Concrete Cat

November 18, 2009

I really love to make vanity tops for customers. They are extremely challenging to design and form and give me a lot of opportunity to have some fun and make a feature that is really striking. This recent top I made is on the top of my list for favorite vanity tops. That’s a lot of tops!

The home owner gave me a basic idea and direction for the piece while leaving me with enough freedom to do what I felt suited the room best. In my opinion this is the best way to design. I really love the function of this piece and I always get asked, “What is up with that fountain?”

The home is built in the country and their drinking water comes from a filtration system so the home owners wanted to have a way to have drinking water in this basement bathroom so that they would not have to go upstairs to get a drink. I think that the pieces as a whole is quite strong and really makes the room, I also love the way the fountain drains into the sink. The design of this vanity is really driven by the necessity of function while maintaining beauty.

This vanity is just one of the many things that have been happening recently in my life to inspire me that great design can happen in Edmonton and Alberta. A few days ago I met with a local sculptor to talk about art and design in Edmonton and Alberta. One thing interesting that I brought away from that conversation is that part of what makes our work unique is that we are a bit isolated from the global design and art community and don’t get much respect locally. My own personal response to this is that it is hard to perceive if locally we feel that we are getting the acclaim that we deserve but this doesn’t matter. I do feel that the general public is not interested in counters, vanities, fireplaces and furniture that have been designed and formed by hand. The catch is that this is an assumption I am making and it is really difficult to define if this is perceived or actual. And even if I am wrong in my generalization or assumption about the public it is this feeling of being under appreciated that drives me to do better and more impressive work which I feel overall is a good thing. Design and Art on all fronts is seeing some good growth and awareness in Edmonton and Although I am not coming at it from the same angle and a sculptor or painter I do like to think that in a small way I am artist.

Some comments...

• The blocky look of the vanity top works really well with the cabinet work. Very square & geometric. I especially like curve in the sink, it adds a nice touch of contrast.

  Regarding art & design in Edmonton, I think one of the problems is that the general public simply doesn’t know about all the awesome stuff going on locally. I think many people would be surprised to learn that an Edmontonian designed & built a vanity like this. My wife and I watch a lot of HGTV, and normally the examples of high-end design are in bigger cities (Vancouver, London, etc). I think many people just (wrongly) assume that great design only happens in those bigger cities.

  That’s one of the reasons Pecha Kucha is so awesome. It’s really inspiring to see all the amazing design work happening right here in Edmonton. You should try to present at the next event: I think a lot of people (myself included) would love to see and learn more about your work.

  from Kyle Fox on November 18, 2009

• I agree that much of the problem is awareness and that is my biggest battle is helping people see and understand what I’m doing. I have thought about presenting at pecha but wasn’t sure if I was up to calibre for it…

  from concrete Matt on November 18, 2009