Cureosities | Intro
I am a maker. I love the process of creating just about anything, especially if able to share it with others. The list of learned skills over the last couple of years includes furniture building, sewing, cement and resin casting, knitting, gardening, and apparently website building. Most of these new skills were for making home crafted gifts or to make my family’s life more rich or comfortable in some way.
In process image of our custom coffee table construction. It’s our attempt at applying the Japanese art of Shou Sugi Ban to furniture.
In this profession I get to create for others, designing experiences, spaces, buildings even, and it’s one of the most amazing privileges imaginable. People trust me to design their space, their shelter. I get to help fulfill a basic human need, but it’s so much more than that. In working closely with a client, in finding the right vision and pursuing the right goals, a space can do so much to improve quality of life. It can be inspiring, emotional, impactful for that client as well as many beyond those who initially drove the project.
I believe in the power of design, of curiosity and thoughtful creation. When it is driven by meaning, rooted in clear goals, it can have impact beyond just looking pretty or well composed. I actually read about a study recently (that I now can’t find to cite…I’ll keep looking) that focused on the link between good design and neurological responses in people, finding that being in well-designed space actually has a positive impact on their state of being. I have always believed this intuitively, but it’s empowering to see a scientific study validating the power of design on human existence. Architecture and design are often discussed as art in the built environment, and I don’t disagree that it can be, but for me, it’s centrally about humanity, about considering the people going through their lives and helping them find a space that makes things better, that brings them joy, comfort or connection. The vast majority of my portfolio is private projects, spaces that I won’t get to go into after they’re finished. There’s a part of me that would love to have access to all the different spaces I’ve been involved in designing, but that’s not my role in this. It’s not about me or what I want, it’s about creating space that enhances human experience in whatever form or scale that takes.
Walnut record display shelves and “Favorite Song’s of All Time” art made with and for our family.
I’m a business owner, an architect, a designer, a crafter, a partner, a mom, a friend, a daughter…as humans we all tend to wear a lot of hats. My intent for this blog is to primarily focus on the personal side of this industry and this organization. It’s a personal journey, and it doesn’t have a known, clear specific destination. I am excited to document thoughts on starting a new design firm, design dialogues, perspectives on studio projects, home projects, books of all sorts. Knowing that I’m starting from the idea that design is for improving human experience, there are still so many influencers on what form it can take. My expectation is to cast a wide net and explore many different thoughts and perspectives on design and the world in order to continue to hone in on my own unique point of view.