about katryna

I was born and raised in New Jersey, in the same tight-knit Black community where my parents, grandparents, and whole extended family also grew up. There my grandmothers, Dess and Kappy, found joy in their incredible taste and grace and passed those gifts on to me. They taught me everyday life is art. Where we live, what we surround ourselves with, what we wear, how we love, is all an art. To my grandmothers, art was found on a neighbor’s porch, at a local flea market, the style of signature hairdo, or a beloved pair of earrings. Dess expressed her creativity through her personal style and flawless appearance. She made adorning herself everyday an art, everywhere she went, she sparkled and was the center of attention.

Meanwhile, Kappy collected beloved, striking treasures from what others discarded. She saw overlooked beauty and purpose in the thrift shop and garage sale finds she shared with us, neighbors and family. It empowers and inspires me to know this work I love and have chosen honors my family legacy. My gifts as an artist were passed down to me ancestrally and continue to be sharpened through my extensive training, experience, and adventures.

As a socially responsible designer, artisan, and writer based in Washington, D.C, I am committed to holistic approaches to community development. For more than 15 years, I have built beautiful, healing spaces with and in Black and Brown communities, from small business headquarters for organizations including Oyin Handmade, a well-known and respected black body care brand, to cutting-edge art exhibitions with the Studio Museum in Harlem.

With my background in interior architecture, product design, and craft traditions, I have developed a unique perspective for social justice work in spatial design. Influenced by my grandmothers’ impeccable style, formal training in design, and the celebration of Black joy and culture, I promote beauty as a human right. Examples in my past work include designing educational spaces in under-resourced schools throughout the United States, adopting sustainable craft techniques learned in Ghana, and working on an art exhibition exploring early gentrification in Harlem. I coedited How to Do Creative Placemaking with the National Endowment for the Arts, an action-oriented guide to arts in community development. I have also presented my work at several well-known design conferences including Design Futures, Association of Community Design, and American Institute of Architects. My recent honors include selection as a 202Creates Creative Entrepreneur program resident and Playable Art DC competition winner.

I graduated with a Bachelors of Architecture from Howard University and Masters of Industrial Design from the Rhode Island School of Design. In my leisure time, you can find me dancing in my kitchen, meditating in nature, scheming on my next travel destination, and getting free.