Greywood Arts recently had the pleasure of hosting biophilia inspired interior designer Lauren Gardner (Minnesota, US) in residence for a number of weeks.

Lauren Gardner’s most inspiring experiences in her career have been when a project has had the opportunity to bring a group of people together to share the aspirations they have for their community and work together to frame those ideas into design prompts for her design team to create solutions around.

An associate with MSR Design, Lauren actively thinks about the intersectionality of the end users within any space and how they can have shared experiences that build community relationships. She wants all users to feel supported and welcomed in their environments and have barrier-free experiences in any space they use.

Alongside this work, Lauren researches sustainable products and healthy materials as part of the firm’s initiative to design spaces that benefit the overall health of the people who use them, as well as the environment.

An active member of the International Interior Design Association (IIIDA), Lauren recently joined the national IIDA office’s newly created Equity Council, focused on developing initiatives to increase the representation of identified historically underrepresented design professionals; creating anti-racist and anti-bias policies, goals, and objectives; and promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion. She is also the current vice president of advocacy for the IIDA Northland Chapter.

Lauren has kindly shared the following words about her time in Greywood Arts:

“After years of non-stop work in the commercial design industry, my residency at Greywood Arts provided an experience for me to reconnect with my creative curiosities in new and liberating ways.

The experience felt genuinely empowering from day one to practice and make at my own pace (or relearn how to), always with the encouragement and support of artistic director Jessica Bonenfant and the other multidisciplinary visiting creatives.

Having the community supported, trans-disciplinary living experience at Greywood, getting to deeply familiarise myself with both flora and fauna of Glenbower Wood, as well as touring the country at large, I found I had a renewed connection with the intentions behind my craft, finding value and confidence once again in my ideas, exploring materials and rabbit-holing curiosities in unique ways I may otherwise have not identified.”

Click here for more information on our creative process residency.