Melañio Gomez Is a Master of DIY Design

NBC’s hit show Making It just wrapped up its third season, and we have never been more inspired to start a do-it-yourself project.

Hosted by Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman, this series brings creativity to television by featuring craftspeople from all over the world skilled in different areas competing in complicated, DIY projects. The winner is given the title of “Master Maker” and a grand prize of $100,000.

Included in this season’s roster of contestants was Melañio Gomez, a prop stylist and set designer who works on editorial and commercial shoots both in the U.S. and abroad. Based in San Francisco with his husband, Chris, Gomez comes from a family of medical professionals and is the only one to go into a creative arts field. He has freelanced with several high-profile companies including Estee Lauder and Tiffany & Co., but his most recognized job was working as the Home Editor for Martha Stewart Living creating the DIY and craft projects readers could replicate.

From art director to industrial designer, to graphic designer and even an events florist, Gomez has worn many hats throughout the course of his pristine career. He had some time to talk with OFM about his experience on Making It, what led to pursue a career in design, and one of his most fulfilling projects—renovating and restoring an old Flemish bookstore.

I would like to begin by asking about your time competing on NBC’s Making It, which just wrapped up its third season. What was your experience like on the show?
My experience was pretty memorable, and I did it for the unique experiences. I watched the last two seasons of the series, so I was somewhat familiar with it. It was sort of like, oh, can I do that show? Then suddenly, you blink; you’re on set, and it’s pretty exciting. I am familiar with sets and being behind the scenes, so being in front of the camera was a little bit of an odd experience. It’s kind of hard to watch myself [laughs]. Overall, I had a great experience.

What initially made you take that leap and audition for the show?
I like how the show is edited. I enjoy shows like The Great British Bakeoff where it’s just about being positive and you are not put into these lanes of, oh, here’s the person who’s difficult, or here’s the person who is all “woe is me.” It was just about the making, and I think that was very appealing to me. I know there are a lot of makers out there probably thinking the same thing when they watched the show, whether they can do it or not, but I don’t know what exactly made me want to audition for it. It was sort of like, hey, why not? Let’s do it. It was an experience, and I got exactly what I wanted out of it.

Are Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman as great as they seem?
That is the number one question I get from family and friends, and I have to say, they are exactly how you want them to be. They truly are. We filmed this during the pandemic; there was a lot of caution, so I think the interactions that we had were not as many as past seasons. However, when we did have them, they were pretty genuine. They have been friends for so long and just banter back and forth, which I love. When I first met Amy, I said, she has that face that can make you laugh in grade school, but then you’ll get in trouble. The teacher will turn to her, and she’ll have a straight face. They are great. I love them.

What would you say are some of the biggest perks and challenges of competing on a reality competition show?
On this particular show, one of the challenges is that someone goes home each week. That is the worst part for me. If I could change all the rules, I wish everyone could just do their projects, then all be judged at the end. Be able to show what they can do. When someone goes home early, they can’t really showcase their complete thing. You are only getting a section of it. So, I think that is the worst part.

The best part is that you get to meet like-minded people who love to just make things. I think that was incredible because I had known some of the people before, but only through Instagram and social media. To really get to know them and experience each other’s backgrounds, that was very cool. We are all completely different with what we do.

What do you hope viewers take away from a show like Making It, and what kind of message did you personally hope to convey?
The message that I probably wanted to convey from this is, keep learning and don’t be afraid to do anything. I do a lot of hacks in my projects, and I hope viewers are inspired by this show. I think if you can go through life learning, then you are going to be a lot happier, as opposed to just sitting back and watching other people. There is a whole community out there of “how-to.” YouTube wasn’t around when I was in art school, but I wish it was because you can basically type anything in and get advice on it. There might be 10 minutes of music beforehand; it’s incredible to see what’s out there if you actually want to do it yourself.

Which challenge on the show was your favorite?
The closet was my personal favorite because I think I put the most into it, and it meant a lot. Since we couldn’t travel or hardly do anything during the pandemic, it was like, let me do this idea because I think it’s cool. It also incorporated my husband. There were several challenges where he influenced me.

You come from a family of medical professionals. What led you into the creative arts field?
I was the outlier, I suppose [laughs]. I am from a Filipino family, and a lot of Filipino people go into medicine. At one point, my entire immediate family was in the medical field, and I felt like an outsider. Come Thanksgiving, you look around the table and everyone is talking about their patients, the hospital, or a case, and you’re like, there’s me. My siblings are both creative, but they just went down a different path. When I look back on things we used to do as kids, like projects and drawings, they just decided not to go full force in it. I did.

I have an uncle from the Philippines who recently contacted me through social media, a distant uncle, and he was saying how he saw me on the show. He goes, “I don’t know if you know, but I paint.” Then he sent me what he is painting, and I’m like, wow! I had no idea that there was someone else in the family that was kind of into the arts as much as this. It’s cool because you wonder where you get certain traits from. Ever since I was a kid, I tinkered or drew. Crayons and Legos were my best friends growing up. I guess it was a natural progression into creativity.

One of your most profound jobs was working as the Home Editor for Martha Stewart Living. What was it like working for a brand as grand as Martha Stewart?
Working for that magazine was fantastic. I think I started in 2000, and it was like going back to art school. The studios are set up where all these creative people, similar to Making It, come in with all sorts of ideas. It was such a magical time where nobody was doing it and nobody was making these things beautiful and accessible, as far as “how-to.” That is kind of where I got my “how-to” or “do-it-yourself” training. It is a hard job, but it was incredibly fulfilling. You get to work with so many talented people, as well as her.

I was looking through your portfolio of work and saw the old Flemish bookstore in Brussels you converted into a flat for you and your husband. Can you tell us more about that project?
We weren’t even looking for a place in Brussels, then we finally decided, let’s get a little pied-à-terre and think about it. Initially, I looked at this little, tiny studio, which was the back of this bookstore. It was great because it looked exactly like the bookstore in the West Village in Audrey Hepburn’s Funny Face. A spiral staircase and everything. I was like, this is so great, but when I arrived, there were already people there. The real estate agent said it had been sold and the website was not updated.

So, I left bummed, but I saw the owner of the building when I was leaving. It was this Flemish guy who is a contractor, and he specializes in restoration, as opposed to renovation. I tell him I was looking at the unit in the back, but it has been sold, and he goes, would you want to see the bookstore? I had no intention. I just wanted to see the inside because it was dilapidated and stuff. I went in, and we got on so well that we talked for about an hour about restoration, what was going to be done, the plaster work, everything.

Not too long after I left, I got a call from him saying how much he enjoyed our conversation and asked if I would consider buying the place. I was like, no [laughs]. It didn’t even have a bathroom, a toilet, a kitchen, or anything. He said, write down what you would like out of it or what you need, and give us a general budget of what you were going to spend on a place anyway. So, we did that. I talked to my husband, Chris, and he was writing everything down on a list, and we sent it to him. He wrote back this one-line email saying, ‘yep, we can do that.’ I’m like, oh my God!

That’s when it began, and I still cannot believe that I got to live there. It was a lot of fun to work with crafts people who are European because everything is different. The quality of wood, the sizes, the electricity, the way they put down floors, and I think that is what I love about Europe the most. That appreciation for crafts people and guilds, especially in Brussels. To be able to work with them was so much fun, and I wish that could happen more in the United States. There are people we follow and shows like Making It that are helping with the appreciation for handmade and old techniques

What brought you back to the United States?
I was already flying back and forth from Brussels to the United States because I worked for Williams Sonoma in San Francisco. I designed sets for their catalog for Pottery Barn. My husband told me he had this opportunity in San Francisco, and I’m like, that’s an easy transition. It seems like we go somewhere every 10 years, and I am always up for anything. When Chris explained it to me, I’m like, sure. Why not? We have been incredibly lucky to be able to work and live in different cities.

For anyone looking to relocate abroad, what is the number one tip you can offer?
It’s one thing if it is through a company, because it will be a lot easier. There are relocation packages, and people who will help you find apartments. If I was going to do it on my own, now that I can somewhat speak French, I would probably end up in a French speaking country. I think, just open your eyes to companies that are willing to hire people for abroad. The world has become so small with the internet and where you can work, so relocation might be a little bit harder because of that. People are working from home, and you don’t necessarily have to be in Amsterdam, but those jobs that give you the ability to travel and meet face-to-face are important to find.

What are some future goals you would like to accomplish with your career?
I think there are several of us on the show that were doing our thing before the show. I know in past seasons, like Rebecca and Lilly, they already had businesses. Because of the enhancement from the show, I look forward to seeing what comes from that. You get a lot of emails for collaborations and asking to work together, and for me, that is like the spice of life. To just be able to do something completely different. It is fun to work with different people on different projects, and if I can keep that going, I will be very happy.

Stay up-to-date and connect with Gomez by following him on Instagram and Facebook or, visit his official website. Catch up on episodes of Making It on Peacock.

Photos Courtesy of Evans Vestal Ward/NBC