PA L M B E A C H DESIGN PREVIEW
Above: Designs by SHIZEN, inspired by tropical surroundings. Below: India Foster.
AS AN INTERIOR DESIGNER in Palm Beach for the last 15 years with my mother’s renowned firm, Leta Austin Foster & Associates, I worked on projects that ran the gamut from traditional to contemporary. No matter what the style, my clients always wanted their houses to be outfitted with unique designs of the highest quality, so I often had the pleasure of working with accomplished artists and master craftspeople and built up quite a network. In the last decade, consumers have been losing interest in factory-produced designs that are available everywhere. Instead, people have been turning to their own communities as a source for inspiration and sense of identity. People want to eat locally grown food, support native artists, and buy products that reflect their own way of life. I conceived of SHIZEN as a platform to showcase the talented 138 QUEST
makers and creators working in SoFlo today by creating sustainable, vernacular designs for the home. I collaborate with metal, wood, ceramic and textile artists to make handmade furniture and objects that incorporate locally sourced materials and tell a story about the beautiful place we live. Roughly a thousand people move to Florida every day, so it’s really important that we try to protect our unique ecosystem and celebrate our cultural legacy. SHIZEN designs are inspired by our tropical surroundings and are meticulously crafted in studios all over South Florida. Each piece is one of a kind or available in a limited edition. See the current collection by appointment or at one of our seasonal pop ups in Palm Beach and Miami. Check out shizenstudio.com or follow @shizen_studio.
CO U RTE S Y O F S H I Z E N
SHIZEN, BY INDIA FOSTER