On a hot summer afternoon, we caught up with Zoë Mowat to drink ice cold lemonade at Little Brick Café in Riverdale and chat about the inspiration that drives her design and the role design has played in her life.
Zoë, a graduate from the industrial design program at the University of Alberta, operates Zoë Mowat Design, a studio in Montreal that focuses on furniture and objects. Although noting Edmonton's supportive community built her rolodex of resources, she's excited for the change of city to inspire her.
Zoë’s approach to design remains sculptural, in recent years her work is driven by the abstract and sundries, taking something small like the isolated details, for example a seam, and focusing on the gesture to turn it into a table.
Consequently, when designing, Zoë considers how the object sounds and feels.
What are three words that best describe your design?
What are your hopes for the objects you create?
I want things to be enjoyed and used. They’re not meant to be art pieces that are left to sit on a shelf.
On a basic level, it enhances our life and communicates to much about us – where we are in our time and place.