Lauren shared how "celebrating mental health awareness and radical self-acceptance" led to embracing her art full-time. Lauren shares the origin story of their business name, Manic Pixie Dream Squirrel. Lauren uses glass and letterpress as her primary mediums, embracing these dichotomies—light and dark, high and low, joy and pain—to celebrate the full spectrum of what it means to be human.
Pacific-northwest native and proud Peruvian, Lauren Bayer Echevarria has been creating since she had legs to stand on. (She literally started cooking at the age of 3—making eggs, of course!) Lauren spent 15+ years working in arts management before quitting her job in January 2023 to pursue her own art full-time. She is a strong mental health advocate who is open with her own struggles with anxiety, depression, ADHD, and cPTSD. Lauren holds a Bachelor's degree from Northwestern University and a Master's degree in Arts Management from Carnegie Mellon University.
