Meet Steven Reyes | Artist & Entrepreneur

We had the good fortune of connecting with Steven Reyes and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Steven, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking.
Risks are essential to get to places and to get stuff done. All great ideas brought into fruition had one or more people willing to risk getting it out there. There are individual battles each of us face to get an idea out. I’m all for risk taking don’t get me wrong, but I will double down on calculated risk taking before anything. Weigh out all the options. Really paint out the decision you’re about to make. “If I do this then this will happen this way, if I don’t do this then this won’t happen at all.” You know it’s a big risk when it’s weighs on you, eats at you a little. When that happens there’s an internal tug of war that needs to happen before anything is done. Sit with it, question it, plan it, give it form, then if it still feels good or like it’s the right move, that’s when you go after it. Risk taking can also be very reckless if not managed correctly. Sometimes it takes risking something getting destroyed completely in order to build something great. But the bigger the risk the higher the reward. Doesn’t mean you’ll always get that reward. And sometimes that reward isn’t as fulfilling as we imagine. It’s an addicting and harsh process. Some things work. Some things don’t work. The ones that work are very rewarding and you can learn from it. The things that don’t work, well those things can really hurt and take a toll on you. But you still learn from it. Sometimes you let go of things you can’t get back to get what you want and it doesn’t always work out. Never risk anything you’re not truly willing to lose otherwise the thing you get will never fulfill the void of what was left behind. But don’t be afraid to take a risk, it is essential to get somewhere or something done. Just like the expression states, “If nothing changes, nothing changes.”

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I make hand crafted one of a kind custom rugs. My favorite part of this craft is the little details. I have this fascination over “scaling”. Anything in this world can be scaled infinitely bigger or smaller. To art, problems, ideas, operations, etc. anything. I play with that theory with this craft. From getting the image on my phone to transforming it into a 1ft-6ft size rug. I have to make sure all those details get scaled in order to get the results that I seek. I am a detail oriented person and I try and show that through my work. This is a great outlet for that actually. Right now what makes me the most proud and excited is the process itself. I finally got the process down but am working on creating a system to execute 5-8 rugs a month with the process I have now. None of this is easy, but it is all worth while and fulfilling. I have to constantly remind myself to keep going, not give up, pick myself up if I hit a wall, and to not get discouraged. It’s like a workout. But it’s because I have gone through so much trail and error in this that I have faith in the process. Anything that doesn’t or hasn’t worked out in the moment eventually works itself out. Always. May not be what I want all the time, but it works itself out nonetheless. The Rug Laboratory is about just that. Moving forward even if if all else fails, breaking the boundaries of what an ordinary object can be, or what we can be, letting ideas simply exist, not fighting them, and not letting anyone put you in a box or tell you that you can’t get something out there or be something. For the free thinkers and creatives alike. I want The Rug Laboratory to represent all of that and more. It’s still an evolving brand.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I was born and raised in Fort Worth, TX. Seeing it evolve over the years has been inspiring and insane. There are some classic spots to hit up like Rockwood Go Karts. The Water Gardens is always a good refresher. Modern Art museum for some inspiration. Sundance Square for some relaxation. You can never go wrong with Buffalo Bros or Gusto’s burgers!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I want to credit God before anything else. None of this, and I mean none of this could be done without the power, love, guidance, and protection of God. That is a sentence I couldn’t even say 5 years ago, Next, I want to thank my mom, Maribel Reyes. She does the backings on 85% of my rugs and a lot of the work I put out can’t be done without her. She has always encouraged me to keep going at this craft even when things get tough or things outside of this craft get bigger than this. She always motivates me to stay focused on this and even if it isn’t 100%, still go at it. She’s the one that put a crayon in my hand and taught me to color inside the lines, made incredible pieces at of art at home for me to witness since I was a kid, and always was the light of creativity through my youth. Truly one of the strongest, kindest, and coolest people to walk this earth. Even if we don’t see eye to eye on everything, I know you’re reading this. I love you. Next my dad, Mike Reyes. This man in the pinnacle of execution. I have the pleasure to work side by side with my dad operating our HVAC Business, Mike Reyes Heating and Air Conditioning. This experience has taught me so much business wise, tool wise, customer wise, life wise, etc. I am able to take a lot of what I learn and apply it here. I truly wouldn’t and couldn’t have the head on my shoulders that I have without both of their influences in my life. My parents are everything to me. Next I want to thank my beautiful daughters Elena and Ella for being the reflection of life for me now. Everything I do is for them. And they keep me so humble. They don’t care who I make rugs for, everything going on outside of them, or any of my personal struggles. They simply just want to love me and be loved by me and they’re always my number one fans when I make something cool. I always go to them for criticism on my work since they are they most honest. And if they give me feedback or think something is missing I listen. I want to show them a dad that went after it and this allows me to build something with them that they can remember. Because they deserve it all. If it weren’t for them, none of this would exist. The HVAC Stuff satisfies the reality of my adult life, The Rug Laboratory let’s the inner child stay alive and run free along side my kids. Parenting, life, HVAC, Rugs. It all goes hand and hand for me right now. This is all for them. And one day I hope they see that. Lastly I want to thank anyone and everyone who has shown me support or love over the years, gotten a rug off me, shared my work with others, talked about my work with others, good or bad, and just anyone who has been supportive in any way shape or form. My Friends, family, VB, and strangers. All these things keep me going. And I’m just getting started.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theruglaboratory/?hl=en

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheRugLaboratory/

Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@theruglaboratory

Image Credits
@deannamariephotos