SOULBASE Talk:
Linnea Botanicals
Beatrice is the founder behind the biophilic design studio, Linnea Botanicals, which was born from her desire to connect people to the natural world by bringing nature inside. Growing up and spending as much time as she could with her horticulturist grandparents and their garden, she gained knowledge and passion for plants and nature.
We talked with her about what it means to live as a nomadic artist, what pros and cons it holds and how she shifted from working in tech to working as an artist full-time and making a living from commissioned work. She shares how she’s grown as an artist and some exciting projects, like an installation made out of organic, preserved moss.
How did you come up with your brand name Linnea Botanicals?
My name is Linnea, so that was an easy start, and the name Linnea is horticultural! Carl Linnaeus was a Swedish botanist known as the father of binomial nomenclature, the system we still use today for naming organisms and why plants have a genus and a species in their scientific name! It’s a fitting plant-related name for me and for my business.
I chose Botanicals because I didn’t want to be pigeonholed into “Living walls,” “Lichen,” “flowers,” etc. I have so many interests in the world of horticulture that I wanted a name that could evolve with the flow of my work. You worked for many years as a design and strategy consultant at a major tech company when your idea to switch your career came. How long did it take you to completely step away from the corporate world and work for yourself?
I’ve always wanted to be a full-time artist, but right out of art school, I wanted to build my skills more generally. And to be honest, I wanted to live in New York City with my friends, so working for a major tech company made that possible.
I think it was 2017 when I realized that I wanted to go into biophilic design, but it took me until the fall of 2019 before I applied to go back to school for horticulture and to really start to dive down that path.
It’s a really big leap to go from a job where you get paid bi-weekly to working for yourself on mostly commissioned work. I had fantastic advice from my permaculture design instructor (a certificate I got between 2017 and 2019) who told me how important it was to make transitions with a step-by-step approach because otherwise it’s easy to not see returns fast enough and to go back to where you started.
For me, I applied for a program in horticulture, went to school full-time while still working for a startup part-time and then slowly transitioned into having my biophilic designs be my career.
Hi Beatrice! This is a simple question but maybe a different one for you: Where are you currently based and what do you do?
Hi! My first name is Beatrice, but I tend to go by my middle name Linnea! Although, Beatrice has really grown on me as I’ve gotten older.
And yes, this is a little bit of a tricky one for me. We’ve been quite nomadic during the pandemic. I’m currently based out of Delray Beach, Florida, but I’ll be heading to snowy Tahoe for a couple months, and we aren’t sure where we will go after that! Since we’ve been nomadic for the last couple of years, we are looking forward to finding a more permanent place to live come April.
It’s possible to move around frequently because I work for myself as a biophilic artist! Are you a morning person or night owl?
Unlike most people in my life, I’m a huge morning person! I wake up ready to take on the day, and I definitely find that I’m more productive in the morning. Lately I’ve been spending my mornings drinking coffee and responding to emails before getting to my studio. “Bringing the outside in” is one of your key philosophies for Linnea Botanicals. Can you share more about your intention and what this means for you?
My intention is to connect people to the natural world around them, and my hope is that my biophilic designs help with that. Having nature inside is proven to make us feel more relaxed and happy, and I think it’s important to add that into our environment whenever possible. 
What defines art and design for you?
That’s a hard question to answer. I have taken classes on the subject and have my degree in Art and Design, but it’s really subjective. I think it’s just important to be creating and bringing pieces of art into your life that spark joy and or make you feel something. Art is powerful, and it’s such a beautiful thing. How can horticulture transform a space like an office and what effect does it have on employees?
Having plants in your space has many proven benefits beyond their intrinsic beauty, including purifying the air, increasing productivity, reducing ambient temperature and reducing ambient noise. So, it has a ton of benefits to employees in an office space or just a person in their home.
Nature makes us feel better. It’s as simple as that.
What do you love the most about your job and what would you rather outsource?
I love the ideation, experimentation and creating my pieces. But I would rather outsource the emails, finance and packaging/shipping. Like any job, there is a lot of screen time and a bunch of admin work that isn’t as much fun.
What would be a dream project or collaboration for you?
I would love to have a client who wants to do something really experimental – for example, a sculptural piece connected to a wall installation. I think designing a room to make it more of a biophilic design experience would be incredible!
You are currently not based permanently in one location. What does it mean to you to be able to roam and can you adapt quickly to a new location or do you need some time?
It’s a really refreshing experience to be able to move around with my work. Having the freedom to pick up and choose a new location is pretty amazing. I find that I’m able to adapt quickly enough to a new environment, but I usually have some roots in each place I go, so it’s not really from scratch. I found that moving from NYC to San Francisco (where I didn’t know many people) was a harder transition than moving around from place to place every couple of months where we have a free place to stay with family.
Don’t get me wrong, moving around with all of my supplies isn’t the easiest task, and trying to time where I’ll be finishing pieces is tricky. For example, I had a major shipping delay for a huge custom frame in Florida, so even though I’m moving to Tahoe for a couple of months, I’ll be flying back to Florida (staying with my mom and dad) and finishing up that piece for a local client.
In April, I’m looking forward to settling down into a more permanent studio. It’s fun to explore new places, but I do have an urge to be part of a community again.
When was your first connection with horticulture and can you share with us what it means and how can it be beneficial for our environment?
My grandparents always spent extensive time in their veggie and ornamental gardens, and since we lived down the road while I was growing up, I got exposed to horticulture all the time. It’s no surprise that I developed a lifelong love of plants!
Horticulture is the study of plants, so the more we understand and appreciate them, hopefully the more we care to protect our environment.
What does it mean to create something with your hands?
To me, there’s nothing like it. It took me a really long time to realize why I didn’t like graphic design or UX/UI design. The jobs seem great, have a lot of stability and can have good pay, but I just didn’t like to do it, and it really came down to making something tangible with my hands. It’s a fantastic way for me to stretch my creativity and to get into a state of flow.