About

Sage is a multi faceted stylist, designer, and art director working behind the scenes of  renowned creatives, from mainstream icons like Oprah and HBO, to legendary brands like Herman Miller and Crate & Barrel, to celebrated cultural institutions like Steppenwolf and the Whitney Museum, and notable artists Philip Glass, Mary Zimmerman and Catherine Sullivan. 

Sage was born into a family of designers in a farmhouse in West Virginia, and delivered by Patch Adams, the famous doctor, activist, and comedian.  Her childhood was immersed in the rich visual landscapes of  Scandinavia, Spain, and New Mexico. This juxtaposition of desert and sea— living in the lawless creativity of New Mexico and the refined, sensible beauty of Finland—informs her life and work.

As a teenager, Sage worked as a silversmith and for Morton Subotnick, a seminal avant-garde electronic music composer, traveled in his orbit of artists and collaborators. At 19, she moved to Chicago and worked at the city’s most renowned theaters -Steppenwolf, Lookingglass, and Court Theater-in sets, costumes,and prop design. Each production an exploration into another world and culture and a test of technical ingenuity and craft. In 2008, Sage transitioned as a full time set decorator with Oprah Winfrey Show and Harpo Studios. She has also worked on feature-length films, museum exhibits, tv shows, and pop-ups. She is a skilled creative director with experience in art installation, event production, art direction and fabrication for events, photography, film, and theater. 

“Sets design combined my love of objects, research, collaboration, spatial exploration  and innate ability to unearth strange things. Constructing an environment whether it was assembling the minutiae of a tabletop composition, or orchestrating a large visual spectacle: each brings new worlds to life, like a curation of the details that define a place, time, and story. I believe in aesthetics as both a theory and application, and that every basic thing that surrounds us can be interesting, chosen and beautiful.” 

A few great loves are sautéed fiddlehead ferns, 70’s metal, peonies, demolition derby’s, and Finnish mid-century cast iron.