About | Phephe Rose | Creative Entrepreneur

Hi -I’m Phephe!

ARTrepreneur. Inspirational Speaker. Passionate Doodler.

Like most kids, I held a crayon before I ever held a pencil. The only difference? I never let go of it.

Luckily, I had support around me that helped nurture my creativity early on. I was that kid always drawing, always coloring, and eventually landing in a visual arts program all through middle and high school.

Still, no one around me really knew what creative careers were out there. But somewhere between watching my dad build and evenings lost in my sketchbook, I found a path. I discovered architecture, fell in love with it, and studied at the University of Southern California (Fight On!). Even when a teacher told me to choose engineering “for a better paycheck,” I stayed true to my passion. I followed art. And it’s led me here.

BUILDING THE ENTREPRENEUR Spirit

After college, I entered the real estate world, leasing apartments, managing properties, and unknowingly laying the foundation for my future as a business owner. I started a T-shirt company with two friends (spoiler: didn’t go as planned), but that first leap into entrepreneurship lit a fire.

AND…

We pivoted and built a successful property management company in student housing, where I found my stride in branding, marketing, and business operations. Every lesson, every left turn, shaped the creative CEO I was becoming.

BUILDING Phephe Rose

As I was managing properties, I was also quietly (okay, sometimes loudly) building me—my identity as an artist, designer, and brand. After I left my business partnership, I launched Phephe Rose® Studio, then Brush Up Your Brand™, where I used design to help others show up confidently in their industries.

But something was still tugging at me… and it was architecture. Naturally, I pivoted again, and launched Brush Up Your Space® to blend my experience in branding, real estate, and interior design to move closer to the field I loved. But that still wasn’t enough. I took it further and did something big: I became a licensed architect. Today, I’m proud to be part of the 1% of architects in the U.S. who are Latina (and Filipina), and the 26% who are women shaping the future of the profession.

PHEPHE ROSE ® studio

Illustration and book design services. Phephe is a member of SCBWI and Storyteller Academy. See Portfolio.

brush up your brand™

Branding and graphic design services for personal brands and select small businesses.

brush up your space®

Property branding and interior design services for rental properties and commercial spaces.

PASSING THE Brush

I’ve turned a childhood love of drawing into not one, not two, but three creative businesses—and now, I’m passing the brush. My journey proves that creativity isn’t something you grow out of, it’s something you grow into.

Through speaking and mentorship, I use every part of my path, every sketch, setback, and bold pivot, to show the next generation of creatives what’s possible. Because creativity isn’t a side hustle. It’s a superpower.

As a proud Mexican and Filipina-American woman, and one of the few Latina architects in the U.S., I especially want young creatives of color to know they belong in every room, whether that’s a classroom, a boardroom, or a design studio. Their ideas matter. Their art holds value. And yes, they can make a living doing what they love.

Come find me in my studio, usually surrounded by pencils, coffee, and my bunnies, bringing big ideas to life, one brushstroke (or blueprint) at a time.