Tait Design’s Perpetual Calendars are made by hand from sustainable materials.
Kings of India playing cards (above) are custom-designed by Toronto-based Humble Raja and are printed on casino-grade card stock.
Montreal-based based designer Zoe Mowat designed the Assembly Dressing Table for EQ3’s Assembly collection.
Art Deco-inspired dressing table (right) designed by Montreal-based Zoe Mowat for EQ3’s new Assembly collection.
Winnipeg artist Kenneth Lavallee is one of 10 Canadian designers chosen to design a piece for EQ3’s new Assembly collection.
Kings of India walnut-stained coasters (left) by Toronto-based Humble Raja reflect geometric patterns inspired by Indian architectural screens.
The Assembly Quilt by Winnipeg artist Kenneth Lavallee (below) for EQ3’s Assembly collection.
The design industry is so full of emerging talent, it can be hard to stand out. But here are some Canadians (and one American), who are earning plaudits.
EQ3, the Winnipeg-based modern furniture company, is known for supporting Canadian designers. EQ3’s Assembly collection, launched at Toronto’s Interior Design Show in January, includes the work of 10 Canadian designers who are "defining what Canadian design looks like now."
Montreal-based Zoe Mowat is one of the designers who was asked to participate, and her gorgeous art deco-inspired Assembly Dressing Table is now sold through EQ3 stores across Canada. "I was really inspired by what’s needed for the ritual of getting ready every day," says Mowat. "So it has surfaces to display things, because I think that’s really important (your favourite perfumes etc.), having easy access to them, and then it’s got a big drawer for the things you don’t want to display and a big graphic mirror to make sure everything’s in place."
Another talented designer asked to participate in the Assembly collection is Winnipeg painter and visual artist Kenneth Lavallee. He was asked to design a quilt and drew on his "immediate environment" for inspiration. "My heritage is Métis, half aboriginal," says Lavallee. "My mom always worked at aboriginal organizations, so she knew a lot of artists and she supported a lot of aboriginal artists, so the star blankets (on which his quilt is based) we had in our house. I grew up with these blankets and the beautiful geometries and the meanings behind the symbolism; it’s a very honourable thing to give as a gift."
Also exhibiting at Toronto’s Interior Design Show, but as part of the Designboom Mart, was the notable Canadian design duo Humble Raja (Bhavesh and Reena Mistry). Their quirky and intricate Kings of India playing cards (printed on casino-grade card stock in the U.S.), and trivets and coasters, made in Toronto from birch ply with a natural or walnut satin finish, "explore Indian culture in a contemporary way."
"These cards we designed are all based on historical Indian kings and each suit follows a dynasty, so there’s a king, queen and successor and they’re all real people," says Bhavesh Mistry. "We have a historical index card in the deck that tells you about each of them. Then from that we’ve created some products that take the geometric patterns from those dynasties and architecture screens and created a set of trivets and coasters."
Across the border in Detroit, Matthew Tait, of Tait Design Co., was picked to exhibit in the Designboom Mart with his studio’s Perpetual Calendar, which stands out not only for being so ecologically current, but also for its clean, unique style.
The design is based on vintage volvelles (also known as wheel charts), made from paper, with rotating parts — you move the wheel to get different information. "We don’t use plastic in anything," says Tait. "All of our products are made out of craft paper or cardboard or sustainable materials and all of our materials are sourced through the U.S. and then we assemble them in Detroit."
— Vancouver Sun
