Jose Antonio Gandia-Blasco Canales was born in Ontinyent, Valencia. After studying law at the Valencia University, he joined the family business Gandio Blasco which was a manufacturer of blankets at the time. After travelling throughout Spain as a business agent, he began to work on responsibilities in the company. With the help of designers, Marisa Gallén and Sandra Figuerola, he began to reshape the company’s image. During the building of his summer residence in Ibiza in 1996, he needed to furnish the house with outdoor furniture that would match the character of the architecture. In close collaboration with his architect, they developed the Na Xemena collection which quickly became an iconic design collection. Besides being the company president, he is also its artistic director having designed a great majority of the furniture and textile collections that Gandia Blasco now sells around the world.