REVEALING OUR 2019 LOOK BOOK
Following on the success of our two previous look books, we’re excited to announce that Inspired 3 is now available in hard copy (request one here) or for online viewing. Unlike the brochures for our collection rugs, each of our look books contains almost 200 images of original designs that can be used as a jumping off point for custom rug or wallcovering creations. Our clients browse these images for inspiration and then let us know which aspects (design, colour combination, general feel) might be appropriate for their space.
Thanks to our signature Art Day creative process, our archives now contain over 10,000 designs, 200 of which our discerning curators have chosen to be featured in Inspired 3. Senior Designer Sandra Ciganic-McKinney worked with Designers Madeleine Baigent and Kayla Bortolotto to select a dynamic variety of images divided into six categories.
Fledgling designs from the Drawing The Line category that groups lineal motifs.
Patterns from the Smoke and Mirrors category - a compilation of images created at a marbling Art Day.
The designs in this third look book were inspired by Art Days in marbling, contour drawing, plaster relief and natural dyes. DTL OO5 (below) came from our contour drawing Art Day. Vice President Ana Cunningham described its evolution. “It started with simple lines, much like the ones you see on a topographical map - I decided to mimic the soft curves and undulations. Wanting texture, I made the lines dotted. I can imagine all sorts of techniques on the manufacturing side with this design. Do we make the dots raised, in silk with a backdrop of inky blue wool? Or do we bury the dots in a loop texture, peeking from behind a raised cut pile field? So many possibilities, even beyond the design itself.”
DTL OO5 resulted from the contour drawing Art Day.
Examples of rugs that went from look book to floor include GRA 014 from Inspired 2 that became a 100% wool handtufted rug for the lobby of a luxury condo building in San Francisco (see right and below). The designer had found a Cy Twombly painting for inspiration and selected the look book concept as it reflected the edgy contemporary look they were aiming for. Subtle changes to the scale and colours were made and the rug went into production.
Deloitte Saskatoon embraced URB 016 (below) so Creative Matters altered the colours and modified the pattern from the initial design to suit handtufted production, and the rug became the perfect addition to their reception area.
Customization is exactly what the designs in Inspired 3 are waiting for. As perfect as they may look, none of them are finished rug or wallcovering designs. They are about inspiration and possibilities. Any of the designs can change shape - just because it’s circular in the look book doesn’t mean it can’t become a hallway runner. The colour palettes are also totally flexible of course. If a client is taken with just one aspect of the design, we can increase the scale of that aspect and use it to create a new design. Alternatively we can remove or add detail.
The Take Two portfolio comprises textural variations on classical motifs where the distressed surface adds a contemporary twist.
When you go online, you’ll see there are three more categories: Cutting Edge (contemporary geometrics), Fade to Black (gradations from light to dark) and Into the Mystic (flowing or undulating). We hope Inspired 3 will help you imagine what’s possible for your next project with Creative Matters.