LaGrave Designs was founded by Dawn LaGrave - originally it was known as Paper Panache. LaGrave grew up in upstate New York, and holds a BS degree in Nutritional from Cornell University in Ithaca, NY. His first job was with a software company that produced nutrition based software in Ithaca. There, he had the opportunity to learn about computer systems, and thus started his career as an IT specialist in the healthcare industry. He decided to move on to the world of health insurance where he spent ten years helping health insurance companies to implement new computer systems for medical claims payment. In 2008, he moved to Seattle, Washington to work on permanent basis for one of the companies that he had been consulting for. About two years later, they were informed that the company was closing and they were all being laid off over the next nine months.
He had to make a quick decision, and being tired of "corporate life" he wanted to do something more creative with his life, something that he was passionate about. He decided to start his own business; and that’s how LaGrave Designs was born. The business brings unique kaleidoscope art created from photos of flowers, monumental buildings and everyday objects. One of the reasons the kaleidoscope images appeal to him so much is his love of symmetry, angles and geometry. He played around with several ideas, including handmade journals and pre-made scrapbooks, until he finally discovered the kaleidoscope application just by accident. He knew he had found his niche after playing around with the application for about a week.
