Since January 20, 2025—though really, since the morning of November 6, 2024—I’ve felt a heavy weight on my heart as someone of Latino heritage. I’ve always felt like an American. I was born in Florida and with the exception of about a year and a half where my family lived in Puerto Rico when I was a toddler, the United States has been my home. My parents have lived in the States since the early 1980s, and my maternal great-grandmother and great-grandfather lived in South Florida since my mother was a teenager. While being of Puerto Rican descent grants you automatic citizenship whether you’re born on the island or on the mainland, people and systems in this country are quick to “other” you regardless.
After seeing the onslaught of illegal immigrants being coraled and booted (most of which were Latino, by the way, as if there aren’t other illegal immigrants in the US), I just felt sad. Children being taken from schools, especially, just feels sacrilegious. I’m not saying that anyone from anywhere can take up camp in America illegally, but seeing people that look like my father, my brother, myself being hauled away and memes about the chains of the detainees being used as “ASMR” coming out of the WHITE HOUSE Instagram account just felt so gross.
Sitting in my feels, I texted Jess with a post idea. “What if I write a love letter to Latin American designers and artisans?” “YES!” She replied nearly instantly. My idea was a narrative change of all the negativity of the news; deportation this, ICE that. Knowing that my own parents, American citizens since birth, didn’t feel comfortable leaving their house without their passports—just in case—is A LOT. One whisper of a Spanish accent is all it takes in some places to feel unsafe these days.
For anyone reading with an uncomfortable feeling forming in their stomachs and “Why are we getting political on a design blog” materializing in their heads/mouths/fingers, let me be clear: I’m not making a political statement here by leaning into my ethnicity to explore design. But for the record, and I’ll say it loud for the people in the back (who have their noise-canceling headphones on), BEING BROWN HAS ALWAYS BEEN POLITICAL. We can’t help but be politicized constantly, so I won’t apologize for existing OR writing about being brown in design even if you perceive it as a political statement. So, let’s keep moving forward.
Once I got my green light from Jess on the topic, I got to work. I sat. I pondered. Who were my favorite Latin designers, architects, creatives? Surely I could dig around all my bookmarks and identify the work of some? But my brain was foggy, and my feeds empty. How could it be that I…didn’t know any? Surely I knew someone considering I’ve written a few articles on the very topic during Hispanic Heritage Month in recent years—the only time any publication bothers to cover us with gusto. Checking their box. “Look! We wrote about brown people. Good for us.” I can rattle off the names of at least 30 designers and makers, none of which are Latin American. A few names finally emerged for me after a deep dive in my Pinterest boards and social bookmarks (yes, people like Orlando Soria or even Marco Zamora), but I gotta be honest, I was pretty disappointed in myself. Do I not know my people at all? Or is something else going on here? (Both, I think.)
Out of curiosity, I did a search on Google (which, btw, has recently removed all ethnicity- and race-based holidays from our calendars) to see if I could find some demographics for designers and architects. According to the IIDA (International Interior Design Association), “73% of designers across all disciplines in the US identify as white (non-Hispanic), despite comprising only 60.1% of the population at large, per Census Bureau stats. Black people account for 13.4% of the general population but only 5% of designers and 18.4% of U.S. residents who identify as Hispanic represent only 3% of designers.”
Three. Percent.
Three….
Percent.
I’m not using this as an excuse for not being aware of Latino representation in the field I have known and loved for nearly 15 years. But three percent is a shockingly low number. I could write a dissertation on why I think this is. I wouldn’t be the first. That’s not my focus today, though.
I’ve been in the design world for a decent chunk of the four decades I’ve graced this Earth. And throughout all that time, I’ve so often been the outsider. At trade shows. At industry events and intimate dinners. And I’m not just talking about in the US. I’ve traveled to numerous countries and continents in the name of design, and nearly every time, without fail, I’m the only Latin person in the room (the closest I got to some semblance of “sameness” was when I was in Spain, but Spaniards are not considered Latino as the term is specific to those from Central and South America as well as Spanish-speaking islands in the Caribbean, BTW).
And clearly, maybe I’m part of the problem. It’s not like I couldn’t name artists and creatives of my same background that inspired me. In my family alone, there are five designers of varying disciplines: My uncle is a fairly renowned shoe designer, my cousin is a jewelry designer, my other cousin is a painter, and yet another cousin is a landscape architect. My aunt was at one point in time an interior designer. And then there’s me.
This is part of why I didn’t change my name when I got married. Arlyn Shaw could be anyone. Any ethnicity. But Arlyn Hernandez is clear. I’m a Latina. And I prefer for people to know that outright. Maybe to inspire, or maybe to stand out in a sea of non-Latin names and faces. But I wear my last name like a badge of honor these days, and no one, not even my husband, can take that away from me (he would never, for the record).
Of course, there are plenty of Spanish, Hispanic, and Latin designers and architects in this world. There are entire editions of Architectural Digest that come out of Spain as well as Mexico and Latin America. They exist, and man are they good. If you’ve ever perused the projects from these parts of the world, both in residential design and hospitality or commercial, you can feel the heart. But for the sake of today’s post, on creating a “love letter” to Latin American designers, creatives, and creators, I’m focused on people from this country specifically. And at first mental dive, I came up short.
There’s a chance that I’m unclear on the background of people, and perhaps I’d have a longer love list if I were aware. After all, no one is obligated to write out I’M MEXICAN or MY PARENTS IMMIGRATED FROM CUBA on their professional bio for their design firms. I’ve been asked to write many bios for myself, and I can recall maybe a single time where I included anything about my Puerto Rican heritage. White American people don’t have to confirm their nationality on their websites, so in theory, why do we? It’s our right to include; it’s our right to exclude.
All of that said, I spent the last week digging up some of that 3% to share with you here today. To celebrate, rather. Some are artists. Some are interior designers and architects. Some are product designers or heads of brands. And if this exercise taught me anything, it’s that I need to do my part as a design writer and editor to be more aware of Latin American creatives in my field; to dive deeper and find them, cheerlead them, share them in my work. Which I’ll start doing…right now.
Studio Galeón
Studio Galeón is a women-led firm out of New York helmed by Lucia Galeón, who was born and raised in Patagonia, Argentina. The image above is from the Petunia Hotel in Ibiza, Spain, and just such a beautiful mix of natural texture and splashes of color in just the right places. On the complete flip side of this is the kaleidescope-like Susan Alexandra boutique in Soho, which is a study in simple tiles making a huge impact.
Erick Garcia of Maison Trouvaille
Erick Garcia is a Mexico-born, Los Angeles-raised designer who runs Maison Trouvaille. He’s a favorite of people like Jen Atkins (Hollywood hair guru and founder of Ouai), and recently designed the headquarters of Rhode, Hailey Beiber’s beauty brand.
Tricia Benitez Beanum of Pop Up Home
I’ve known of Tricia for years, being a good friend of EHD alum Michael Keck. She runs vintage retailer/communal retail market Pop Up Home and has the most effortlessly cool style. She picks the kinds of things I wish I had the eye for, and puts things together in a way that I wish I had the eye for. So, in general, this Los Angeles-based Puerto Rican just has such a good eye. Ha!
Casa Verónica
A self-labeled Chicana, I just love the ceramic works of Veronica Ortuño. She started as an interior designer but later expanded into pottery, tilework and things like ceramic lamps, and then glassware. Her work has such a beautiful visual hand in it, and so much heart.
Alfredo Paredes
First generation Cuban American Alfredo Paredes has impecable taste. You kind of have to if you worked for Ralph Lauren for three decades, ending up as Executive Vice President and Chief Creative Officer. He now runs his gorgeous firm (based in New York), which works on hospitality, retail, and residential.
Carlos Mota
The work of Carlos Mota, a Venezuelan-born designer based in New York, is homey, eclectic yet sharp. As someone who was the international style editor for Architectural Digest and editor-at-large for Elle Decor, you just know his veins are full of style. I find myself fairly in love with some of the textiles and how he somehow makes something like an ivy print (which takes me straight back to the early ’90s) look impossibly chic. You can shop his catalog of linens and tableware at his online shop Casa Mota.
Maye Ruiz
Okay so Maye Ruiz technically works out of Mexico, so while she’s not American, I just love her design POV. It’s unapologetic, bold in a very calculated way, and impossibly cool. If you’ve ever been tempted to design with red but don’t really know where to start, well…start here.
Christina Alvarez of Curio Interior Design
I first saw the work of Christina Alvarez in a project of hers that was published in AD Clever. The Cuban American designer runs Curio Interior Design, and I love how she’s able to mix rich, vibrant textiles and art with beautiful and modern furnishings and accessories.
Gabo Martinez
“I am Mexican. All of me. I was made of the blood and the dirt of this country. Therefore I am this country.” What a wildly cool thought; I just love Gabo Martinez’s authenticity and love of her ethnicity. Her ceramics and pottery are vibrant, rooted, and fresh. I’d truly love to own one of her pieces one of these days.
Alexander Diaz of Atra Form Studio
There are some people or brands you follow that you know you likely will never have in your home, but it’s just cool to study and look at. Atra Form Studio is one of those. Created by Alexander Diaz (who is of Swedish-Mexican descent), the furniture and interiors studio has its roots in Mexico City, but it also takes up space in New York as well as Milan.
Cisco Home
Cisco Pinedo, a Mexican-born furniture designer and builder, was the absolute heart of furniture brand Cisco Home until he passed away last year. Anytime I visited their showrooms when I popped into High Point, North Carolina, they treated me with the utmost of care. Like family, honestly. Cisco Home’s upholstery pieces are a go-to favorite for designers because they are well-made and beautiful, so be sure to check them out if you’re on the market for some new seating.
Materia Madura
This one is seriously cool. Ana Cristina Quiñones is a Puerto Rican designer specializing in materials, products, and furniture with a sustainable focus. Her waste-based materials and surfaces look like cool terrazo, but are actually derived from raw materials such as coffee waste, plantain waste, bread waste, wood waste, metal waste, textile waste, and glass waste. On top of that, these centerpiece bowls are so beautiful, serene, and simple.
José E. Solís Betancourt of Solis Betancourt Sherrill
And lastly, rounding out the pack from another Puerto Rican. José E. Solís Betancourt of Solis Betancourt Sherrill creates some very posh homes, and the firm’s work has been featured time over time in all the heavy hitters (AD, House Beautiful, The NYT, etc. etc. etc.).
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Thank you friends for being here today, and letting me have a moment to have a moment with myself, my heritage, and how it intersects with interior design in this country. It’s not easy to be vulnerable like this, much easier to hide behind talking about my favorite wallpaper picks or color trends, but it’s important to me to be authentic, and this is who I am. I hope you found some new people today to admire and research, or at the very least, learn something about someone different than you.
Until next time…
Opening image credits: Design by Arlyn Hernandez | Photo by Sara Ligorria-Tramp | From: Arlyn’s Happy & Bright Living Room Reveal