What’s in My… Studio: Laura Carwardine
The industrial designer and textile artist shares the inspirations that keep her loom whirring
In a seaside cottage in Shediac, New Brunswick, the soft hiss and swish of high-tide molds my mood like putty. Breathing in the deep calm—and the smell of last night’s seafood—my mind is miles away from my home in cosmopolitan Toronto. Here, craft feels as grounded as the clams they dig for each morning, and as I prepare for my call with textile artist Laura Carwardine, I can’t help but wonder *Carrie Bradshaw voice* what is the future of textile art in Toronto?
Most people have dabbled with textiles in one form or another. Even if you’re unfamiliar with jacquard or herringbone, you’ve probably tried your hand at making a friendship bracelet at least once. For Toronto-based industrial designer and textile artist Laura Carwardine, friendship bracelets are just the beginning. Her practice, which involves breakfast food-themed embroidery kits, giant woven egg sculptures and a healthy dose of neon, offers a playful point of entry for dynamic—and accessible—textile creation.
And Carwardine’s colourful installations are relatable. A recent exhibition held at the Andreu World Toronto Showroom featured a 3D-textile wall facade made of repurposed berry baskets—both a functional canvas-substitute and a playfully upcycled everyday object. And this past March, Carwardine wrapped her stay as artist-in-residence at the AGO with an interactive installation exploring the intersection between embroidery and 3D printing.
“That installation was meant to get people making and contributing,” she says. “So many participants said, ‘I forgot I love this,’ or ‘I’ve never tried this before—how do I do more?’ I watched parents and grandparents teaching kids, friends teaching friends. People responded intuitively: ‘Where are the supplies? I want to do this.’” With a degree in interior design from TMU and experience at firms like KPMB and Umbra, Carwardine is rooted in industrial design. But passion projects keep her practice energized. “Keeping your creative fuel going is your responsibility. You need to follow what interests you and create opportunities to explore those ideas.”
To dig deeper into this balance between discipline and play, I called Laura to hear what fuels her practice. As we kick off the second installment of Designlines’ What’s in My… series, her picks reveal plenty of inspiration. Here, explore seven objects that textile artist Laura Carwardine can’t live without.
Notebook and Pen
Designers are often fiercely loyal to their stationery. For Carwardine, it’s the Uni Ball Vision Needle Micro Pen—nothing else will do. As for notebooks, the only rules are that they’re bright and never purple.
Coffee Travel Mug
“I’ve always been fascinated with travel mugs,” says Carwardine. “And if you agree to carry this thing all day, you better like it and it better not leak.” Pictured: the KINTO Day Off Tumbler adorned in a dot sticker from Carwardine’s ongoing colour palette project.
Bacon & Egg Embroidery Kits
Born from an exploration of curved 3D-printed canvases, Carwardine developed two embroidery designs that would have been technically impossible to make on a flat surface: egg (dome) and bacon (wave). Now available as kits on her website, Carwardine also runs public workshops using these designs, including her recent Fried Egg Embroidery Workshop for DesignTO.
“There’s something so satisfying about making with your hands—watching colour and texture take shape. That human connection to textiles will always be there. The question is: how do you invite new people in? That’s part of why I do the embroidery kits.”
Measuring Tools
For street-finds, impulse-purchases and any other emergency measuring, Carwardine carries calipers (for precision work) plus a folded IKEA measuring tape kept in her wallet. Pro tip: grab yours the next time you hit IKEA for some Swedish meatballs—they’re free!
Giant Friendship Bracelets
Dubbed Great Friends, this collection of oversized friendship bracelets for the 2024 DesignTO Festival may be one of the artist’s favourite projects—but it was a major undertaking. Braided together in a continuous weave without cuts, the two-metre-long pink and yellow ropes took up her whole studio—and holding the tension was a no joke! But though it certainly packs a visual punch, scaling up had other didactic implications. “One of the things I think about a lot is how small a lot of the details are. So, I tend to do embroidery that’s a little bigger so that you can see it and so that it’s easier to learn.”
3D Printer
“3D printing is definitely a large part of what I do now, whether it’s a physical component of the end result or something that I use for prototyping, says Carwardine.” Now, a tool for many working designers, 3D-printed textiles blend tradition and modernity. She even has two for good measure.
Folding Bike
Bike riding is how Carwardine clears her head, and sometimes finds inspiration for her work. With its compact frame, the Brompton folding bike is a perfect space-saving solution for a small Toronto apartment.
