For Scottish émigré Stephen Lindsay, his third submission to IDS’s Prototype exhibit has proved a charm. “I was rejected the previous two years,” confirms the 29-year old designer whose Dune series of wall tiles in cast concrete and walnut will be on display this weekend at Canada’s largest design showcase (Direct Energy Centre, February 5 – 8).
When I asked to meet Lindsay at his work space so I could photograph him while he worked, he demurred: “Right now I’m mixing and casting the concrete in my kitchen and it’s not a space I’m anxious to show off,” he laughed.
Such is the lot of a struggling artist trying to catch a break. Prototype designers apply to exhibit and the lucky few who are accepted then pay $500 for the privilege of showing their concepts. It’s all part of building a story and a network, gaining feedback and gauging response to the work.
Lindsay originally came to Toronto 10 years ago for a study term at the Ontario College of Art and Design, part of a student exchange from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design in Dundee, Scotland. Three years ago he made the journey again, this time with the intention of staying. Today he lives in the city’s east end and works as an assistant cabinet maker. Although his past practice has included work with metal, precious stones, rubber and plastic, the woodworking inspired him to execute the first Dune tiles in walnut. It’s a material he’s fond of even though it makes the tiles prohibitively expensive to produce.
“It’s definitely a luxury item,” he concedes. “I don’t really expect to see them in residential applications but for a bar or a condo lobby they’d be fantastic. I think they’d make an amazing headboard, too.”
Since adopting Canada as his new home Lindsay has fully embraced Canadian icons like the hockey stick, which he uses to fun effect in his Schtick Hanger and Schtick Shift coffee table, below, both available through his Urban Product website and MADE. “I do honestly love Canadiana,” he says, “I think there’s something naive but also celebratory in the Schtick designs.”
Walnut tile photos courtesy of FOTOVAAT, concrete tiles courtesy of Stephen Lindsay.
February 3rd, 2009 at 2:56 pm
These are WONDERFUL. The walnut may be prohibitively expensive, but talk about bang for the buck. A headboard would be amazing. That said, I really like the concrete as well.