Daniel Pierce & Nina Grondin, Co-founders of Curioso

I was first introduced to Curioso in 2017 when they commissioned me to create a custom 7 foot wide piece for a Miami hotel lobby. A year later, they contacted me again to create textile art for The Harbor Grand project in Michigan. But when the hotel was struck by lighting, the Curioso team made a big pivot and the project became much bigger, including the artwork requirements. My textile artwork now hangs in each of the property’s 22 suites, plus 2 original paintings hang in the lobby.

Curioso is an assemblage of architects, interior designers, artists and business-minded thinkers (and tinkerers) working in unison to design meaningful experiences.

Established in 2013, Curioso is led by Co-founders Nina Grondin and Daniel Pierce. With nearly 30 years of design experience between them, they are joined by a team of 20 talented, collaborative and curious experts.

With dual studios based in Chicago and Merida, Mexico, Curioso helps companies aroung the world to create unique brand experiences or reinvent existing ones.

(Curioso text credit: https://www.curioso.us )

Design: The Harbor Grand, Curioso // Artwork: Lauren Williams Art // Photo: Daniel Kelleghan

Tell us about you firm. Why hospitality design?

Good design and hospitality both put people first. Whether we’re working on a hotel project, a restaurant, or a single-family home, our goal is to transform a space into an atmosphere that is engaging, inspiring, and impactful. We always start by understanding and connecting with our clients and the community in which their project resides. We believe in truly getting to know our clients and their stories – where they come from, what they value, and how they want to grow.

Curioso is a collective of architects, interior designers, artists and business-minded thinkers. Our wide-ranging cultural backgrounds and professional experiences inform a fresh and diverse perspective. We’re an agile group of creatives who value human-centered design and collaborate to design meaningful experiences, always through the lens of hospitality.

Please tell us about the remodel of the Harbor Grand hotel.

Curioso first started working with Toast Hotel Group (a family company that owns and operates two destination hotels in Michigan’s Harbor Country) in 2014. When lightning struck the roof of their beloved Harbor Grand Hotel in 2019, we moved quickly to support our long-standing clients and friends. We approached the challenge as an opportunity to reposition the property and create a new and evolved vision within a short 12-month timespan.

The Harbor Grand Hotel has always been rooted in warm, comforting hospitality – a foundation we built upon to create a new level of experiences for guests including elements that harken to the original property but are delivered in a fresh, modern way. Every moment at the property is designed to be a respite and is considered with the year-round comfort of the hotel team and guests in mind. The design reflects and respects the place - a sophisticated and refined retreat along the shores of Lake Michigan.

When this boutique hotel re-welcomed its team, its neighbors, and its guests in January of 2021, it did so as the lakeside-luxury gem our client had always desired. Today, whether driving in from the hustle of Chicago or looking for a change of scene after a day at the beach, guests of the Harbor Grand Hotel may revel and relax in a space that welcomes them in all seasons.

Design: The Harbor Grand, Curioso // Photo: Daniel Kelleghan

How did the lightning strike and resulting fire affect the design for the hotel?

The Harbor Grand Hotel is a beloved gathering place in Harbor Country. The fire left it devastated, and its absence was deeply felt by the surrounding community. For that reason, the driving goal behind this project was to restore the property and return it to its community as soon as possible.

Ironically, the element of fire has always been a part of the hotel’s story, with intimate fireplaces in guestrooms, a feature fireplace in the fine dining restaurant, and a fire pit on the terrace for cool nights. Thus, as you sometimes have to do in difficult times, we leaned in. We celebrated the dynamic quality of fire for the property, focusing on its warmth and ability to create spaces for connection. We elevated the facade with a welcoming, wood clad front porch anchored by flickering gas lanterns and designed a 10’ fireplace in the expanded hotel lobby that immediately invites guests into moments together.

What was the goal when choosing elements for the redesign?

The design goal for The Harbor Grand Hotel was to inject a low-key luxury, boutique atmosphere while maintaining its casual and approachable vibe. Echoing its environment, yet intentionally not thematic, the design plays upon diverse sources from Frank Lloyd Wright’s prairie and Japanese influences to Scandinavian and Midwestern, lake life simplicity. We focused on natural materials and inspiration from the hotel’s environment while introducing a fresh, modern color palette.

“Much of [Lauren’s] work has horizontal cues and strong visual lines, which we felt was an interesting reference to the midwest landscape and a modern interpretation of Frank Lloyd Wright-style design.”

How does Lauren’s textile artwork and her paintings (curated by IndieWalls) coordinate with this vision?

We wanted to incorporate fiber art in the guestrooms, reminiscent of a lakeside aesthetic, without being too literal. We were drawn to Lauren’s work initially based on the colorways she explores. Much of her work has horizontal cues and strong visual lines, which we felt was an interesting reference to the midwest landscape and a modern interpretation of Frank Lloyd Wright-style design.

Two original paintings were selected for this project because of their strong, controlled lines, broken up by a circular, organic form – which blended seamlessly into our concept of modernizing the past.

“Our project required a large number of custom pieces on a short timeline, and collaborating with Lauren to accomplish this was straightforward and rewarding. We wanted to support an artist who focuses on handmade, quality pieces. Lauren and her husband have a clear passion for both the family business and the art itself, shown through the ease of working with them and the beauty of the final product. Lauren was eager to support our overall vision and communicated clearly with us by providing references, solutions, and process photos. We were thrilled to get a peek behind the curtain into her process and to learn more about the way she creates.”