
Having moved a staggering 29 times in 40 years, designer Lauren Meichtry knows how important it is to create a sense of home wherever you are living. Two years ago, she made another big move — this one a shift in her career as she branched out from her pillow and home accessories business, opening an interior design arm and expanding her e-commerce shop Elise Home to Elsie Home + Design.

Architect, designer and artist Suchi Reddy would like to move discussions about design beyond the realm of style.
Not that there’s anything wrong with style. But design is so much more — so much more fundamental to the human experience, says Reddy, the founder of Reddymade, a New York-based architecture and design firm. Reddy will give the keynote address at the inaugural Design, Art & Science Symposium on Friday, Oct. 13. The symposium is from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at The Loft in Congdon Yards in High Point. Reddy’s keynote, “Form Follows Feeling: Neuroaesthetics in Interior Design,” will begin at 9:15 a.m.

he design studio is just a year old, but it’s on its feet in a very, very solid way and doing incredible projects. So, we’re being super conscientious of not distracting that part of the business while we’re launching a product line. They’re very different businesses. One is a high-touch service business, and one is about e-commerce, product development, inventory control and planning. I’m very conscious of what it really takes to be successful, so we’re launching the product in a thoughtful and slow way to make sure we have the right team and the right operation. We want to deliver a high-quality experience on both sides of the business.