In a very saturated marketplace, what helps a home décor wholesaler stand out — quality, design, versatility, connection, purpose? For Anaya, it’s all of the above.

Jenna Rivers, co-founder and creative director of Anaya, embodies each of these qualities in her business, which she launched in early 2020 together with her fiancé Jonathan Call.

Anaya is a family-run company that creates thoughtful, modern home décor with an emphasis on quality, softness and durability. Its products span a variety of categories, including bedding, bath, throws, candles and apparel. Regardless of the item, Anaya is known for its luxurious textiles and materials.

INSPIRATION

The genesis of Anaya was inspired by three factors close to Rivers’ heart: her travels, her health and her family.

Travels – While traveling to a variety of five-star resorts in Asia, Rivers and Call fell in love with the exceptional bedding and bath products provided by their accommodations.

“The level of design and the level of comfort and relaxation that these hotels gave really inspired the brand,” Rivers said. “It inspired us initially and it boosted our love for textiles in general, together as a couple, and then that gave us the idea to start a company together — which was Anaya.”

Her love of textiles didn’t begin there, though.

Family – Rivers grew up weaving, sewing, crocheting and knitting with her grandmother and mother.

“The home was just always filled with crafts and things to do of that sort, and it really bonded us as a family,” Rivers said. “Through that, I learned a lot about my mother and my grandmother’s upbringing in Argentina.”

Rivers’ grandmother was an expert weaver, held a master certification in the craft and even taught weaving and sewing classes at college-level institutes. When Rivers’ mother was about 10 years old, they decided to come to the U.S. in search of a better life for themselves and future generations.

“Whenever we would sew or weave, they would tell me all about it, and I thought it was just absolutely incredible and fascinating,” she said. “I just felt really proud of what they accomplished, and what they did for me — it meant a lot to me. So throughout the years of being in fashion school, my design was always inspired by the textile first. I always gravitated to the fabric itself because I was so familiar with how it came about, whether it was through knitting or weaving, so I’m infusing all the textiles into Anaya.”

Health – About eight years ago, Rivers experienced a very serious health scare, which she later discovered was chronic Lyme disease. For a time, she was bound to a wheelchair and in search of something that could provide comfort and stress relief.

“Through that journey, I started decorating my home as much as I could. I couldn’t work, but I started decorating my home to create a calm, serene environment. And I started buying these fabrics that made me feel calm and relaxed — especially in my bed, where I actually lived for a year,” she said. “ … I actually felt calmer, and I still do to this day.”

That harrowing experience plays a major role in the Anaya brand philosophy. Rivers wants her products to possess a tier of quality, softness and texture that brings emotional and physical reprieve.

All three of these factors led to the founding of Anaya — a brand inspired by global designs, textiles and architecture. A brand that harkens back to the value of family and cultural connection. A brand that offers comfort to those who need it the most.

PRODUCTION

In 2024, Anaya opened its own production facility in Miami. The company imported fabrics from Spain and then hired a team of sewers to cut and sew production.

“The sewers remind me so much of my grandmother. It’s just heartwarming to me, because they speak like her, they sing like her, they’re sewing, and they have their Spanish music in the back. I mean, they look like her, too,” Rivers said. “So I really feel connected with her. She’s no longer with us. She lived an amazing life until she was in her early 90s, and she was really the inspiration behind my work.”

When considering the future of her company, Rivers hopes to further move production to the U.S. and open up more job opportunities for local residents, especially for women of Latin American descent “who are looking to make a better life for themselves.”

BESTSELLERS

Anaya’s bestselling collection is the So Soft Linen line, which Rivers said only gets more popular each year. The collection is produced on-site in the Miami facility, is available in 30 colors and can be cut or sewn to any size of pillow.

“We process the fibers and the fabrics, and we prewash our linen so everything is soft to the touch right when you put it out on your retail store,” Rivers said. “Your customers can feel the fabric and go, ‘Oh, wow, this is just the softest linen we’ve ever felt.’”

Another top performer is the Handwoven collection, Anaya’s signature line. The pieces are subtle and handwoven by artisans in India, and the company then applies the textiles to benches, storage items, side tables, stools, poufs and pillows. Anaya — which can be found in the Ivystone showroom at Atlanta Market and Las Vegas Market — just debuted its most recent version of this collection at the markets this year.

“This is inspired by how I grew up with the weaving with my grandmother,” Rivers said. “We weave the patterns in-house, and then we work with artisans in India who replicate the fabrics. So we have been doing this collection since the very beginning, and we redesign it maybe every two years.”

Outdoor living products also do well for Anaya, particularly its Pure Air Indoor/Outdoor collection. That line is also made in the U.S. facility and introduces a new technology developed by scientists from Spain.

“The fabric actually wicks away mold and dirt upon sunlight, so the performance of the fabric is absolutely incredible,” she said. “We’ve been selling it for a few years now, and they’re medium outdoor pillows.”

Her personal favorite item is Anaya’s quilt — also a bestseller — designed to keep the user cool while they sleep.

“A lot of women sleep really hot, so I designed our quilt to be very, very lightweight. … The fabric is 100% cotton. It’s gauze on the outside and a sheeting fabric on the back side,” she explained. “I did a wear test for about a year. I washed it about 50 times, and the batting never came out. Durability in our textiles is very important, especially when it has to do with bedding. So that has been a bestseller for us ever since we launched the quilt.”

From bath and bedding to candles to robes, Rivers’ reverence for materials shines through each product, which she hopes brings respite to the end consumer.

“I’m emotionally connected to these textiles because they just relieve the stress that I feel sometimes when my muscles are in pain or if I feel like I’m hurting, emotionally or physically,” she said. “It just helps relieve the stress factors in life a little bit.”