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English Version | To be Continued: Tell me what your routine is... with Susana Minotti

22 Sep 2023
By Vogue Portugal

Back To Work Issue

... and I'll tell you what you do for a living. Or at least I'll try. The day of a model is not the same as that of an actress and she, in turn, will occupy her twenty-four hours very differently from a communications director, an influencer or a buyer. If you've always wanted to know how other people's habits differ from your own, take advantage of this rentrée to take notes.

Susana Minotti
Josui Yasuda (Mr.) from MRS / BUNKA PUBLISHING BUREAU

She confesses that she's not exactly a morning person, but that doesn't mean she doesn't attend to all the commitments that her position as Head of Interior Decoration Department at Minotti, the iconic Italian design brand, entails. Susana Minotti, a member of the third generation of the Minotti family, rarely has two days the same. She is a curious, highly creative person, who breathes the DNA of the brand she represents. Easy to get along with (we've met her more than once), you can tell she likes to “waste time” listening to others. In fact, being at the table, socializing, is one of her favorite activities. What wakes you up in the morning? I always set the alarm clock on my phone but before going to sleep I make sure that the blinds are not completely closed so that the morning light will accompany the awakening. I don't like starting the day in complete darkness and I believe that by doing so the body gets used to the idea of waking up normally.

What wakes you up in the morning? I always set the alarm clock on my phone but before going to sleep I make sure that the blinds are not completely closed so that the morning light will accompany the awakening. I don't like starting the day in complete darkness and I believe that by doing so the body gets used to the idea of waking up normally.

At what time? During the week I wake up at six. On Sundays, if possible, there is no alarm clock.

What’s the very first thing you do when you wake up? I hug my partner, drink a glass of water and I go to get ready while I start thinking about things to do during the day and, perhaps a bit bizarre, I go through the dreams I had during the night trying to understand their meaning and message.

Do you normally bounce out of bed or do you need to be dragged from the sheets? I'm not a particularly morning person so I always want to postpone the alarm until indefinitely but, I love the light - and the energy - of the morning, and I grew up with the concept that “the early bird gets the worm” and therefore I try to take advantage of the hours between the wake up and the start of the working day to carve out time for myself in order to achieve a good balance

What is the first thing you do? I try not to turn on the phone to stay in a collected state until I leave home so as not to get distracted by social networks and to avoid immediately entering a frantic state.

How do you set the mood for the day? When I get up I do some exercise at home or a run in the neighborhood where I live, and after at least 15 minutes of meditation. And so, I get ready to go to work. I hardly wake up hungry so breakfast is not part of my habit even though I'm trying to make at least a light one before leaving my home. On the other hand, during the weekend or on vacation, with more free time, I treat myself with nice breakfasts at home with homemade cakes or in my favorite café, which is also a bookshop, with cappuccino and brioche. Once in the car, since I drive for 30 minutes before arriving at work, I always listen to podcasts on various topics.

Do you have a long beauty routine? To speed up I don't delay in long routines during the week but face cream and a little makeup can't be missed.

How do you choose what to wear? Do you have it planned the night before? I usually open the closet and let myself be inspired. Most of the time I get an idea the night before of my outfit but I complete in the morning. I have chosen a simple and practical style to face the working day with ease.

How is your typical working day? I start work at 8.30 and as soon as I arrived in the company it's like diving into a washing machine! Daily activities vary from e-mails and phone calls to the reviews of the many projects that I tackle every day with the team, internal meetings and meetings/lunches with customers, dealers and collaborators who we welcome from all over the world at our company showroom or who we meet remotely on digital platforms. It also happens that I am engaged in business trips in Europe or overseas and in that case there is no typical day…

At what time to you return home? I'd say around 8.30pm during normal working days. When I have dinners and evening commitments, most of the time I don't stop by and head directly to my destination, whether it's a business dinner, an aperitif with friends, a theater or a cinema.

What is the first thing you do when back home? I take my shoes off, put myself at ease, turn on the music and, if I feel like it, and I drink a glass of wine to sip while cooking.

How is your dinner time? I don't have one, it depends on my commitments and when I get back from work. I often dine out but I'm lucky enough to have a partner who, when he is not away and works from home, prepares us nice dinners, and on those occasions we have dinner around 9pm.

Do you normally cook or do you prefer to order food? I really like cooking but I do it mostly on weekends while during the week I opt for simpler and lighter dinners. At least once a week, however, we order take away food and when we do it, we prefer ethnic cuisine (especially Greek or Lebanese) or the classical pizza by the slice.

Do you like to have dinner in silence, in front of the TV, with talking with friends or family…? For me, being at the table is synonymous with conviviality and partly for culture, partly for lack of time, many of my social gatherings take place around a table, so I love good company that goes well with good food and good wine. Whether it's family or friends, the table is always a place to meet and have an exchange. Since I can remember, at the end of the day, we gather around a table to tell each other what we have done, to make plans and exchange ideas or share reflections and this is a tradition that can only continue. But sometimes it happens that I'm home alone and then I allow myself a little guilty pleasure that actually gives me a lot of satisfaction: dinner on the sofa in front of a film or a TV series (in those cases food delivery is also a must).

After dinner, do you go back to work stuff, like emails for instance? Having customers and collaborators from all over the world, there may still be some exchanges in the evening due to the different time zones, especially when the construction site of a new showroom is underway and timely responses need to be given, but I don't go back to operational work until the following morning while leaving me free space for explorations that nourish creativity and bring ideas and references for the projects I'm following. In general, however, the evening is dedicated to loved ones, to small household chores and to leisure.

What time do you usually go to bed? If it were up to me, I'd never go to bed and I tend to procrastinate when it comes to sleeping, also because it's precisely in the evening that my level of creativity rises and the best intuitions arrive. But I'm a nocturnal animal who had to self-tame! So during the week I try not to go past midnight in order to have a sufficient number of hours of sleep, reserving the small hours for Saturday night.

This article is part of  The Coming Back Issue of Vogue Portugal, published in September 2023.

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