Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Monica Arellano. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Monica, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Do you take vacations? Why or why not?

Yes, In my line of work I consider it a necessity. Although I can’t do it as often as I would like… To explore different cities, countries, cultures, architecture is fundamental to my creative process. It opens up your mind to realize that the world is vast and so dynamic and eclectic. My travels have definitely influenced my designs 100% and it’s a double whammy (LOL). I get to rest from work and at the same time I get inspired for work.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Our design studio, Rednoir, is a creative hub. We live and breathe design and we cover a wide range of services that makes us a one stop shop for many design needs.

In the interior and architectural design realm, our services cover product design (home decor, furniture, lighting and more), art installations, interior residential and commercial/hospitality projects such as boutique hotels, restaurants, night clubs, recording studios, ect. We also provide turn-key solutions to developers and realtors who need to stage or furnish a property either for sale or as vacation rentals.

With an extensive event production background, we continue to design large scale event productions and provide turn-key solutions. From productions design, production gear, staffing, permitting, signage, set design, sponsorship activations, furniture rental, event decor and more.

Last but not least, we have our digital design department that focuses on branding (brand identity packages, packaging design, rebranding, and more), 4K renderings, 3D animations for ads, music videos, etc.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

It Rednoir was the first business I had ever started and with it came lots of work, crazy expenses and surprises with manufacturing, marketing challenges ect. The business was not growing or producing at the rate we were expecting. Instead of trying to swim agains the current, my partner and I decided to reinvent. Adaptabililty was key. We set out to have a home decor shop and we ended up morphing into more than just product design. We figured with our backgrounds, we could easily add services to our business model. We added event design and interior design to our services and eventually opened our furniture rental department, which happens to be one of the strongest of our departments to date. So I guess the takeaway from this is to not give up or to be so fixed into one idea. In order for our business to survive and thrive we had to be very flexible and open to changing things along the way.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

My scariest pivot, but the most rewarding of all was my career change. After 5 years of working with the GRAMMYs, I started to feel like I had reached my learning curve. I felt I needed more, a new purpose, a new challenge that could fulfill my create side. I had always wanted to be an fashion designer but had recently been exposed to the interior design world and was so intrigued by it. It was a big leap since I had a steady job with such a reputable company. I enrolled into Interior Design classes, got my certificate, and quit my job to start Rednoir with my partner, Richard Milstein. And the rest is history in the making.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.rednoir.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/rednoirdesigns
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/monica-arellano-rednoir/

Image Credits
rednoir Ultra Music festival