A Dynamic Duo – Geoff Hager + Stephanie Moore Hager
Stephanie Moore Hager, founding principal of the Dallas-based interior design firm Moore Design Group, specializes in creating vibrant spaces within multi-family living communities all over North America. Geoff, her husband of eight years and an established fine artist, creates one-of-kind,site-specific pieces for Stephanie’s projects that go way beyond the predictable posters and giclées commonly reserved for developments with tight art budgets. Together, they wow demanding developers with atypical interiors that attract tenants aspiring to enhanced lifestyles.
So what is their secret for transferring the success of their personal relationship to a business one? Though they wake up next to each other in the morning, Stephanie is careful to treat Geoff like any other vendor. Likewise, Geoff considers his wife just another client with demands and deadlines.
Stephanie’s firm does enlist other artists and craftsmen, but she admits that working with Geoff is often easier – not only because they know each other so well, but also because of his comprehensive understanding of the building process, his extensive background in architectural illustration, and his keen
organizational skills.
Commercial interior design and art created for public venues is a delicate balance of creativity and business. Intertwined with the more artistic component of conceptualizing and design development is the restrictive reality of schedules, budgets, construction and deadlines. Both Stephanie and Geoff are fortunate to posses the creativity to visualize and the left-brained skills to make their imaginations reality. Just a few of the past collaborations between this dynamic duo include: Bristol at Southside in Birmingham; The Depot in Fort Worth; Bristol on Union in Memphis; and both Marquis at West Village
and Marquis on McKinney in Dallas.
They are most pleased with their latest collaboration: ICON in the Gulch in Nashville. While staying within budget, Stephanie and her design team fulfilled their goal of elevating the inhabitants’ experience by infusing the multifamily portion of this mixed-use development with striking details like back-lit honey onyx in the main elevator lobby. Geoff added to the project’s impact with
installations such as:
“The Beginning” (Lobby wall) – An oversized (25’h X 13’w) acrylic painting on 16 birch panels applied with 5,800 four-inch hand-cut fabric squares.
“Timber Sections” (Lobby hallway) – 14 section-cuts ranging from 12”- to 35”-diameter of 5 species of trees (pecan, boisd’arc, elm, cedar, and oak), which were aged for a year in his studio.
