Creative Matters recently opened its new office in the heart of Brussels, Belgium, located at Palazzo Creative Workspace. It is led by Clémence Hardelay, Director of Design, Europe, who has spearheaded the growth in the region. The new European hub also services clients in the United Arab Emirates and Asia Pacific markets. Newly hired senior textile designer, Laurie Francois, will support Clémence in design and project development.
Clémence’s career began with Creative Matters in Toronto in 2013. Her frequent European trips for client projects, prestigious design trade shows and work within the cruise ship industry were the starting points for Creative Matters’ strategic expansion into the European market. Its new permanent footprint in Brussels is accelerating Creative Matters’ client relationships, company growth and elevating its service standards throughout Europe.
The new office space will enable the firm to develop high-end custom projects to the same standards as its Toronto office, facilitating the expansion of projects into the hospitality, residential and yacht sectors. The company’s vast global manufacturing network and seamless coordination with mills will allow it to provide flexible, locally-produced solutions meeting both sustainability goals and client demands. Creative Matters participated in Hostys in France in June 2024 and will be exhibiting in key European trade shows and exhibitions within the design industry such as Carpet Diem in November 2024 and Rendez-vous de la Matière in October 2024 both in Paris.
ABOUT CREATIVE MATTERS
Established in 1988, Creative Matters designs and creates handknotted rug collections and custom fair trade floor coverings for clients in more than 40 countries. It was the first North American company to commit to the Label STEP, an international non-profit association that seeks to promote fair trade in the handmade carpet industry, based on safe working conditions, fair wages and sustainable, responsible production.
With this commitment, Creative Matters pays close attention to the materials it uses to make its rugs, with a preference for regenerative, sustainable fibres. Consequently, Creative Matters has been working with their mills to encourage solutions to reduce the use of water in the production of floor coverings. Successful progress has proudly been made with their Thailand mill, where a water stewardship program is actively in place. As of January 2024, the mill has been running exclusively off of rain water for production and is fully removed from the public water system.
