Designer Kelly Padgett (Photo courtesy Kelly Padgett)
Kelly Lockwood Padgett thinks of herself as a creative problem solver. The owner of Richmond-based design and fabrication studio Wood & Locks has designed for superstar influencer Kendall Jenner’s 818 Tequila brand, Suja Organic juice company and a Silicon Valley CEO who wanted a custom vintage Airstream trailer for the Burning Man festival, in addition to many local projects.
As career evolutions go, Padgett didn’t see a life as a designer coming when she was a student at East Carolina University majoring in Hispanic studies and international business. Born in Norfolk to a naval officer, she moved around the country as a child, calling Birmingham, Alabama, and San Diego, California, home before returning to Virginia.
“I had this love of traveling and meeting new people and experiences,” she says. “So, when I was an undergrad, I had the opportunity to study and travel abroad twice.”
During one of those semesters abroad, Padgett lived in a small two-bedroom apartment with six Italian students, often hosting visiting friends, too. “I think things just became more modular out of necessity,” she says. Tables became beds, and closets became bedrooms. “Whether I knew it or not, [that was] my first taste of really making smaller spaces work harder. And even though I was only there for a semester or a little longer, I think that take on design — bringing in everyone’s story and what that looks like — really stuck with me.”
Padgett says her postgraduate work in graphic design and at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Brandcenter led her to create new solutions for blending visual and human-centered design in physical spaces. At her first job, she created experiential spaces for the Virginia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and its annual ¿Qué Pasa? festival. She has since worked on large events including a Pokemon Go festival and the Harry Potter Wizards Unite festival.
“In both instances I was able to blend the digital into the physical space, designing set pieces, festival layouts and consumer engagements,” Padgett says. “It’s not unlike designing for a large home. Each space needs to feel unique in its design and function but speak to the larger scheme and strategic narrative we’re weaving throughout.”
A trailer conversion by Padgett (Photo courtesy Kelly Padgett)
The COVID-19 pandemic shut down Padgett’s work on festivals and events but opened an entirely different market as people sought to create safe spaces. “I had worked on mobile spaces for events, and Airstreams allowed families to have separate experiences together,” Padgett says. “It was a big, eye-opening moment for me. I realized I could take my love for design and my understanding of experience spaces and bring them together.”
She began designing luxe trailers in partnership with P&S Trailer Service, an Ohio-based Airstream trailer restoration team she had worked with previously. Padgett turned trailers into an “Eco-Glamper” for a California mother with three daughters who wanted a mobile lifestyle that didn’t compromise their creature comforts, a drive-thru for an Illinois coffee shop and a banana snack stand for Amazon’s Seattle headquarters.
Padgett also repurposed an early 20th-century Ford box truck into a second banana stand for Amazon’s Arlington, Virginia, headquarters. “We completely gutted it, rebuilt the shell, raised the ceiling [and] built this 8-foot vending window with integrated solar panels and an HVAC system,” she says. Padgett worked with Wellcraft manufacturing in Richmond to fully outfit the vintage truck with features including sliding crates and under-sink storage for fruit.
Inside the Church Hill short-term rental and “living gallery” space (Photo by Lindsay Kagalis)
Locally, Padgett recently finished a larger-scale project in Church Hill: the restoration of a home that will function as both a short-term rental and an art space. Padgett says the “living gallery” will host both guests and “rotating collections of local artwork, vintage furnishings and modern decor. … Guests might find themselves sipping morning coffee beside an original painting, dining at a handcrafted table or relaxing beneath custom textiles,” all created by regional artists. She calls it “a space built … through true collaboration and community.”
According to Padgett, the concept reimagines hospitality and creates a platform for artists “to gain exposure, sell their work and have their pieces professionally photographed in a real-world setting.” The home is currently exhibiting work from Richmonders including artists Wendy Umanoff (custom lighting), Sarah Rowland (wall coverings) and Alicia Dietz (furniture), as well as local shops Odd Bird (housewares) and B-Side Bakehouse, among others. Padgett notes that any sales will be made directly via the artists, with no commission, though she hopes to inspire donations to a rotating list of local charities.
Looking to the future, Padgett is thinking about projects that could address the need for smaller homes and ways that accessory dwelling units could provide more affordable housing options. In addition, she and local carpenter Leah McNamara are building multifunctional furniture, including desks that can fold down into beds and cabinets that present as artwork. “What are things that we could do to help maximize people’s spaces if places are getting smaller?” Padgett asks. “It goes hand in hand with my brand ethos and what I’m trying to create. Maximize space and make it beautiful and make it work harder.”
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