Today we’d like to introduce you to Valeria Martinez.
Valeria, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Since I can remember, my purest form of expression has been art. I am a believer that essentially everything is art if you look close enough. My mom always inspired me to push as much I could in the creative world. My house has always been full of arts and crafts. My mom is known for doing the most when it comes to home décor. When I was younger, I started visiting my dad in Washington D.C. Being exposed to the different architecture and other interior styles that are more common to northern areas sparked my interest. My dad was a contractor at the time, he loved taking me to see the projects he was working on. Now, not only did I have a love for home décor but I also appreciated the behind the scene process that most people don’t consider. Looking back now, I can say that all these moments were molding me. In a way, my parents planted their creativeness in me without even realizing it. Time passed and things changed. I didn’t see myself as a creative person anymore. I got my first job at a Marriott after being enrolled in the hospitality program in high school. Then I started college with a Hospitality major. While I was working at the hotel, my work permit expired. It was a tough time for me. I felt lost and unmotivated. I was off work for almost three months waiting for my work permit to get renewed. In the time that I was off work, I dropped all my classes. I didn’t care to finish.
At the time, I needed some change to have a different outlook on things. One day I started cleaning things out of my room then I decided I was going to transform my room. In the process, I realized I had not felt so passionate to do something in so long. I felt super driven to finish this project of mine. I was completely free and felt like I was in my element every step of the way. I kept thinking I should’ve stuck with interior design from the start. I decided that I would switch my major to interior design and finish school by doing something that I actually love to do. Despite what people thought about it, I wanted to have something of my own. I knew that even if I lost my work permit again as a deferred action recipient, I could continue to pursue interior design on my own terms. I started doing projects and posting them on my personal Instagram. One day my friend, Glis said, “If you are serious about this, you should start thinking about a logo.” I was like OMG a logo? I hadn’t thought that far ahead. We all have self-doubt at the beginning. I couldn’t ignore my intuition anymore I wanted to expose myself in the design world. I needed to get my hands-on projects to fuel that fire of creativity.
I started with every room in my house. I decided on a logo and name: Dreamer Design. Dreamer because this is what they call deferred action recipients. Being off work was a blessing in disguise. Then I chilled for a little bit to focus more on finishing school. As college came closer to an end, I needed to get an internship. I worked at Gil Walsh Interiors as an intern for three months. During my internship, I learned how much potential I really had. When you get experience in your career field, you can analyze your performance. The opportunity of getting my first official client for Dreamer Design arose. At the time, I was still working at Gil, the Marriott, and finishing school. No excuses, I told myself. I started my first solo project. My first reveal day ever gave me so much momentum it was an amazing experience. Reveal days are my motivation to get through the hard days of what comes with interior design. Working at Gil Walsh gave me the extra push I needed. I grew tremendously in my career. I’m where I am today because I decided not to settle for the norm. When you work on your own, you don’t have the sense of security you would working for a company. But nothing compares to the feeling of being the one in charge creatively. I could’ve perfectly decided to just apply somewhere and delete my business account. That is just not me. Today the goal is to have a firm that not only carries my innovative beliefs but also executes my design style as a form of art. In my first full year of being a freelance interior designer, I completed seven projects. I don’t plan on stopping until I have my own design firm.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I would say it’s been a bumpy road. At the beginning, I was the one client-facing, I was the one painting walls, I was the one setting up schedules for installations, and I was the one material sourcing. I had no form of organization for my business; I kind of just took everything on as it came. Being so new to everything was creating even more self-doubt. Interior design school teaches you interior design, they don’t teach you how to start your business. Right Now, I still do everything but I move forward with determination and structure. My biggest struggle has been with my mental. Learning to stop doubting my decision on having my own business and just going with it freely. You have to remind yourself why you started in the first place. Finding the perfect balance of entrepreneurship and interior design was definitely tricky. My biggest fear was hating interior design one day if my business failed. My mentality changed as I learned that for me nothing exciting comes from a place of comfort. I’ve embraced the fact that I rather take a risk than to look back and think what if. It’s hard to be a freelancer it takes a lot of balls to pitch yourself time after time. People think that because you’re not signed under a contract working for someone else that it’s not a real job. The other thing is being so young there are so many distractions and people don’t take you serious. At 21, would you rather save money for your start-up business or go out with your friends from fear of missing out? You have to be determined enough to stay on track no matter what. To me, it’s really just about understanding that whatever you desire is accessible. You just have to put in the work regardless of what life throws at you.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Dreamer Design story. Tell us more about the business.
Dreamer Design is interior design as a form of art accessible to all classes. Most people believe that interior design is a luxury for the rich. The truth is to me interior design is an art incorporated with various uses of all of our senses to evoke emotion. Right now, I specialize in residential transformations. To me, interior design should be an elevating experience in your life. Everything put into the design process should have a reason. I make sure that every design I do is made up mostly of my interpretation of my client. Most interior designers are so worried on branding their design style that all their designs look the same. I love to push my boundaries in every design concept that I have. I hate giving one client the same thing that my last client had. I’m proud to say that as I evolve as a business owner and a designer, authenticity within my designs is my ultimate goal.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
Mmm. I don’t believe in luck. In life and in business, you have to take action when being faced with opportunities. Either it goes terribly bad and you learn from it or it goes amazingly well and you grow from it.
Contact Info:
- Website: dreamerdesign.biz
- Phone: 561-229-9696
- Email: dreamerdes.gn@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dreamerrdesign/
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/valeriamart.nez/
Image Credit:
Pablo Rosas
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