Caila Cater-Edwards, PEA Clean Energy Intern, sitting with designer and PEA Board Member, Mona King. Mona is the founder and principal of Mona & Associates Design, LLC, a minority woman-owned, LEED-certified biophilic design and wellness art studio in Winston-Salem, featuring Living Aura™, a signature line of preserved moss and botanical installations.
CCE: Hi there Mona, it’s a pleasure to sit down with you! Your name is one I hear constantly throughout PEA as one of our Board Members. On top of that, I know you run your own company, Mona & Associates Design, among the many other hats you wear. To kick things off, I’d love for you to share a little bit about your background and your company with our readers.
MK: I moved with my family to Winston-Salem from Indianapolis, IN, after being recruited by Sara Lee Corporation - which owned Hanes (now Hanesbrands) at the time. As an early adopter of computer graphics, I developed a Computer Design team that created licensed apparel for retail, with screen-printed designs for the NBA, NFL, MLS, universities, and major sporting events like the Super Bowl. I was never much of a sports fan, but I knew every team logo and official color by heart. I stayed with Hanesbrands through the Atlanta Olympics, and it was during that time I began laying the groundwork for my own design business; all while pursuing a second degree in Interior Architecture at UNC Greensboro. (My first degree, in Fine Arts, is from Indiana University.) I later went on to serve as VP of Facility Design and Construction for a financial institution in the Triad.
As a lifelong creative, I have always continued learning new processes, technology, and love the research required. My company's focus is on human-centered design, environments, art and installations. We have all endured a lot prior to and after COVID and need a way to reduce stress. Nature has always been a positive factor in my life. Coming from a large family of eight we spent a lot of time outdoors. Research shows that nature has a positive impact on wellness and mental health. It's innate that access to nature can enhance creativity, productivity and health. Returning full-circle to my Fine Arts degree, combined with my management and Interior Architecture degree allows me to create art, products and services that invoke creativity and positive feelings to my clients.
That full-circle journey is what became Mona & Associates Design, LLC; a minority woman-owned, LEED-certified biophilic design and wellness art studio here in Winston-Salem. We bring nature indoors through Living Aura™, our signature line of preserved moss and botanical installations, alongside hands-on wellness workshops and biophilic design consulting for healthcare, corporate, and residential clients. Every project comes back to the same idea: nature isn't a decoration, it's a need - and my job is to design spaces that honor that.
CCE: What a phenomenal journey, Mona. I love the line 'nature isn’t a decoration, it’s a need.' Coming from a fast-paced corporate background yourself, you likely know exactly how vital that need is. I also love hearing stories of how individuals go back to school, that alone is an inspiration to many, including myself.
I’d love to go back to something else you mentioned. For readers who might be hearing the term 'biophilic design' or Living Aura™ for the first time, could you take us inside a recent project? How does transforming a sterile healthcare or corporate space into a living environment actually change the way people feel and work inside it?
MK: Design inspired by nature. Living Aura™ is my trademark for the nature inspired art, products and events created. And one recent project was for Wake Forest Atrium Medical Center, specifically the Dean's Office
This installation commission came to me through a local design firm. The Dean wanted the corridors and entry to her office enhanced with art that represented nature in literal terms. The connection felt right from the start, since so many medical discoveries trace back to plants and materials found in the natural world. Every material used is preserved and natural, chosen to engage the space through touch, sight, and scent.
Two areas were designed: the reception area and the corridor adjacent to the Dean's office. The building itself presented a unique creative challenge. It is a former RJR Tobacco factory renovated into office space, with thick walls, exposed industrial fixtures, and a lingering factory-era character.
Given creative freedom, I treated that factory and medical tension as the brief. How do you introduce calm and wellness into an environment that is, by nature, stressful and industrial? The materials answered the question. Willow branches, lotus pods, eucalyptus, and moss, all with histories in medicine, became the vocabulary for two pieces:
- "Nature is the Physician of Disease," a 5-piece installation outside the Dean’s office
- "Allow Nature's Peace," sited in the reception area
What made this work successful wasn't just the design intent landing on paper. It was watching it land in real time. While installing the pieces, and again on a recent visit to photograph the finished work, I was stopped in the hallway by people who wanted to tell me, unprompted, that the art had lightened the mood of the space and given them a moment of calm in a place that doesn't naturally offer many.
That's the measure I use for success in biophilic design. Not whether a piece looks good, but whether it changes how people feel moving through a space they have to be in, often on a hard day. In a medical building built from an industrial shell, nature became the counterweight. The plants used in the art are the same families used in medicine, quietly reinforcing the Dean's original request that “nature isn't decoration in a healthcare setting. It's part of the healing story”.
That's success: art doing its job without anyone having to be told what it's for.
CCE: I love that last thought! 'Art doing its job without anyone having to be told what it's for' perfectly captures how intuitive our connection to nature really is. It’s amazing how you bridged the gap between that heavy, industrial tobacco history and a modern space for healing.
Knowing how deeply you care about the intersection of human wellness and the environment, it makes perfect sense that you are a Board Member here at PEA. How does your philosophy on biophilic design and human-centered spaces inform your vision and leadership for PEA’s mission in our community?
MK: I am honored to be on the Board. I hesitated when asked, due to being on other Boards and not seeing the impact or ability to have a voice in policies and changes that might improve efficiency. Humans thrive on being a part of the community. This is obvious in animals, insects, birds, and other species. The ability to survive is dependent upon working as a group for a common goal. Nature teaches us that strong roots and ecosystems survive and adapt in even harsh environments. PEA’s mission is to advocate for those wishing to have sustainable homes, environments, and businesses. We are stronger together than as a single unit.
We need to feel that our environment is safe, promotes wellness and is sustainable for future generations. The knowledge to make changes to be shared, reach-one, teach-one can be applied in many cases. Awareness creates curiosity and promotes problem solving. I am an advocate of continuous learning.