hand painting each detail.

Our Mariposa Throw Pillow Handwoven in Nahuala

We are planning a future launch of this line of dishware, and a percentage of the profits will be used to compensate the backstrap weavers in Nahuala for the designs we referenced. One of the cornerstones of our brand is that artisan’s design knowledge is recognized and fairly valued.

Our favorite dish features the Guatemalan national bird, the quetzal. I loved this plate so much that it inspired me to design an entire line of hand-painted tiles featuring birds found throughout Guatemala. Stay tuned for that collection via Regan Billingsley Interiors.

Natural Materials and Cross-Cultural Details

The dinner plates sit atop pine needle woven chargers, also made in Guatemala. Women collect fallen pine needles from nearby forests and use cotton thread to join them in a circular pattern.

To complement this natural fiber texture, I sourced the woven centerpiece from LORDEG in Mexico City. I love its organic, whimsical shape, which draws the eye upward and creates a focal point for the entire tablescape.

Surrounding the centerpiece is a ceramic pineapples made in Michoacán, Mexico, one of the many signs that I needed to visit this magical place. You can follow our visit in 2025 to Michoacán on our Instagram. The delicate etched glassware is also from Mexico, and the floral candles are from a master artisan in Oaxaca.

Lighting and Finishing Touches

Lighting the table are two custom-made lamps. The fabric on the shade was handwoven in Cobán using the very rare Pikbil weaving technique. This extremely fine weave allows a soft, dim light to pass through, highlighting the incredible skill required to produce it.

Circling back to the original inspiration, the napkins were woven on the backstrap loom in Santiago Atitlán and feature the community’s traditional grid pattern. For the napkin holders, artisans embroidered intricate birds, one of their most remarkable and time-intensive skills. You can see more of this incredible technique in our Pájaro Lumbar Pillow.

A Table Meant to Spark Conversation

“For this tabletop design, I wanted to create a space that celebrates the artistry and complexity of Guatemalan and Mexican design. Every piece has a story, and together they create a setting meant to invite conversation, curiosity, and appreciation for the layers behind each handmade object.”