Critical Decor investigates the notion of home decor through the development, manufacture, and retailing of small space consumer products. Facilitated by MDES Candidate Seth Parker as part of his research, the project aims to develop a cohesive series of home decor products. Upon completion of the product design, the objects will move into product development and will be pitched for sale across Canada. Products will go to market through 2020-2021.
From May until October 2019, Critical Decor will engage three critically-engaged Emily Carr designers/artists to work collaboratively with the team of AZ Home and fellow participants to develop a cohesive series of home decor products. The Emily Carr students are:
Marcus Dénommé
Marcus Dénommé grew up on Algonquin Temiskaming First Nations territory in so-called Ontario, Canada. It was here at a young age that Dénommé began to explore street art and artistic interventions on public and private property. They have since lived on Kahnawake Mohawk territory, unceded Sinixt territory, and now live and work on unceded Coast Salish territory. Here, they study at the Emily Carr University of Art + Design and explore communication design through traditional printmaking and bookmaking practices. Dénommé has exhibited in multiple independent shows in Vancouver and is the editor of the publication Veins & Arterys. Marcus Dénommé grew up on Algonquin Temiskaming First Nations territory in so-called Ontario, Canada. It was here at a young age that Dénommé began to explore street art and artistic interventions on public and private property. They have since lived on Kahnawake Mohawk territory, unceded Sinixt territory, and now live and work on unceded Coast Salish territory. Here, they study at the Emily Carr University of Art + Design and explore communication design through traditional printmaking and bookmaking practices. Dénommé has exhibited in multiple independent shows in Vancouver and is the editor of the publication Veins & Arterys.
Ash S Logan
Ash S Logan is a multidisciplinary artist and designer currently studying her 4th year of industrial design at Emily Carr University. She has a background in woodworking and visual arts, while much of her recent practice surrounds clothing and textile related objects used to explore topics of culture and identity. She applies storytelling to her process as a tool to bring forward deeper understanding and meaning in artifacts as well as capturing the connection and expansion of our past, present and future. Her design practice focuses on sustainability, local production, and quality with an emphasis on repairability, recycling and upcycling. She is a co-coordinator at the Fabric Lab in The Pace, where she facilitates workshops dedicated to public discourse and community building through the act of making.
Katherine Percy
Katharine is a third-year Industrial Design student at Emily Carr University with a background in Visual Arts and 3D design. Throughout the past couple of years, Katharine has developed a passion for product and furniture design and hopes to pursue a career in which she can effect meaningful, positive change through user-based, critical design. With her degree, she is keen to create thoughtful and sustainable solutions with a focus on the complexity of design processes and research.
About AZ Home
AZ Home is a 40-year-old company based in Richmond, BC, with functional networks of production, manufacturing, shipping, and selling that offers a range of approximately 500 products servicing retailers all over Canada.
About Shumka Centre
Operated by Living Labs, the Shumka Centre for Creative Entrepreneurship fosters the movement of artists and designers into systems and situations where their work and ideas can have the most impact. We aim to establish a place where creative practitioners can find the community, knowledge, and resources they need to launch, fund, and organize projects across the spectrum of contemporary art and design activities- products, projects, curatorial initiatives, platforms, companies, organizations, galleries, movements, interventions and more.
