Artown, the annual month-long celebration of all things art, brings a myriad of artists and art-oriented events to the Biggest Little City. Reno Design Now, one of the many events held during Artown, gave art enthusiasts and community members the chance to enjoy rooms that were artfully designed by local interior and landscape designers.

Put together by the University's Museum Director, Paul Baker Prindle, the event filled the student gallery located inside the Jot Travis building on campus. The student gallery is just one of the many galleries and museums on campus. Running from Friday, July 8th through the weekend, the event treated guests to spectacular local art and design, live music and even a cash bar.

Baker Prindle invited designers from LOORR Home, The Nest, Buds and Blooms, Sierra Water Gardens and the University's W.M.Keck Museum. Designers chose several pieces from the University's permanent art collection and surrounded them with their own furniture, chairs, light fixtures, paintings, textiles and more to create a designed space that was both unique and beautiful.

Baker Prindle thought the event would be a great way to share the University's permanent art collection with the community. The University has been actively adding to its art collection for over 70 years, showcasing pieces in galleries such as Sheppard Contemporary, McNamara, Front Door and Investment Galleries. The oldest piece in the collection dates back over 5,000 years, and it's in good company with a host of others from ancient Egypt and ancient China.

"We have Rembrandts and great American regionalists like George Inness and Sheldon Pennoyer," said Baker Prindle. "We have pieces from Andy Warhol, Alexander Calder and a really great collection of female surrealist painters."

Tessa Dee Miller, owner of the local vintage urban boutique, The Nest, was excited when she received an email invitation to design a room at the gallery. Miller had done interior design and staging before, but this was her first time designing inside of a gallery. 

"It's fun to be able to do things outside of your normal realm," Miller said. "To be able to think creatively and outside of the box and do things a little bit differently is exciting."

Having studied philosophy and Spanish at Santa Clara University, Miller did not have any business experience until her father suggested she start her own after college. A mix of life lessons, new experiences and risk-taking taught Miller how to run her business, and she been successfully doing so for the past 11 years. Her vintage style, which she's become known for over the years, came to life through her interior design work at the gallery.

In the space that Miller was provided at the gallery, she decided to turn the area into a retro fifties vintage-style studio apartment, complete with a Motorola record player and faux fur rugs. She used several paintings from the University's art collection, including a few by Craig Sheppard.  Miller's goal in decorating and designing her space was to show that vintage art and furniture can be beautiful in anyone's home.  

 "A lot of the time people think that art is for museums, but I wanted to make the space feel homey and lived in and not stuffy," Miller said. "And be able to showcase the art at the same time."

Construction on the new museum is set to begin in 2017 on the University's campus. Despite Baker Prindle's excitement about Reno Design Now, he is undecided about whether he will hold the same event next year in the student galleries because of the construction. Once the new museum is complete in 2018, it will be home to the permanent art collection from the University and many temporary exhibitions.