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.

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 Step. Showcasing 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!