Meet Sofia del Rivero | Owner & Teacher

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sofia del Rivero and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sofia, so many of the folks we connect with are focused on having a positive social impact on their community or the world at large. Can you talk to us about how you are helping the community?
Art Box is a business made to serve the community. Our services provide our clients with both a therapeutic, creative outlet and a new set of technical artistic skills, no matter what age they may be or skill level they may have. Throughout the years, this has been so amazing to witness, especially with students who have been with us for many years and show immense improvement and growth. The preschool and elementary-age students for example, gain so much confidence from being able to successfully create something with their hands from scratch. Watching them run up to their parents at pick-up time to show off their masterpieces is one of the greatest feelings in the world. Art Box does not only offer the gift of artistic skill and technique, but also the gift of happiness, excitement, creativity, passion, and lasting friendships amongst classmates. Since the pandemic, we have realized how much we are in need of therapeutic and creative activities, and we need to offer these kinds of services to the community now more than ever to promote positivity and joy!

Please tell us more about your business. How did you get to where you are today business-wise. Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges? What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way. What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?
There have definitely been many challenges the past six years, but here we are! *knock on wood* I grew up studying fine art – not entrepreneurship or business or finance or marketing – so you can imagine how this job would be difficult at times. I definitely learn my lessons the hard way, through trial and error, falling and getting back up to quickly make adjustments. I’ve learned that the best thing to do is listen to my audience. Art Box is a service made for the community, so when I hear feedback or requests from my clients on what they would like to see more of, I listen, and I act upon that. It is very important to me to keep everyone happy, all while being true to the Art Box mission of spreading the gift of art. This leads me to what sets us apart from the rest – our studio is incredibly welcoming and warm. Our students become more like family than clients. Our studio is a safe space where anyone can come and be themselves, try something new, have fun, and always learn in the process. I’m so grateful to be able to love going to work every day and providing a quality service I am proud of. I put so much time and effort in designing my program and am excited every day to be able to pass on the gift of art to others and teach them something new.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If my friend came to visit and wanted to visit an art museum, I would probably take him/her to the Rubell museum or the Margulies Collection or the Lowe Museum. We could make a stop at the iconic Palacio de los Jugos for a natural juice and take a walk around Wynwood or Viscaya. To eat, I would probably go somewhere in my neighborhood of Coconut Grove, like Jaguar Restaurant (for the best ceviche ever) or Peacock Garden Cafe and have a drink at Kush by Spillover. Coconut Grove is a great area to walk around in, so we could even take a stroll through the park down to the water. If it’s hot outside, we could make a pitstop at AC’s Icees, which is a food truck in the park that has the best frozen lemonade.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
The ones responsible for keeping Art Box alive and well are definitely the clients. There are even some students who have been taking classes at the studio for the entire 6 years since we opened, and it is so motivating to have that kind of encouragement and support. Many of our new students reach out to us because of a recommendation, so to have that validation from others in the community, and to know that they see the quality and effort that is being put into the business is so gratifying.

Website: www.artboxmiami.com
Instagram: artboxmiami
Facebook: www.facebook.com/artboxmiami
Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/art-box-miami-2?utm_campaign=www_business_share_popup&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=(direct)