We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Pablo Olguin. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Pablo below.

Alright, Pablo thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?

Ever since I can remember, I’ve always loved the visual arts and drawing. I bit the bullet and pursued an art degree even though my parents thought I would be better off with a more substantial one. Towards the end of my college career, I decided I wanted to work in the gallery/museum field, while working on my own work. I wanted to move to NYC and because I had graduated debt free because of my hard work and being full time job- I took the chance. I managed to get a security job with the Metropolitan Museum of Art, thinking this was my opportunity to move up within the institution, but I soon realized the art world was much more of a hustle and elitist than I had imagined. At the time, money became very tight and the never ending struggle started to take a toll on me.

However, there was a light of hope when I landed a production assistant job for an interiors company. Without knowing- I had thrown myself into the world of interiors and design. I was building and designing sets and constantly surrounded by beautiful objects, architecture, and furniture. Although, I started with a more hands on, heavy lifting role, the longer I worked with other stylists and art directors confirmed I was on the right path. I voiced my interest in interior styling and art direction, taking notes from my peers, while using my own sense of art background and skills, and I slowly transitioned into a stylist role.

After a few years of styling experience within the company, an art director role opened up and I was confident to apply. I felt really good about my interview and then the pandemic hit and everything changed. The struggle again. The pandemic took a drastic toll on the company and I had to eventually choose if I wanted to stay or follow my own path. It was one of the scariest decisions I ever made; but it definitely paid off because of where I am today. Based on the work I had done, I built a small portfolio and really put myself out there, and now I can proudly say I work for myself and my own brand.

I don’t think I could have sped up the process in anyway because I knew I had to gain experience first. I knew I had to be patient.

Pablo, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am an interior stylist for editorial, commercial, and residential clients. Depending on the project whether it is on set or someone’s home, I use my sense of art direction and design to provide the client with a planned deck of home furnishings, decorative accessories, and lighting to transform and elevate the space based on the style of it .

I work closely with each client to fulfill their needs on how to execute the space and guide them with different options of furniture pieces, color, and architecture details, while closely keeping the budget in mind. A common issue I run into when working with a client is that sometimes there are a lot of ideas on the table for what they want to space to look like, but it is my job to narrow all of those ideas into a more clear and solid one. At the end of the day, my goal is for the client to be happy with the outcome but at the same time keeping the project aesthetic within my vision.

At this point in my career, there’s been a lot of wins, but what I am most proud of is really myself. As a young latinx, queer, immigrant, self doubt is always luring in the back of my mind, especially in a creative field that is predominantly white. But I will always thrive for my work to strengthen and continue to grow.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

I want to be the best of the best. I’ve always had a natural eye for aesthetics and I want to continue to create beautiful homes and settings. I want to explore the ideas of furniture and decorative accessory design in the future, but for now I want my name and work to be put on a spot light for more clients to see.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

Coming up with an idea or concept and then literally creating it in real life.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.polg.work/
• Instagram: @eyypablo

Image Credits
Photographers: David Land, Frank Frances, Yunhee Kim, Alpha Smoot, Corey Williams