We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Angel Riveros. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Angel below.
Angel, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?
The most meaningful project I’ve worked on in my career yet is the second season of the HGTV show Hogar Star. This wasn’t only a privilege to be selected to participate and compete among seven incredibly talented designers, but the achievement of overcoming every challenge, making it to the final, and winning the competition was a true testament to years of effort, discipline, passion, sacrifice, and love to create beautiful – functional spaces.
I had always been drawn to the world of creativity. I knew from an early age that this was where my heart truly belonged. However, countless circumstances growing up in Latin America made me believe for some time that dreams were only that, dreams. That I wasn’t worthy of a better life, and that working for what you love was a fictional life option you only see on TV. I settled for paths more familiar and safe to me, but I seemed to come back again to creative environments. One day, thanks to someone who shared the same passion as me, I realized I wasn’t alone, and that if anyone else dared to dream, I must dare to dream too. I committed then to try my hardest, to embrace challenges as opportunities, and to never allow my fear of failure to be greater than my hope of trying.
This way of thinking transformed my entire world and the way I see life. I continue pushing my boundaries, and I found greater satisfaction not just in building my career and achieving personal goals, but also in witnessing the impact that I was able to make on people who surround me. Those who saw my journey as a source of inspiration to overcome their own fears and pursue their dreams.
When I found out about the call for designers for the second season of the show, I felt both excited and trepidation. This competition featured some of the most talented Latino designers in the USA. I had several moments of self-doubt before applying; however, deep inside, I felt it was a sign to keep dreaming big, and if chosen, it would be a massive opportunity to share my journey with a wider audience. If any of my work and effort serves as inspiration and motivation to others, then I will be giving back some of the love and support that I too have received over the years, fueling my commitment to keep working hard to make a difference.
Once I was chosen as one of the participants, I poured my heart and soul into this opportunity. I drew inspiration from my life experiences and used every prior obstacle as the foundation of my strength and motivation to stand out.
As the competition unfolded, I faced countless moments of uncertainty. The workload was intense, the filming time was draining, and the pressure was beyond challenging. I wanted to win so badly, but at times, it was so intense and stressful that I felt I could settle with a participation award. This might not sound like a winner statement, however I think that acknowledging those feelings might also remind people that we all are still human, and fear, weakness, and tiredness are valid emotions. It is not bad to feel this way; it’s just being human. The feeling of wanting to give up is natural, but it shouldn’t lead us to actually doing it. At my weakest point, I tried to focus on little achievements to keep me going and relied on memories from friends, family, and mentors to remind me that I was in the right moment at the right time. There was not going to be a second chance to give it my all. If my all was not enough to win, it was not up to me to decide that; I was only in control of giving it my all.
The moment they were preparing to announce the winner, I felt like I was going to pass out, and that wouldn’t have been the most embarrassing thing so far in the show. Somehow, I became the only competitor that turned to tears in every single episode. As an adult, I am not an easy crier (anymore); however, constantly during the show, memories of my struggles with family, home, food, education, even my sexual orientation were brought to me. Somehow, all those circumstances seemed so humbling compared to the opportunities that life was preparing for me.
When I heard my name announced as the winner of the competition, I overwhelmed myself with joy and happiness. I felt like years and years of hard work, determination, and love for this profession had not just received a victory but had been validated and recognized. Now I knew my effort and creativity had a place in people’s lives, and others can draw from it to change their own for the better.
My participation in this competition has given me so much, not just the opportunity to make new wonderful friends from whom I’ve learned so much. I am now more than ever committed to working harder, to embracing the journey, to pushing boundaries, to never stop learning or dreaming, to always aim to give it my best, but most importantly, to recognize that we all, at some point in our journey, can draw from little or big achievements to motivate, uplift, and inspire others to follow their passion and believe in their dreams. No matter how dark days turn out to be sometimes, dedication, hard work, a little bit of confidence, and lots of love for what we do can achieve extraordinary things.
Angel, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
After working several years in the design industry in Los Angeles, I founded AIR Studio in early 2020. My goal with the studio is to create a comprehensive and integral design service, that focuses in creative, innovative and uncompromising design solutions. It is critical for me to help other to achieve their dream space. At our studio we provide multiple resources to solve spatial issues then we flooded it with style, warmth and personality.
I believe in a different kind of luxury. One where the value of things are appreciated not necessarily obtain. Constantly I draw from those feelings of tranquility, and peacefulness from nature to introduce them into a space, I believe that we can be a better version of ourselves being closer to nature, therefore we can unwind, relax, connect and get inspired. This mind set can be empowering, self-reflection and can contribute to us focus in what matter the most.
I am too a big fan of objects with soul. Along side using nature as a source of inspiration, I have a tremendous appreciation to “objects and spaces with soul” . This means elements that hold and tell a story. Specially, in a world that rapidly expands and mass produce every aspect of our life, I find it more relevant than ever, to curate pieces that not just occupied a space but complement a function or a feeling in the space we inhabit. I am committed to make people aware of the impact that our environment can have in our life.
My commitment doesn’t stop with clients alone. Design services aren’t accessible to most, unfortunately most families can’t afford even thought they could benefit the most from creative solutions. Have being myself one those who also struggle with that frustration, I seek a way to not alienate the studio and our professional services. I found in social media the best opportunity to inspire and share ideas to those who can benefit from it at no cost.
I find a great joy being able to work close to investors, developers, homeowners pushing forward creativity and design boundaries but parallel share practical ideas and simple solutions to motivate all to make their home the best it can be.
My goal with the studio is to keep learning and growing, to take every new project as a new challenge and opportunity to reinvent ourselves and keep innovating. We keep our design values up front and aim constantly to excel creativity to keep improving the quality of life of those who trust their spaces to us.
Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?
I always dreamed to run my own design studio. However, before I was “ready” to get it started, I figured I had to gain experience in the field and learn as much as possible. I paid close attention to the creative product, to the brand, the vision and the quality of services. However as a young business owner I have and will make many mistakes. One of my biggest challenges running my business is recruiting and managing my team. It is a given to implement systems for processes, responsibilities, rolls etc. However the hardest part, is to find constantly the strength, patience and energy to meet everyone at their level and provide guidance, leadership and motivation that they ( just like you ) need. It has being very rewarding to see my team grow, personally and professionally. I just wish I knew earlier how demanding it can be caring the torch of motivation, empathy and positivism to keep your team motivated, focused and efficient enjoying the work they do. I rely now on leadership and management literature to give myself wisdom, tools and solutions that allow me to do a better job as leader and better roll model for my business and my team.
Can you open up about a time when you had a really close call with the business?
I find very enriching learning from other people’s experiences. I wish someone had thought me this lesson much sooner, so I wouldn’t make such a risky mistake that not just put in jeopardy my team’s income but also my relationship with my client. Very early on when I founded the studio, and it was pretty much a “one man’s show” I learned the hard way how large custom luxury furniture stores manage payment in long time waiting items. I was already familiar with the process of making large purchases to my clients from one of a kind light fixtures to large quantities of materials. I figure there wasn’t really much to worry about from the moment the item is selected, approved, ordered and paid for. I would never anticipate what I would learn after eight months of placing this order.
Naturally we spend a reasonable amount of time with my client finding the perfect selection of furniture that combine their need of comfort and close attention to details. The search was over and we landed on a beautiful group of items that were so special that needed at least 8 months to be built and shipped to my client’s home. My client loved them so much they bravely committed to the long wait.
Part of our services is to handle this purchases directly with the vendors and I bill my clients accordingly. My client didn’t hesitate and provided me with the large amount of funds to have their precious furniture crafted and delivered.
I proceed to place the order and set my calendar to remind me close to the expected delivery date to check on the vender for updates. I also felt responsible to double check a payment confirmation was received and the funds were taken from the studio’s credit card. Everything seem going to plan so I set this task to the side and moved to other project duties.
Eight months went by, I proceed to my update and I received a confirmation email that the furniture was soon to be delivered and noted they will proceed to collect the payment. The Payment? I wondered. I thought I’ve pay for it already! To my surprise, I was so preoccupied with clients, projects, orders, deadlines, that I missed the fine print from my original order that stated ” The vendor will charge “temporarily” the credit card for the amount of the purchase, then will reimburse the card the full value a few days later. Once the order was ready for deliver they will collect full payment.
It never came to my attention that discrepancy in the companies cash flow. At the time I was the one responsible of almost 90% of the business task, so I wrongly assumed the studio had just a good profitable months. The worst part, 8 months later, I had now several part and full time employees, that I was responsible for. My wrongly optimistic feeling of “extra funds” that rapidly roll over on company expenses and additional investments, came back to hunt me ferociously in the most helpless way. I had to cleverly solve this discrepancies in the companies cashflow and expenses with no time to spare. I had to make sure my client received their furniture’s as promised and my employees received proper compensation for their work. I can only say It wasn’t easy and it took several months to balance things out. I felt so naive and disappointed with myself having failed to read carefully the vender’s notes. However that’s a lesson I will never forget.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.angelriveros.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/airstudio_design/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPmrvoQ6II1PM0NhBHQOOBA
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/air-studio-downey
Image Credits
Angel Riveros