As part of her inquiry on economies and consumption, Lauren Schaefer wrote 'The New Economy Manifesto', calling for a re-imagination of the future of our economy.
Through the perspective of a designer, Schaefer urgently yet playfully asks us to join her in what she calls "escaping the broken cycle and changing our perception of what holds value". Her journey involves people and stories, the homemade and handcrafted, exchanges and gifts, and suggests to go beyond local and organic and up-cycling and reusing and package redesign. With this manifesto, Schaefer aspires to design new measures for thinking about value and innovative approaches to exchange.
Schaefer currently attends the Pacific Northwest College of Art for a Master of Fine Arts in Collaborative Design. She considers herself both an artist and a designer with a focus on the impact that art and design can have on solving social, environmental, technological and economical issues.