Boston Gallery
for Merida Studio | 2024 | Environmental Design, Branding, Project Management, Art Direction
Creating a gallery-forward environment that aligned the brand’s physical presence, team mindset, and client experience.
Merida Studio’s Boston showroom no longer reflected the studio’s evolution from artisan workshop to textile art studio, reinforcing outdated perceptions among long-standing New England clients. With limited budget and within an existing lease, the space was reimagined through restraint — stripping away visual noise and reframing the textiles as artworks rather than products. The resulting gallery-forward environment helped clients experience the studio’s transformation firsthand, strengthening sales conversations and supporting the brand’s art-first positioning.
By stripping the space back to its essentials, the strategy refocused attention on the textiles as artwork while helping long-time clients reacquaint themselves with the brand.
01
Problem
Merida Studio’s Boston showroom no longer reflected the studio it had become. As the brand evolved from an artisan workshop into a textile art studio, the space continued to communicate product retail rather than artistic practice—reinforcing outdated perceptions among long-standing New England clients and making it difficult for visitors to fully experience the work as art.
The project operated within an existing architectural footprint with a limited budget, short timeline, and minimal disruption to day-to-day business. The audience posed an additional challenge: New England designers were deeply familiar with the studio’s past identities and more resistant to change, making it essential that the transformation feel credible, intentional, and grounded in purpose rather than abrupt reinvention.
02
Solution
I approached the space as a brand system rather than a renovation project, using restraint to remove visual noise and reframe the work through context. By stripping back clutter, refining lighting, rethinking sightlines, and treating the textiles as singular works rather than inventory, the showroom was transformed into a true gallery — one that communicated value, authorship, and intention without relying on overwrought, explanatory language. The strategy mirrored the broader rebrand that the studio was undergoing: fewer signals, more meaning.
I worked closely with the studio’s owner, sales team, fabricators, and installers to ensure the space supported both artistic presentation and client conversations. While I led the creative direction and spatial strategy, collaboration was essential in balancing aesthetic goals with operational needs, ensuring the gallery functioned as both an exhibition space and a working sales environment.
03
Results
The gallery transformation became a powerful tool for shifting perception. Clients who had struggled to understand the studio’s evolution were able to experience the work differently, leading to more confident sales conversations and greater acceptance of the studio’s art-first positioning. Internally, the space gave the team a shared visual language to stand behind, reinforcing the brand’s evolution through lived experience rather than explanation.
The completed Boston Gallery now presents Merida Studio’s textiles in an art-forward context, aligning the showroom with the studio’s broader brand evolution and supporting client conversations, internal alignment, and daily work.