Owner, Ed Burke, founded Phillips Garden in 1985. The business was named after the Phillips Neighborhood in which it began and still is based today. Phillips is an old Minneapolis neighborhood that has had its share of urban blight and challenges with poverty and crime. Historically, the neighborhood was a “first stop” for immigrants from Europe. Today that trend continues with expanding Somali and Mexican populations.
In 1999, committed to the neighborhood, Phillips Garden purchased and renovated an abandoned Arts and Crafts gas station for use as our studio and office. In 2002, our renovation received a CUE Award (Committee on the Urban Environment) for significant achievement in design and aesthetic excellence. In 2005, we added an addition in the form of a modern modular weeHouse that we placed on our roof.
From a former site of boarded windows, broken glass, prostitutes and drug dealers, the studio now stands as an inspiration and a source of pride for the neighborhood. Through honest design and collaboration we’ve created a space that’s about joy and about people.