Lilipad Studio is a small company nestled in the gorgeous mountain community of Hailey, a small hip town just outside the famous skier's paradise of Sun Valley, Idaho.

The company was founded by artist Laura Higdon in 2006. Laura's vision to create Lilipad Studio evolved from a combination of her divine path of motherhood and her artistic experiences working as a graphic designer, custom mural and furniture artist, and interior designer.

While combing design centers and furniture stores across the country as a designer, Laura recognized that the very few pieces of really imaginative, high quality, hand-made furniture she could find for children existed primarily in antique stores – usually crafted by a loving family member from a past generation.

As an interior design consultant, Laura missed the hands-on creativity of being a painter. She also knew that she and other like-minded parents and individuals were looking for furniture options made from ecological and ethical sources.

Laura combined her significant artistic talent with her new awareness of the need for soulful and healthy children's furniture to create Lilipad Studio: the only line of eco-friendly, hand-crafted, hand-painted furniture for kids.

As the demands of growing a business increased, Laura found a business partner in Ben Sinnamon. A commitment to the environment is the thread that runs through Ben's professional life: raft guide, snowboard instructor, recycler, alternative energy installer, environmental attorney, energy policy think-tanker, and non-profit executive director. Ben and his wife Hilary have a young daughter, Julia Jane, who inspires his work with Lilipad Studio.

Laura and Ben's shared commitment to sustainability and their complementary skills and abilities make them a good team. As Laura's left-brain/right-hand man, Ben brings his borderline obsessive/compulsive tendency to organize and analyze to bear on Lilipad Studio's business matters.

In a studio adjacent to her home, Laura works with local artists and artisans to create essential pieces of furniture for small children: table and chair sets and stepstools. Laura plans to add new designs to the Lilipad line each season and to create heirlooms for our children and grandchildren's generations.

For the health of our families and our world, we also hope to see more and more products made with our same commitment to consciousness, quality, and integrity.

ARTIST STATEMENT:

I love seeing colors play off of each other, complimenting and uplifting one another. I am inspired when I gaze into the textures and combinations of patterns woven together by the different cultures of our world: the rich, plant-dyed threads of a gorgeous Eastern European textile, a Tibetan hand made rug, a meticulously- embroidered Irish cloth, simple and elegant Asian block printing motifs or the playful sensibility of American folklore imagery.

I get the feeling of care, great patience and artistry from the mixing and choosing of the thoughtfully placed designs.

My greatest inspirations are pulled from these wonderfully rich esthetics from ancient traditions.

Through Lilipad Studio, I want to offer several things:
• A mix of delicious colors, in combination with playful yet sophisticated design elements on pieces with high functionality and versatility made from the finest materials
• A wholesome and soulful experience to the children and families who use these pieces
• Inspiration and magic to nurture the creativity of children
• Healthy heirlooms for a new generation

I grew up in Oregon, and have spent my adult life in the majestic mountains of Idaho. I have learned the importance of environmental responsibility and a deep commitment to sustainability - with every choice, on every level.

I now recognize, as a parent of two, how modeling and teaching these values to our children both through our actions and our purchasing choices is imperative. At Lilipad Studio, we work with local craftsmen to build all of our furniture from eco-friendly wood products. Each piece is base-painted by hand with non-toxic, no-VOC paints.

To create the delicate patterns and motifs, I have created a rich array of stamps, and use these to carefully hand apply the intricate motifs to all surfaces of the furniture. They are then finished with three coats of a non-toxic, low-VOC sealer, making them incredibly durable to last for many generations, as well as being healthy for our children and our planet.