Today we’d like to introduce you to Lauren Merritt.
Lauren, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I studied costume and fashion design in college, and then spent some years after college in Boston and Providence RI, jumping from corporate design to managing a fabric store and then to designing and producing my own clothing line. Ambition and family brought me to Atlanta. But shortly after moving here, I had my daughter. Her arrival shifted my focus from pursuing freelance design and dressmaking to a lifestyle that focused on her well being and me not missing out on her early years. I took a position at a small preschool in East Atlanta, as the arts educator and both me and my daughter enjoyed many years there as a teacher and a student. After seven years of working with kids, the inevitable happened. I started creating costumes and toys which I developed into Toys&Ivy, a brand for kids imaginative play. After this seed had been sown, I wanted to bring focus to another passion project of mine, HeART Adaptive Arts. In addition to my work at the preschool, I worked with two students requiring special adaptations to their creative process. I found there was a need for adaptive art education in the special needs community and in December 2017, I incorporated as a non-profit to provide services and increase awareness of inclusive art. HeART currently has three student artists with art available for charitable purchase. I have also happily returned to fashion design and dressmaking, recently working as a freelance tailor and designer for photo and commercial shoots.
Has it been a smooth road?
No. not smooth at all! My advice would hang on tight, keep going and try to enjoy the ride!
Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
I have a lot of things going on but I love all of it. Everything I do is arts-related – from my own artwork to a non-profit that promotes others’ artwork, to a brand designed for kids’ imaginative play – it’s diverse but it’s all connected and overall, I’m just a huge advocate for the arts. I love to create beautiful things. Everything I make myself or advocate for is of high quality with classic and long-lasting appeal.
Who have you been inspired by?
Most directly, my female friends who have made it doing their own thing. They show me it’s possible and offers a support system.
When I was teaching, I always tried to work inspirational women into my lessons, my favorites are Jane Goodall and Frida Kahlo.
Contact Info:
- Website: laurenmerritt.com
- Email: annlaurenmerritt@gmail.com
- Instagram: @annlaurenmerritt
Image Credit:
Lauren Merritt
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