Although his name may not be familiar to those outside of the design world, it’s very likely many Torontonians walk by Karim Rashid’s work every day.
That Canada Post mailbox outside your door? Rashid designed that. The seat on your next Via Rail voyage? Rashid. The majestic kiosk in the centre of Union Station? Oh yes, he designed that, too.
Rashid has designed an array of memorable and innovative pieces globally, including the Oh Chair and the Garbino garbage can, both from Umbra, as well as everyday items such as cellphone protectors, radiators, door handles and appliances. With approximately 300 awards and three doctorates from three universities, Rashid is a bona fide design superstar. And now he’s honouring Canada, his former home, by naming a new collection for Danish furniture retailer BoConcept after our capital city.
Born in Cairo, the globetrotting design star moved to Canada with his family as a child, eventually settling in Toronto as a teenager. Though now a New York City dweller for the past 19 years, Rashid’s time in Canada had a profound effect on his career as a designer. “Canada was a really progressive country in my teens when it came to design and technology,” says Rashid during a recent visit to Toronto to promote his new project.
“When we came to Canada, I was mesmerized with Expo ’67. When we first arrived, the Italian Pavilion [at Expo ’67] was housing avant-garde furniture, so that was the most eye-opening and inspiring moment for me [as a designer].”
Of course, growing up in Toronto in the ’70s also had its awe-inspiring moments.
“When we moved to Toronto, I saw Ontario Place and City Hall and Roy Thomson Hall coming up. I watched the CN Tower being built. It was a time of very inspiring and positive energy for progress and design. It was an inspiring and memorable time, watching the city turn into a contemporary and cosmopolitan place. It changed drastically from the ’60s, and so I think that’s the most overriding experience for me.”
Even as a child, Rashid was mesmerized by design.
“I was fascinated with drawing objects. I was drawing my mom’s high heels, the telephone, you name it. I liked the idea of designing everything we all use.”
Rashid 101 (from left): Atlantis “Ego” vase, a piece from the BoConcept “Ottawa” collection, Morimoto restaurant in Philadelpha
His love for functional design took him to Ottawa’s Carleton University where he studied industrial design before returning to Toronto to attend the Ontario College of Art and Design followed by post-graduate courses and his first paid gigs in Italy. He returned home for a few years to work for an industrial design firm prior to moving to New York City in 1993.
Though his beginnings were humble when he first arrived in the Big Apple, after a few lucky breaks with internationally renowned companies such as Umbra and Nombe, Rashid was able to open his own private design studio. Since then, Rashid has created award-winning designs, including luxury goods for Christofle, Veuve Clicquot and Alessi, as well as designed interiors for such global hot spots as the Morimoto restaurant in Philadelphia and the Semiramis hotel in Athens. Then there are the 20 permanent collections showcasing his work worldwide.
Explaining his eclectic portfolio, Rashid says, “I don’t really believe in specializing in anything. I look at things more broadly. Everything in our physical lives is part of our daily experience. My inspiration is shaping human experience. It’s about us at the end of the day. In design culture, we tend to isolate the person.
“When you see photographs of products, we don’t see anyone there, just the product — which is strange. A philosopher said we shouldn’t have anything in the physical world if it’s not giving us an experience. So design inspires me with the human interface, using something, engaging something, that’s what I’m looking at. I’m looking at the experience.”
In a lot of ways, Rashid has come full circle with his BoConcept collaboration.
He was not only inspired by his early Canadian roots, but his Ottawa collection works with his desire to form an experience using his design: a focus on dining, one of the most communal experiences humans have in the physical world.
“I started with BoConcept two years ago,” says Rashid. “When I first started the project, I went to Carleton University to do a lecture, and while I was there, I thought there was a similar nature, same foliage, same colours, same smell between Ottawa and Denmark. So I dedicated the collection to Ottawa, where I did my undergraduate.”
The Ottawa collection consists of a table, chairs, a sideboard, a room divider and a collection of accessories.
Recently in Toronto to promote the newly launched line at the BoConcept store (230 Adelaide St. E.), Rashid says he enjoys taking in a meal at the County General (939 Queen St.) or taking his mother to lunch at the Holts Café in Holt Renfrew. Walking along Bloor Street West and Queen and Claremont are among his favourite haunts.
Though he’s come a long way from designing mailboxes, Rashid says he still has plenty of creative fire left: “Frankly, I feel I’m just starting.”
