Hi, I’m Ari

I help people shape the world they want to live in.

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Viscera Studio
Design and consulting studio working with mission-drive businesses and organizations to leverage design for good. Managed $8.5M+ in place-based projects and worked with 1000s of small businesses.
Shop Viscera
Artfully made goods including natural perfumes & 3D printed jewelry. Featured in SF Chronicle, 7x7, Racked, Thrillist, & Oakland Magazine.
Opportuned
Machine-learning powered advisor helping small businesses grow. Semi-finalist in Pharrell’s highly competitive Black Ambition Prize.
Oakland Indie Alliance • Executive Director
450+ member nonprofit lead by and designed to support independently owned small businesses in Oakland. Our ‘Keep it Oakland’ campaign with 14K+ followers to promote shopping local & independent businesses.

Board Member
I sit on the board of SPUR, an urban design nonprofit championing progressive change in the Bay Area. I’m also the co-chair of the APA New York Economic Development Committee
Program Development & Capacity Building
I’ve taught entrepreneurship courses & given talks for Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center, ESO/Built Here, Renaissance Center, and Lean Startups Conference. I also created and built the Port Lab’s incubator program curriculum.
I create art that explores place, belonging, and nature—through murals, paintings, botanical prints, and sculptural work. You can find my public art at places like Salesforce Park in SF, Adanne Bookstore in Brooklyn, and downtown Livermore. I also take on commissions, collaborations, and licensing projects, drawing on my background in architecture and project management to create site-specific, community-rooted work.

I’m a 3x founder, community builder, and artist working at the intersection of placemaking, entrepreneurship, and systems change. Sometimes I joke that I’m a pathological problem solver. My path has been anything but linear, but that’s exactly how I work: interdisciplinary, intuitive, and driven by impact. My journey’s included:

Starting a design studio leveraging place-based storytelling & building out spaces for independent businesses.
Opening a brick-and-mortar shop called Viscera, featuring USA-made clothing, accessories, art. and launching a 3D-printed jewelry.
Accidentally became a muralist (despite a fear of heights).
Creating a natural perfume line sold in shops across the country.
and most recently, began building a SaaS product to support small businesses, a venture recognized by the Black Ambition Prize.

While it might not be obvious at first glance, I have a BA in Architecture and a Master’s in City Planning (I promise, it all connects!) Over the years, I’ve collaborated with organizations like Google, LISC, Salesforce, and the San Francisco General Hospital Foundation, using art creativity as a tool for transformation. My work and I have been featured in 7x7,Thrillist, the San Francisco Chronicle, and I even landed on the cover of Oakland Magazine.

Broadcasts

Constellations

Featured

2025 Booklist Wrapped

Inspired by Spotify's annual "Wrapped" here's my favorite reads of 2025. A few a these are on repeat (Yes, Ross Gay is my favorite poet) and you'll see my reading taste is about as eclectic as my interests are. 2025 was a tough year and so you'll notice some themes of coping, rage, resisting capitalism, and just trying to make sense of the chaotic times.

Welcome to Constellations

This is the very first edition of Constellations—a space where I’ll share ideas, inspirations, and small joys that I’ve collected along the way. Think of it as part show-and-tell, part essay, part field notes on building place and community.

One of the things I loved most when I was running my shop, Viscera, was the act of curation. Before algorithms and influencers filtered what we buy, read, or watch, we relied on one another—museum curators, travel agents, bloggers, or friends—to introduce us to things we might love. In many ways, this newsletter is a return to that: a slower, more human kind of sharing.

Can You Afford to Not Take Time Off?

Closing our studio for a full month: Reflections, Lessons, and Future Ambitions

The decision to close Viscera Studio for an entire month for the Holidays was both thrilling and daunting for all of us. As a team, stepping away from our daily operations required extensive planning and communication. Would our projects remain on track? Would our clients understand? We grappled with these questions as we prepared for this collective rest. Ultimately, this is a transformative change for our studio to unsubscribe from ‘hustle culture’ …

Do Less.

In a culture that glorifies overwork and busyness, it can feel counterintuitive to embrace rest. But here’s the truth: rest is not just a luxury—it’s a necessity. Taking breaks is not slacking off; it’s a powerful tool for resetting and showing up stronger.

Think of it like rebooting a computer. Sometimes the best way to solve a problem or get back on track is…

The Challenge of Asking for (and Accepting) Help

The other night, I found myself in a café at 8:30 PM with a friend, catching up on emails. Surprisingly, it was one of the happiest moments I’ve had in a while. I know—responding to emails late at night doesn’t sound like anyone’s idea of fun, but let me explain why it felt so fulfilling.

I wasn’t just answering emails. I had an accountability buddy sitting across from me, helping me tackle the tasks that had been quietly weighing on my mind. They were things I was fully capable of handling (or so I thought!) but they carried a certain emotional or mental weight…

Planning For Your Shortcomings

One of the paradoxes of being a creative entrepreneur is that we tend to over-index on generative skills but struggle with operational tasks. We’re fantastic at ideation, problem-solving, and spotting new possibilities, but those same superpowers often come with the side effect of procrastinating on anything that feels repetitive or administrative (sound familiar?)…

Being Vulnerable- a Super Power

The true work of an artist or creative is to share our perspective and be seen. To produce anything requires vulnerability—it forces us to become beginners again and have the courage to be bad at something new. While that might not sound like an act of bravery, I believe it’s one of the most empowering things we can do as creators. As social creatures, we crave acknowledgment and acceptance, and…

Embracing Fall: A Season For Slowing Down, Letting Go, and Grounding Yourself

As the air turns crisp and the days shorten, fall brings an invitation to slow down—a gentle reminder that just as nature shifts gears, we too can take a moment to recalibrate. As entrepreneurs and creatives, we often feel the pressure to constantly push forward, but Fall is the perfect time to embrace a more mindful approach to our work and well-being…

Get into
my orbit.

If you’re into bold ideas, cross-disciplinary magic, and building things that don’t fit neatly into a box (or galaxy), we’ll probably get along. Send a signal and we can collaborate on projects and launch some new things into our world.