ABOUT
photograph by Oriana Koren
hi there!
I’m Gray (they/them), founder and lead designer of Moon Jar Design.
I take a holistic approach in my design work, considering site specificity and the energy and rhythm of an event or project.
My journey has taken me through:
a BFA in Drawing and Printmaking
working on a flower farm in St. Louis, MO
maintaining and designing landscapes in St. Louis
creating street art and showing in galleries in Seoul, South Korea
finding my way back to Los Angeles, my hometown, where I currently operate Flower Lab, a floral studio and community space with studio friends Woman in Stems and Ruth Kim
In designing with flowers, I open myself up to what they have to say. My design style is abstract, expressive, nature-inspired, and always open to conversation with the materials and flowers themselves.
I believe in creating a plan and then changing it to embrace the unexpected. A mismatched tile, a nearby orchid tree, a rare flower appearing at the flower market for one brief week — all are chances to seize the moment and create an homage to the present.
The name "Moon Jar” refers to Korean moon jars, or 달한가리 (dalhangari), which are beautiful ceramic vessels that celebrate the moon and the natural world. With my work, I seek to honor the world around us while, at the same time, opening up glimmers of other worlds of beauty and possibility.
At Moon Jar Design, we strive to practice sustainability and to show love to our queer, immigrant, and POC communities.
Thank you for being here! For floral needs or general inquiries, please get in touch. I’d love to hear from you.
warmly,
gray
Moon Jar Design is dedicated to sustainability. I believe sustainability is a practice, and that no one does it perfectly. That said…
Moon Jar Design’s version of sustainability looks like this:
We re-use materials as much as possible. This means choosing mechanics like chicken wire and flower frogs that can be used over and over again across projects, as well as renting our existing vase inventory versus buying new for every project.
We sort studio and event waste into compost, recycling, and trash. Any leftover flowers first get gifted to friends and neighbors, and any remaining are composted. We also love to work with donation programs for post-event flower waste — please inquire if this is a service you are interested in adding onto your event!
We don’t use floral foam, which leaches microplastics into our ecosystem.
We take care with invasive or disruptive plant species.
We like to buy local when possible. This can’t always happen with every project, but if you’re interested in working with local or native flowers for your event, we’d love to hear from you!
For more reading and resources on this topic:
Flower Confidential: The Good, the Bad, and the Beautiful by Amy Stewart