“Don’t tell people your dreams, show them.” ~ Unknown
Urban Natural Designs is the outgrowth of an unexpected gift of a corporate restructuring.
Having never actually asked myself what I wanted to be when I grew up, it turns out, I wanted to use my passion for photography, work with my hands and to create beautiful products with quality materials.
But more than that, I also want to inspire an alternative to what our society sells as progress: the substitution of technology for real-life; the general inability to slow down to appreciate the natural world; and the sadly discarded world of venerable urban artifacts.
Life is not all about more and faster. Sometimes simpler is better.
The artwork collection, made up of my favorite [URBAN] and [NATURAL] things, the Art Stories on Instagram and Facebook, the monthly newsletter and blog: all commentary on feeling dragged against my will into the harried pace of life today. I seek to take people back outside, and well just…back.
Fun, urban nostalgia and the wondrous detail of our natural world inspire the collection, every piece reflects my appreciation of bygone days.
[U R B A N]
“I am hopelessly in love with a memory. An echo from another time, another place.” ~ Michel Foucault
The Urban
Collection encourages us to reminisce about happy times and those artifacts driven extinct by technological progress.
Bowling balls, roller-skates, or a jukebox remind us when we took time out to play. And the beauty of machines that used to aid our days: a coil heater, vintage cash registers, the payphone. Each can take us back, if even momentarily, to who we were, reminding us of who we are.
[N A T U R A L]
“People must feel that the natural world is important and valuable and beautiful and wonderful and an amazement and a pleasure.” ~ David Attenborough
With the increasing hyper-speed & disconnected-ness of society today, we are fixated on our screens rather than experiencing the awe-inspiring natural world around us. It's just not healthy.
For your own well-being, let our Natural Collection take you outdoors for a breath of fresh air.
Because quality should still matter, each handcrafted piece of artwork is mounted on a beautifully stained, solid birch wood panel.
All components, not unlike myself, are American-made. Available in three (3) sizes: 11x14, 16x20 and 24x30, each piece is limited to 250/size. A certificate committing to just that comes in a beautifully packaged box.
The 100% wood panel is manufactured by a company committed to sourcing only from sustainable forestry practices. Every art piece is finished with an all-natural, renewable resource certified-veneer.
A small and energetic workshop in a L.A. historical neighborhood is where it all happens.
I invite you to stay in touch through our newsletter, blog, Instagram.
UrbanNaturalDesigns.com