Narrative Threads Blog
Scroll through our Narrative Threads blog to enjoy behind-the-scenes insight on special projects for leading interior designers and architects.
VISIT OUR ART SHOW! ART DAY ORIGINS: RUG DESIGN INSPIRATION REVEALED
April 9 is the opening of the first art show exhibiting and selling the work we create during our Art Day process. All proceeds will go to Label STEP, our fair trade endorser.If you can't make the opening, the show continues until May 31.
OUR CUSTOM CARPETS HONOURED BY THE U.K.'S THE TELEGRAPH
In the latter half of February, CMI basked in the glow of international media attention for the 29 rugs it created for the refurbishment of Canada House in London. One of the most delightful comments came from Henrietta Thompson in the U.K.’s The Telegraph ...
VIDEO: HOW ONE RUG WENT FROM SMALL OIL PAINTING TO LARGE CUSTOM CARPET
In February 2015, we unveiled the 29 custom carpets we created for the Canadian High Commission in London from original artwork by Canadian artists. This short video is the story of just one of them…
THE GRAND REOPENING OF CANADA HOUSE IN LONDON WITH 29 CARPETS
February 19 was a particularly exciting day for Creative Matters. We were finally able to reveal a project that had involved all our designers for many months in 2014 - no less than 29 area rugs with very different designs for Canada House in London.
2015 TRENDS FOR CUSTOM CARPETS AND CUSTOM WALLPAPER
As far as we are concerned, the most important shift for 2015 is our new website. We’ve made it easier and more inspirational for interior designers to browse our custom carpet portfolio as well as our carpet and wallpaper collections. We’ll be updating it constantly with photography of our latest feats in custom interior design but if, in the meantime, you’d like to know what our designers are predicting for the upcoming year, read on …
THE STORY BEHIND OUR CARPETS AT THE NEW PARK HYATT NEW YORK
In August, the media was abuzz with the opening of the Park Hyatt hotel in New York.
Eight years in the making, it was intended to be a New York icon. Even so, the vision for the interior design was created by the Toronto firm Yabu Pushelberg (YP) which has been our client for many years.
We started work on this project in May 2009 but the carpets were not installed until August 2014. Through experience, we have become accustomed to the lengthy process attached to carpets in iconic hotels, but we thought it would be interesting for our blog readers to see how a carpet project might extend over five years.
OUR FIRST CARPET FOR A MUSEUM
A magnificent addition to the Toronto cultural scene opened in September and we are very proud to be part of it. Not only is the Aga Khan Museum the first museum in North America devoted to Islamic art, but it is also the first time Creative Matters has designed a floorcovering for a museum.
Situated at the north end of the city, the museum is part of a $300 million complex that has been eight years in the making. More than 1,000 artifacts from the 8th to 19th centuries are on display. We created the carpet for the Bellerive Room which features a ceramics collection
EVERYTHING YOU EVER WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT RED CARPETS – THE CARPETS THAT IS, NOT THE PEOPLE ON THEM
Although Creative Matters’ carpets are produced and installed all around the world, we actually design in Toronto, home of North America’s most important film festival.
During the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), way too much attention is paid – in our opinion anyway – to what is happening on the carpet and not to the carpets themselves. In fact, back in 2010, knowing the success of the Festival is dependent on volunteers and sponsorship opportunities, we offered to design and produce all the red carpets at no cost to TIFF. In return, we hoped to add "official supplier of red carpets" to our resume.
TRADE SHOW HERE WE COME
Just like fashion designers, we have our custom pieces (haute couture) and our collections (ready-to-wear). However, we don’t walk our carpets down the runway, so trade shows are where we present our collections “in the wool” to current and potential retailers.
We are shortly off to NYICS – the New York International Carpet Show - taking place this year from September 7 – 9. It’s been interesting to see this relatively new fair (10 years) steadily growing. Domotex in Germany and Forza Tappeti in Italy are longer-running and among the ones we have attended regularly during our 25 years in the business.
THE UNBEARABLE PERFECTION OF BINDING
The New York City designer chose the ultimate in simplicity – a one-coloured grey rectangular rug with no pattern. She also chose the ultimate in luxury fibres – 100% silk.
She was only willing to trust the simplicity of the design and the luxury of the fibre to the finest production processes. For this she came to Creative Matters. No detail was to be left unperfected in the painstaking production of this rug. And that included the lesser-documented process of binding.