kin lore studio
Kristen’s design practice focuses on translating cultural storytelling, craft, and community engagement into design projects that foreground memory, identity, and collective well-being within the built environment.
The studio functions as both a conceptual framework and a studio for producing tangible work that translates her research into community-facing projects. Already, Kin Lore has generated several commissions for her work: the Yellow Brick Road District Mindful Renovation in Akron, where she is collaborating with architects and community partners to create design strategies that honor neighborhood identity; the African Methodist Episcopal Mindful Renovation in Salem, where spatial consultation supported preservation and renewal of a historically significant site; the First Serve Day of Service Art/Spatial Experience Activity, which invited participants into collective making as an act of cultural affirmation; and the WTF is Happening: Community Gathering project in Kent, which combines art direction and participatory design to create shared space for dialogue and healing. Each of these projects demonstrates how Kin Lore Studio bridges design philosophy with production, turning cultural memory into lived experience. Looking forward, she intends for Kin Lore Studio to operate as an ever-evolving body of work—producing exhibitions, public installations, and publications that position craft, storytelling, and community participation as vital contributions to architectural discourse.