I had the pleasure to interview the creative force behind Oliver Gal, Lola Sanchez. Oliver Gal’s iconic and glamorous artwork has not only made Oliver Gal a favorite among celebrities like Oprah and Ariana Grande but loved by all stylish women and men around the world! Don’t forget to start your own collection & shop products on www.olivergal.com!!

Thank you so much for taking the time, please introduce yourself.

I’m Lola Sanchez and I am the co-founder and Chief Creative Officer for Oliver Gal.

Please describe your role in Oliver Gal and how you created Oliver Gal?

My sister Ana Sanchez-Gal and I founded Oliver Gal in 2012, we quickly grew the home decor and artwork brand from a start-up into an internationally recognized name. Our vibrant, high-impact pop art has been featured in Forbes, Glamour Magazine, People Magazine, Vogue, Architectural Digest, Boston Globe, and LA Times, among other major U.S and international publications.

Together, we use an international lens to cultivate cosmopolitan designs and products for our brand. I am a Madrid native, and I travel for four months out of the year to global destinations such as France, Italy, Japan, the UK, Korea, and Austria in search of fresh ideas. Our home base is in South Florida, so we get inspired by the Miami art scene too.

Did you always have an entrepreneurial spirit or was it acquired?

Our father set an entrepreneurial example for us since we were very young. He came to the US and opened up a fintech business here which ended up being a global enterprise. Growing up with him as one of our role models, we have always been very ambitious. 

Ana is older, more experienced, and has already built a name as a serial entrepreneur, with Oliver Gal being just one of her successful ventures. She began her art empire from her apartment in 2004 and has not stopped since then. She always thanks the day she was featured with her first venture AllPopArt.com - a customized art website - on Oprah’s Christmas Gift Guide. That turned her life around and catapulted her venture. She is the CEO of our family of brands, among them, our crown jewel - Oliver Gal. For me, I always remember ever since I was a kid I knew I wanted to be “the boss”. I am constantly creating and ideating new ways to bring affordable decor to people. As the CEO and my mentor, my sister helps me focus my energy and become the best version of myself. In this case, a serial hit maker! With more prints sold of my pieces than any other individual artist alive. That said, I still have so much to learn and I thank God for letting me grow alongside my sister. 

What does a typical day look like?

Given that we are in COVID times, a day looks utterly strange. I am currently working from home and as an extremely social being that I am, I miss the office. On the other hand, I am more productive when I don’t get distracted, so I always like to be thankful for any positive outcomes from any situation.

My day starts early, I’m an early riser and practice Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga before work. Sometimes, instead of doing yoga, I take Robyn (my wiener dog) to the park. I try to fit in a few minutes of transcendental meditation and then off I go. We start our day with the company huddle and then my day has meetings, some classes - I’m currently enrolled in MIT for product design - and perhaps cooking. I love cooking, it feels like meditation. Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays I hold IGLive sessions to teach our collectors how to paint, decorate, or to introduce them to cool people who are friends of Oliver Gal. Most recently we had Chrisette Michele. So inspiring!

You and Oliver Gal have always celebrated black beauty, why has inclusivity been a part of your ethos (before it became fashionable)?

My art has always been a celebration of glam, of opulence, allure, and definitely glitz and this is something that a lot of women identify with, regardless of their ethnicity. What I found surprising is that art, especially decoration art - the kind you find in places such as Amazon.com or Wayfair, or even Target, depicts the same caucasian beauty standard. Why was there no art featuring black women? My sister and I found that to be so odd, and definitely an opportunity to grow and benefit the community. Lucky us! At that point, we had a good platform to distribute the images we found beautiful, and we started collecting awards for setting the trend, so we produced the art we found beautiful, the pieces we found represented the reality we live in and what we loved. Moreover, we found incredible support from the black community, the pieces were celebrated and the trend spread in the home decor field. While we still have a long way to go and we will never understand, we will always be an ally. It might not be much, but images and art are powerful ways to convey change.

What is your favorite Oliver Gal piece and why?

The parody of the Chanel soup has to be my favorite. It has been imitated, but I am proud to say I was the first to come up with that concept. I always include quirky and funny details in every piece of art, and the soup is just a funny way to put a fashion label on the iconic Warhol-esque can.

We’ve known each other professionally for years and you're just kind. How have you managed to find success and still stay true to yourself?

Well, I don’t think of myself as that successful. If you look to iconic entrepreneurs, I still need to work hard and have a lot to cover. That said, everything I have I owe to the people around me, to the Oliver Gal fans, my family, and to God. Nothing is mine, and while I work hard to earn it, to think that some people have chosen to dedicate a part of their walls, of their time, of their brain to my art… is humbling. I will forever be thankful.

How would you describe your style?

Definitely out there, a bit funky and currently inspired by Dapper Dan meets Lady Gaga in a Tokyo-like setting. I take a lot of references from classic anime like Sailor Moon, cyberpunk vibes (I love anything related to the future, science and AI), and Haute Couture. If it looks a bit ridiculous, I’m probably going to love it. I have always been very creative, I am a couture collector but I also love handmade pieces, vintage items, and most of all anything that is colorful. I truly love colors.

How do you continue to find inspiration and make iconic pieces?

Two things: First, as Picasso once said: “inspiration does exist but it must find you working” - don’t think you’re going to create something revolutionary by inaction. You have to start, inspiration will come. Second thing: I don’t look where others do. Why do what others are already doing? Sounds incredibly boring. While my products and designs are super commercial and widely accepted I try to anticipate the needs and likes of my customers. If you are seeing the trend in the media, it is already too late. The internet though is the place where trends grow. Trends are always born IRL but they get transferred to the internet almost instantly.

I clip items in sets, let's say, I see a leopard print - I clip and save images of all the places where I see it. More than 10 in one week? Looks like a trend to me. 

What does the current Black Lives Matter movement mean to you?

I am privileged just for being white. I will never understand the struggle. Moreover, I was more clueless than most, since I grew up in Spain and only spent a few years of my childhood in the US. I am ashamed to say, it was when I moved to the US as an adult that I saw the blatant atrocities done repeatedly against people for the color of their skin. 

I made it a point to educate myself, to ask questions, and it is not easy, because some topics are considered rude, or disrespectful, but I have found, that when you ask anyone about anything, with true intentions and the willingness to learn, you will always be received with praise for your bravery and support for your quest of knowledge.

As humans, we need to celebrate diversity and help lift each other up. God created all of us, and yet we disrespect him by hurting each other, by suppressing the opportunities of people of color, by giving them a freedom that nobody should have taken from them in the first place. 

It is time to correct our errors, it is time to show a mirror and tell society how ugly she is. I am the first one who had to check herself, and I still do, but if you’re not supporting people of color, if you’re not screaming “Black Lives Matter” then you are against it because there can no longer be indifference in the face of racism. 

I believe in our generation, in Millennials, Gen Z, and the younger ones. We can make a change, and while we will never erase the horrible deeds that are part of our history, we can ensure that they won’t happen again. Getting justice and the BLM movement is just the beginning.

If someone wants an Oliver Gal piece but doesn't have a lot of disposable income, what piece(s) do you recommend they start with?

Occasionally, you can find pieces from older collections in stores such as Homegoods and TJMaxx - these are very rare and are fantastic super affordable finds! Make sure the tag says Oliver Gal because unfortunately there are a lot of imitators out there. The designs and quality speak for themselves, so hopefully, you’ll spot them right away