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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OUR FIRST VIRTUAL TRADE SHOW
January is usually a busy month for trade shows for those of us who create handknotted rugs with the Domotex show in Germany and Maison+Objet in France. This year however, we participated in our first virtual trade show - an innovative event organized by COVER, the world’s leading magazine for handmade carpets and textiles for interiors.
WELCOME CANADIAN WOOL COLLECTION
When our President Carol Sebert met Matthew Rowe from Campaign for Wool - Canada at the opening of our new showroom in September 2019, little did we know that a year later we would be launching a capsule collection of rugs made from 100% Canadian wool.
DIFFERENT BUT INTERRELATED - 4 STUNNING RESIDENTIAL RUGS
In 2019 Vice President Ana Cunningham was delighted to call upon her 20 years experience to create a harmonized vision for four handtufted rugs in a modern Toronto home. “Each rug we worked on was tailored to its own space while still maintaining a visual connection to the others,” she said.
MEET OUR TEAM IN INDIA
Welcome to the first in a series of interviews introducing the remarkably talented artisans around the world who turn Creative Matters designs into beautifully crafted floorcoverings. Today we meet a highly successful mill in the Bhadohi district of northern India.
THE PERFECTION OF WOOL
October is wool month. This amazing fibre will be celebrated around the world for such a wide range of reasons. Has it occurred to you that among other things it is: natural, renewable, biodegradeable, insulating, breathable, resilient and elastic, multi-climatic and trans-seasonal, easy care, odour resistant and safe?
LIFE, LEMONS AND WHY IT HELPS TO BE CREATIVE
Like many of you, we were surprised and confused to suddenly find ourselves working from home in the middle of March. Our gorgeous new showroom abandoned; no access to our colour lab with its thousands of wool samples…
MEET HALCYON – OUR TENTH COLLECTION
Welcome to Halcyon, our most recent collection. We’re excited to show off the new images here along with insights from the design team behind these works of art. The beautiful fair trade rugs themselves are now proudly on display in our new studio.
INVESTING IN A COLLECTION RUG
With the launch of our new website this week, we welcome the arrival of our first-ever Creative Matters online shop. Savvy consumers and rug investors will now be able to view and order a contemporary, handcrafted Creative Matters collection rug with a click of a mouse. Previously our collections were only available from select retailers, through an interior designer or very rarely from a pop-up store near our studio.
DYNAMIC GEOMETRIC DESIGN FOR A STEAKHOUSE
“Immerse yourself in the elegance of art deco and the warmth of mahogany wood. The opulent surroundings are designed to heighten your senses …,” proclaims the website of Vancouver’s Gotham Steakhouse & Bar. We were delighted to play our role in creating this special ambiance.
NOW IS A GREAT TIME TO START A CUSTOM RUG PROJECT WITH CREATIVE MATTERS
Welcome readers from around the world. We hope this issue of Narrative Threads finds you, your families and colleagues well. To show you how we’re managing, how our colleagues at mills in other parts of the world are faring, and what we can do together to keep our international community strong, we bring you this update.
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.