Showing posts with label design. Show all posts
Showing posts with label design. Show all posts

Friday, July 19, 2013

Introducing: The Design Team, Part 1



Continuing with our staff introductions, this month we feature two members of the design team!






Elizabeth White, Designer & Retail Coordinator
A graduate of OCAD University, Elizabeth joined Creative Matters almost 2 years ago as a member of the design team. Taking on many roles, Elizabeth keeps the office in high spirits through impromptu singing, dancing, and an infectiously positive attitude, all while managing our three international retail lines and custom designer projects.
Textiles for Elizabeth are an experience. She loves the variety of materials and textures that allow for endless exploration and design possibilities. Her favourite thing about Art Day is the freedom it gives to play with tactile materials.





Clemence Hardelay, Senior Designer
From a background in fashion and textile design, and a passion for weaving, Clemence joined Creative Matters this year as a member of the design team. Born in France and raised in Italy, Clemence speaks four languages. With her years of design experience, and international upbringing, she adds a fresh approach to our creative process.
Her favourite things about textiles are textures and colours, and the possibilities of combining fibres to create dynamic constructed forms.





Wednesday, July 3, 2013

July: Announcements, Glass Blowing for Art Day 13, and Summer!




We've jumped into July with a splash!

Last month we announced our big silver jubilee plans. In November, Creative Matters will be mounting The Art Day Project to celebrate and demystify the art of rug design and fair trade weaving, in partnership with the Textile Museum of Canada and Label StepShowcasing our process of custom handknotted rug design, the show will include Art Day workshops and an educational display of how our rugs are manufactured in Nepal.


Art Day 13

The Creative Matters team also learned to make glass last month! For Art Day 13 (the luckiest of Art Days) we ventured out to Gregor Herman's studio in the Junction for a couple lessons in glass production.




Art Day is a way for our whole team to enjoy the process of making and creating in mediums beyond the digital. The results of each Art Day inspire our design process and help generate new concepts for our floor and wall coverings.

How can the art of glass blowing inspire our designs? 
Let's follow the process with one of our Senior Designers, Tiffany Wu.



Here's Tiffany with her colours ready to be picked up by the molten glass that will become her final piece.

Tiffany blows through a special rod called a blowpipe that holds the ball of hot glass at the opposite end, while Gregor turns the rod to keep the shape of the glass even.
Once the hot glass has a bubble of air started, Gregor shapes it up a bit to prepare for design details.

Tiffany is using a tool to move the bits of colour into patterns for the final piece, as well as creating small bubbles inside the glass to add to the dynamic design.

Tiffany is being as precise as possible, but because the glass is so hot it's hard to tell colours apart. 
After adding details, the glass is ready to be heated again for the second stage of blowing!

The glass is blown into a sphere.

The glass sphere is cut off from the blow pipe via heat and stuck to another rod. This creates an opening for the sphere, which can then be made into a small vessel.

Tiffany opens the vessel using special tongs, while Gregor turns the rod to keep the design even. 

A happy maker with her finished piece!

Back in our studio, the glass is photographed and added to our Art Day files. 


A concept is then created from the original piece using Adobe Photoshop! Can you see the inspiration? 





Happy July! Stay hydrated, wear sunscreen, and enjoy some lemonade!



Friday, April 26, 2013

April: Gateway of Spring, Month of Excitement

April is an interesting month.

The thought that April showers bring May flowers might make you think that April's purpose is to open the door to the joys of May. But April has its own excitement, that this author feels might often go unnoticed.

First thing, April first. The month starts off with pranks. Perhaps this is a good indication of what April weather is like (at least in Toronto this year; it seems like each day has had a not-so-subtle dash of "just kidding!")

Secondly, according to my Wikipedia research, many organizations choose to elect April as their advocacy month. Not only is it Jazz Appreciation month, but also National Poetry Month in the States.

World Health Day and Earth Day both occur in April. Thailand, Laos, Burma, and Cambodia celebrate the New Year, and the much loved Record Store Day takes place in cities around the globe.

April is an exciting month, and we've had our own share of the fun that April holds.

Carol and Donna took a trip to Milan mid-month to visit the annual Milan Furniture Fair. As the largest event of its kind, the city becomes a swath of curated design.

Our #74 in Sepia from the Art Day Collection was a featured rug in Cover Magazine's Forza Tappeti: The Rug Revolution, amongst a selection of other esteemed international rug designs.

The Milan trip wasn't just for rugs, though. Carol and Donna had a chance to explore some of the other exhibits.

Here's a round-up of what they found inspiring at Milan 2013:


1. Glass

There was a variety of stunning glass works, but a stand-out for Carol and Donna were these lighting pieces from the Arbor Collection by Baroncelli.








2. Wallcoverings

Although Carnovsky first displayed these wallcoverings in 2010, they remain captivating and inspiring. Carol and Donna enjoyed the playfulness of the changing pattern.









3. Sculptural Chairs

Chairs are often a go-to for designer's who want to manifest their creative vision. Carol and Donna enjoyed these sculptural pieces by Umberto Dattola.








4. Innovative Booth Design

Probably the most talked about booth was Missoni's patterned environment (designed by Carnovsky), but Carol and Donna found another favourite with this interesting interactive space.







5. Geometry

Geometry was spotted throughout the exhibit, but what caught our leaders's eyes were the designs of Serbian origami artist, Uros Mihic.








Enjoy the rest of this lovely month, and see you amongst the flowers of May :)

Monday, March 4, 2013

Hello, March!

February was a busy month! After IDS13 we received some great press, and then even more great press, about our wallcoverings. We're happy to have made a splash with our newest venture!

So we've made it to March! It's the time of year when winter finally starts to ease up to spring, holidays with the family abound, and (if the snow's still good) we pack in as much end of season tobogganing as we can.

In Ancient Rome, March was the first month of the year. As wikipedia can tell you, this month is named after the Roman god, Mars, who you may know better as the Greek god of war, Ares. This month was traditionally (or rather, hellenistically) the month to start military campaigns. Similarly, in these contemporary times, many people choose March as the month to attack their homes with an annual onslaught of spring cleaning 

It's also a luxurious time of year. Well, we consider it a luxurious time of year. 

As the snow melts away and the sun shines a bit longer each day, we can see the world beyond winter once more. To us, this is luxury. On a nice March day you can wear shoes... luxury! The birds fill the air with songs... luxury!

Or maybe March is still cold, and you're tired of being inside. So you decide to make it luxurious by going away for the weekend and staying in a nice hotel, or going out (window) shopping for your favourite luxury designs.

If you're into making luxury your March experience, we recommend the following:


1. Enjoying a night or two in New York.

The James Hotel in NYC is a boutique experience. It's also a great place to kick off your shoes and step down on some lovely carpet.


Creative Matters Inc. with Amanda Sullivan Studio Architect, New York, NY 

Our rugs have a way of making you feel right at home.



2. Shopping in Paris.

If you're interested in seeing some beautiful designs underfoot, while enjoying some sophisticated shopping, check out the department store Printemps.

Creative Matters Inc. with Yabu Pushelberg, Toronto, ON

Our custom carpets add to the luxury of the space!



3. Shopping in Hong Kong.

Maybe you really want to get away from the hustle and bustle of your city, to enjoy the luxurious hustle and bustle of one of the world's economic capitals. 

While you're there you may be interested in stepping onto some great design, so why not visit Louis Vuitton?


Creative Matters Inc. with Yabu Pushelberg, Toronto, ON

Original carpet designs to compliment an original design house.



So as the spring season starts, take a moment to reflect on the luxury around you, and especially the luxury under your feet.

And happy tobogganing!    





Monday, November 26, 2012

Art Day X


Our most recent Art Day was all about the free flowing art of water colour painting.

So much colour.




We gathered on a Thursday afternoon with our aprons on, to get a little messy while playing with paint. Inspiration was taken from nature books and design magazines, generating a line up at the photocopier to get the most inspiring angles and scale from the original images.

Preparing to make art!

Some inspiring books.


A brief introductory lesson in techniques gave us the footing we needed to start our colourful journey.

The methods used included wetting the paper to create an open field for the pigments, letting the paint tell its own story, and using a variety of brushes. We wanted to express a freedom and openness in movement that can be achieved by this medium. We also wanted to create fun, bold, and unusual designs.

Using wax as a resist and water on the paper to let the colour flow freely.

Wet paper with a fan brush.

Everyone was focused.

Painting from inspiration.








Water colours require some drying time, though. Our office became a landscape of drying art, requiring careful navigation as we eventually went back to our desks.






Some interesting and inspiring results from Art Day X!