As the biannual hangout gained traction, brands not only offered to stock The Apartment with food, drinks, and swag but also requested that Abi craft temporary suites for their own marketing promotions. Soon, she had a thriving B2B business producing custom worlds for clients including Starbucks, Ulta Beauty, and Boots.
When renting furniture for each activation became impractical, Abi opted to purchase a bevy of pieces to have on hand. She then found a permanent headquarters for her company, where she could also keep all the props. “It was part storage, part office, but I decided that it made sense to put things in situ rather than just dumping them everywhere,” she describes.
Abi and her team used expanding foam to DIY the marshmallow-like mirror.
“I definitely don’t create spaces for Instagram, but it’s important to also know that Instagram is my main platform, so to an extent, everything is for Instagram,” Abi considers. “Whether I think about it or not, it’s the platform I use daily.”
Images of Abi’s styled workspace organically appeared on her Instagram, prompting brands like H&M and individuals alike to ask if it was available for hire. At first, it wasn’t, but as Abi and her team transitioned to a remote routine, the idea seemed more attractive. Once the studio became a backdrop for social media campaigns and dinner parties, inquiries about home decorating flooded in.
“Without realizing it, over the years, I had become an interior designer because we created hundreds of sets for all these different events,” Abi says. She slowly began to take on decor projects, which she squeezed into her already full schedule with The Apartment.
The studio’s bedroom provides an intimate setting for selfies.
“I wanted there to be a good variety of texture, so I wanted to work with bouclé and cashmere and mohair,” Abi muses.
It wasn’t until earlier in 2020, when in-person experiences moved to Zoom, that Abi was able to formalize her interior design venture, Studio Arva, and introduce a contemporary lifestyle site titled Arva. She currently juggles these new enterprises and future planning for The Apartment with writing for Harper’s Bazaar as a plus-size-fashion columnist, developing a line of furniture and home goods, and designing a plus-size clothing capsule collection—but you wouldn’t know it.
“It doesn’t come naturally to talk about what I do or what I want to do, but I’ve tried to be a lot more vocal about it,” Abi admits. A lack of self-promotion isn’t typical for someone with 24K followers and multiple digital companies, but Abi’s modesty is part of what makes her so relatable. Though her look is aspirational, her attitude is approachable.
“I wanted to be able to come to the space and actually touch things and not feel like it was too restrictive,” reveals Abi.
Still, Abi deserves to publicly discuss her many achievements and manifest her dreams, like opening a hotel. With her community of supporters, who knows what a single post could accomplish? “Instagram is one of those things we love to hate because it can suck sometimes,” she acknowledges. “At the same time, it’s full of so many opportunities.”
