INGRID BALLMANN
Ingrid Ballmann was born and raised in France. She holds a MDes in Industrial Design from prestigious Paris design school ENSCI Les Ateliers, and a B.A. in Fine Arts from Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts de Nancy. She is currently a candidate for Baccalaureate degree in Psychology from UC Berkeley Extension.
After working in Paris for acclaimed Design and Architecture firms, she moved to the Bay Area where she joined award-winning design teams Mauk Design, and Nicole Hollis. She started her own firm in 2001. Her work won Best of Alameda, and won awards from Communication Arts, Exhibitor Magazine, SEGD, and other publications featuring Commercial and Residential designs.
Besides her passion for design and architecture, Ingrid is a plein-air and abstract painter. Her favorite outdoor activities include lap swims, or whale boat rowing on the Oakland estuary. She has held several volunteer positions to support local initiatives towards electrification, carbon emission reductions and is the co-founder of 100K Trees for Humanity, a tree planting initiative based in Alameda, Ca.
KASIA EKSTRAND
Kasia is a licensed architect in California with over 25 years’ experience. Kasia runs her own architecture firm, Kasia Ekstrand Architect, and has consulted with Ingrid Ballmann Interior Design as project architect on many of our projects since 2010.
Kasia loves bringing her experience and her creativity to residential and commercial projects. She is passionate about great design and excellent at the nuts and bolts of architecture, solving problems in the field and coordinating graciously with the team of contractors and suppliers. She is tenacious and effective in following through with public officials to secure permits for our projects. Kasia holds a BS in Architecture from University of Texas at Arlington, and MArch from Graduate School of Design (GSD) at Harvard University.
SHAWN ROBERTSON
Shawn is an award-winning graphic and interior designer with 30 years of experience. She is a graduate of the UC Berkeley Extension Interior Design and Architecture Certificate program and holds a Bachelor of Arts from California College of Arts and Crafts.
Shawn loves creating inviting, engaging spaces that reflect their occupants and improve daily life. She enjoys finding functional, attractive solutions by employing sensory cues and principles of inclusivity, neurodiversity, health & wellness, biophilia and sustainability.
Her experience in graphic design, textiles and theater means she see walls as art and spaces as containers for story and light.