Narrative Threads Blog
Scroll through our Narrative Threads blog to enjoy behind-the-scenes insight on special projects for leading interior designers and architects.
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YARN SPINNING 101
Happy Friday Everyone! I can barely believe that its the end of the week AND that, as we speak, Carol and Donna are in the sky, flying home from Nepal.
EXPLORING ARTISANAL RUG MAKING EXCELLENCE IN NEPAL AND INDIA
Remarkably talented artisans handcraft our artistic floor covering designs. They are masters in traditional weaving methods, turning our designs into beautifully crafted rugs and carpets. In December 2023, Managing Partner Ali McMurter and Creative Director Sandra Ciganic-McKinney explored our mill in Nepal. In January 2024, Director of Design Development Anna Panosyan and Logistics Specialist Suhindhar Raveendiran Santhi ventured to our mill in India.
STEP ABOARD: EMBARK ON A LUXURY VOYAGE FEATURING OUR EXQUISITE RUGS
Welcome aboard the Entourage, a superyacht by Moran Yacht & Ship, and experience Creative Matters’ inaugural custom design project for a vessel of this kind. Created in collaboration with interior design studio Burdifilek, our team designed and installed 100% prism nylon handtufted rugs to enhance Entourage’s serene ambiance.
LOOKING BACK ON 2023, OUR 35TH YEAR OF EXCEPTIONAL RUG DESIGN
As 2023 draws to a close, our team is reflecting on a momentous year. Filled with groundbreaking achievements, innovative designs, and a transformative shift in leadership, the past 12 months have been enriched with great success and creativity.
INTRODUCING ECOAX: A BIODEGRADABLE WOVEN AXMINISTER CARPET
When it comes to design, it’s often hard to decipher greenwashing from a true commitment to a product’s ethical life cycle. We have always tried to reduce our impact on the planet as much as possible and have been dedicated to finding solutions for every step of our process. This is why we are thrilled to share a breakthrough innovation in commercial carpeting — our new 100% biodegradable woven Axminster carpet, EcoAx.
CREATIVE MATTERS RECAPS LES RENDEZ-VOUS DE LA MATIÈRE + FAIR(E)
On October 10 and 11, Creative Matters had the pleasure of participating in the ninth edition of Les Rendez-vous de la Matière + fair(e), an industry event dedicated to the exploration of innovative, artisanal materials for architecture, decoration and interior design.
INTRODUCING YOU TO OUR NEWEST RUG DESIGNS, LAUNCHED AT COVER CONNECT NEW YORK
For the third consecutive year, Creative Matters had the pleasure of participating in COVER Connect New York, a boutique trade show for top-tier global rug brands, hosted by COVER magazine. This year was our most momentous show yet, unveiling three new collections: Vanguard, Arcadian, and Vista. Additionally, we unveiled our collaboration with Burdifilek and presented new additions to our Sonance and Macrame collections.
THE END OF AN ERA AS FOUNDER CAROL SEBERT CLOSES HER CHAPTER AT CREATIVE MATTERS
After an incredible 35 years at the helm of Creative Matters and on the world stage of floor covering design, it is with mixed emotions we announce that Carol Sebert is moving on to other creative endeavours. While Carol creates more beautiful art in her studio at an old Ontario country house, Managing Partners Ana Cunningham and Ali McMurter are well-prepared to lead the firm into an exciting future. We asked Carol to look back on some key moments that made Creative Matters what it is today.
PARIS DESIGN WEEK: BEHIND THE SCENES OF CREATIVE MATTERS’ REDOUX PASSAGER INSTALLATION
Earlier this month, the Creative Matters team took to Paris Design Week to unveil our highly anticipated Redoux Passager art installation. Collaborating for the second time with Paris design studio LOMA, known for their responsible and innovative design ethos, we set out to create an immersive experience representing our commitment to water stewardship in our rug design.
FUTURE-FOCUSED SOLUTIONS: UNVEILING CREATIVE MATTERS’ 2023 SUSTAINABILITY REPORT
Creative Matters is committed to the earth and the people on it. Our 2023 Sustainability Report highlights this commitment, exploring our current and forward-thinking practices for ensuring sustainability, fair trade and corporate social responsibility.
STEP INSIDE CHALET: A NEW ADDITION TO THE MACRAME COLLECTION, LAUNCHING AT COVER CONNECT NEW YORK
Introducing the latest addition to Creative Matters' Macrame rug collection: the Chalet rug. The never-before-seen rug is set to make its debut at COVER Connect New York, the boutique trade show, held in central Manhattan, bringing together leading high-end rug designers, buyers and retailers from around the world.
THE DESIGN MIND: UNVEILING THE SENTIMENTAL JOURNEY OF A CREATIVE MATTERS DESIGNER
We’re offering exclusive glimpses into the insights of three of our designers at Creative Matters: Madeleine Baigent, Mengting Shen and Sophie Williams. Explore each of these designers' creative journeys, and how they shape their approaches to creating one-of-a-kind custom pieces.
REVAMPING TGF LAW FIRM’S RECEPTION WITH OUR ROUND RUG
Recently, Creative Matters had the privilege of collaborating with InSTUDIO interior design firm on a custom rug design for the reception area of the TGF Law Firm office. We provided a comprehensive design service, creating a stunning custom round rug to serve as a captivating centerpiece, infusing the corporate interior with vibrancy and character.
STRIKING SHAPED RUGS ELEVATE CONDO SPACES
We were delighted when Arcadis IBI Group asked us to collaborate with them again, this time on three shaped rugs for the new Azura condo building in Toronto. Their Associate Director Heidi Rose provided us with the specific shapes that they had designed to enhance the interior architecture.
WHY WE THINK WOOL IS BEST
Since Creative Matters opened its doors 35 years ago, the vast majority of our floor coverings have been made from wool. This includes our custom projects for hotels, offices, retail spaces and homes, and our 14 rug collections. We sat down with Carol Sebert, Managing Partner and Founder of the firm, to discuss the reasons for this decision both historically and moving forward.
THE SHAPED RUG - AN UNDENIABLE STATEMENT PIECE
Shaped rugs steal the spotlight, they’re a conversation piece on the floor and they make spaces exciting. Over 35 years we’ve designed a lot of rugs in abstract shapes so we’d thought we’d have a little retrospective. We chose five rugs designed in recent times and five rugs from our 90s archive. From the elegant to the eclectic to the practical, scroll down and enjoy them.
FOUR REFINED RUGS ADD DIMENSION TO HYBRID WORK SPACE
In 2022 we welcomed the installation of a project started back in 2018 with Gensler Toronto. Four large, perfectly-designed rugs are now gracing a spacious, high-end lounge accessible to tenants of the new CIBC Square two-tower development in Toronto’s financial district. Named The Canopy, this area is designed to elevate…
5 WAYS RUGS CAN EVOKE EMOTION
We consider our designs works of art that have the ability to arouse emotions in the people that are perceiving them. For example, it feels natural to experience a general feeling of aesthetic appreciation when faced with something beautiful. In addition to evoking this visual sense of pleasure (happiness), we found
OUR DESIGNERS’ FAVOURITE FLOOR COVERINGS OF 2022
As the demand for Creative Matters’ carpets continues to increase so must our design team grow bigger. This year we have 13 designers not including our three Partners (Ali, Ana and Carol) who still love to fit in some design among their other responsibilities. We asked each designer to select their favourite 2022 carpet and they came up with 12 different answers, testament to the diversity of our creations.
INSIDE A DYNAMIC PROJECT WITH PARK LANE NEW YORK AND YABU PUSHELBERG
In 2019, international design firm Yabu Pushelberg (YP) was commissioned with the complete renovation of one of New York’s landmarks, the Park Lane New York hotel. YP is a long time client of Creative Matters and that same year they asked us to work with them on the carpets which were installed in early 2022. Partner Ali McMurter managed the collaboration at our end. “They chose us for the project because …
PEARLE HOTEL SHINES WITH OUR HAND AXMINSTER RUGS
During the summer, impeccably designed and crafted Creative Matters rugs were installed throughout the new Pearle Hotel & Spa in Burlington (just outside Toronto). It was a special project because it was the first time we used the hand Axminster method of production for all the rugs in a hotel.
PARIS DESIGN WEEK WELCOMES OUR WINTER GARDEN
“So poetic.” “C’est superbe.” “Like a reset button.” These are just a small sample of the expressions of awe and wonder we received every day during Paris Design Week for our installation titled “Winter Garden”. Inspired by a Rumi quote, we developed the exhibit in collaboration with Parisian Design studio LOMA and presented it to the public in a small gallery in the Le Marais district of Paris.
MACRAME - THE LATEST AND MOST TEXTURAL RUG COLLECTION
Macrame is Creative Matters’ 14th rug collection and it’s an extra special one. Extra special because texture plays a much bigger role in the designs than it has in previous collections. To achieve the desired richness of texture the designers looked to skillfully combine an extravagant variety of weaving techniques.
PRESENTING THE SONANCE RUG COLLECTION
We are delighted to present Creative Matters’ twelfth and most recent collection of handknotted rugs. Yet another outstanding contemporary compilation of carefully considered designs brought to life in Tibetan wool and Chinese silk by the artisans of Nepal.
WHY DID CREATIVE MATTERS’ CAROL SEBERT MEET PRINCE CHARLES?
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 …
DYNAMIC VARIETY OF RUG CONSTRUCTIONS FOR T-MOBILE
In 2018 Project Manager and Senior Designer Sandra Ciganic-McKinney gave a Creative Matters presentation to the Seattle office of Gensler. One of Gensler’s clients is T-Mobile, and in 2019 they asked us to start work on the first of what would become a whole range of floorcoverings for their Headquarters Campus in Bellevue, Washington.
OUR VERSATILITY EXCELS AT MUIR HOTEL
In 2019, renowned interior design firm Studio Munge invited us to join them on a quest to create “a distinct sense of place” for a new hotel in Halifax in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia on Canada’s east coast.
16 CARPET DESIGNS FOR WORLD’S LARGEST CRUISE SHIP
In March 2022 Wonder of the Seas set out on her first cruise with 16 stunning carpet designs by Creative Matters. Clémence Hardelay - our Director of Design and Marine Division - managed this complex project. Because she is currently based in Marseille (where the ship received its final touches) establishing Creative Matters’ new satellite studio for European clients, Clémence was able to go on board in January to appreciate all the designs in situ and take these super photos.
THE FIRST TWO ALL-CANADIAN RUGS
We are delighted to announce 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.
OUR LATEST CARPET ADVENTURES IN MEXICO CITY
Our most recent project reveal comes from Mexico City where we collaborated with Chapi Chapo Design on some amazing floorcoverings for the presidential suites, guestrooms, corridors and ballroom for the new Ritz-Carlton hotel.