WHY DID CREATIVE MATTERS’ CAROL SEBERT MEET PRINCE CHARLES?

Partner Carol Sebert meets the Prince of Wales on May 17, 2022 in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador. Photo: Department of Canadian Heritage

The short answer to the question why Prince Charles met Carol Sebert is because we make floor and wallcoverings with Canadian wool. But of course there is a longer answer… At the opening of our new showroom in 2019 Carol (who co-founded Creative Matters back in 1988) met Matthew Rowe CEO of the Campaign for Wool in Canada for the first time. Until that point, all our wool floorcoverings were made with tried-and-trusted New Zealand or Tibetan wool. Thus began a conversation about the benefits of Canadian wool that continues until this day.

Carol Sebert talks to Prince Charles about the Creative Matters rug they are standing on. Photo: Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland and Labrador.

“The Campaign for Wool in Canada was launched in 2014 by The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall during a visit to Pictou, Nova Scotia with a mandate to to raise awareness of the unique, natural and sustainable benefits of wool,” said Matthew. It currently runs across the world in 13 different countries.

“We bring together major fashion designers, woolgrowers, retailers, manufacturers, artisans and interior designers from around the globe to celebrate wool’s endless myriad of uses – from luxurious fashion to home insulation.” said Matthew. Matthew’s first suggestion to Carol was a capsule collection of three rugs made from 100% Canadian wool in collaboration with interior designer Sarah Richardson. “It was not a design collection per se - the designs are really varied - the intention was to show the variety of textures and possibilities of Canadian wool,” said Carol. Released in fall 2020, the collection received a lot of attention including a feature in Architectural Digest Online. “Now that we’ve had an opportunity to spend time with the rugs, we must agree that Canadian wool is a superior yarn for carpet production - soft and luxurious while being hard wearing so therefore practical,” said Carol.

Watch a short video on the capsule collection of Canadian wool rugs.

Because of our confidence in Canadian wool, in spring 2021 Creative Matters formally announced that our handwoven custom and collection rug designs were now offered in the option of Canadian wool. Our first collaboration with Matthew had demonstrated that not only is wool from our sheep perfectly suited to rug production but also that there’s a strong demand for Canadian wool floorcoverings both domestically and abroad. Using Canadian wool for residences interested in more locally sourced fibre was of course a natural decision and later in 2021 we installed our first custom piece in Canadian wool - a beautiful runner in a Toronto home.

The first Creative Matters custom rug in Canadian wool was this runner for a Toronto home.

Matthew’s next suggestion for Canadian wool concerned the wallcoverings side of our business. He was working with a couple who planned to use Canadian wool throughout their home and he recommended Creative Matters create a large piece of wall art with multi-disciplinary designer Dimitri Chris.

Wall art made with 100% Canadian wool in the Creative Mattters studio using the needle felting process.

The wall art is a wonderful example of the advances we have made in “soft wallcoverings” at Creative Matters. Not only was this evocative textile made using 100% undyed Canadian wool, it was also fabricated by our own design team in our Toronto studio using the needle felting process.

In-studio development of the 100% Canadian wool wall art.

In early 2022 we were delighted to share the news of our first two all-Canadian rugs. By all-Canadian we mean rugs made with wool sourced from Canadian sheep growers where it is harvested safely and humanely by a skilled shearer. We mean wool that is spun at a family-owned mill in New Brunswick that has been operating since 1857. We mean designed in Toronto by a firm that has been creating rugs for over 30 years (that’s us). And we mean handtufted by a manufacturer with decades of experience in Waterloo, Ontario. These special rugs were destined for Canadian embassies, one in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) and the other in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Within a mere two and a half years, Canadian wool had established itself firmly in the Creative Matters repertoire. And Matthew was justly delighted with his efforts so when it came to choosing someone to share his meeting with the Prince Charles, Carol was a natural choice. “Carol was invited to join us in Newfoundland to represent the Campaign for Wool's interior design work in Canada. Her role in developing the Campaign's 100% Canadian wool rug partnership with Creative Matters and her position as the Founding Wool Interiors Chair at the International Wool Textile Organization meant she was top of our list to be able to update HRH on those efforts,” said Matthew.

“We took the opportunity to bring along one of the rugs to show Prince Charles what was possible using Canadian wool in the handmade carpet sector,” said Carol. “Using the rug as a talking point I explained what Creative Matters had done with Canadian wool to make the handmade rug. I noted that it was made in India and I also explained the design was an interpretation of the Hampton Court Palace Flower Festival.”

Different views of the Creative Matters Hampton rug.

Fresh from her brush with royalty, we asked Carol what was next for Creative Matters and Canadian wool. “Matthew and I are always talking about new projects and new target audiences,” she said.