Paul Rowan on Being Umbra's Vice President of Inspiration and Why His 1984 El Camino Is a Perfect Example of Risk-Taking Design
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Left: Rowan with his El Camino. Right: Umbra’s Toronto headquarters and the Garbo trash can, designed by Karim Rashid
This is the latest installment of our Core77 Questionnaire. Previously, we talked to Todd St. John of the Brooklyn studio HunterGatherer.
Name: Paul Rowan
Occupation: VP Inspiration and Co-founder, Umbra
Location: Toronto
Current projects: At Umbra, a steady stream of new design collaborations. Outside of Umbra, I work with Imagination Catalyst, an incubator funded by the Ontario College of Art and Design University in Toronto. Each year, we work with emerging entrepreneurs to mentor and guide them with their inventions. One of my favorite new inventions is an eco-friendly washing machine that can be used without electricity.
Mission: To share my creativity
Launched last spring, Umbra Shift is a collection of everyday items by emerging designers. The Hanger Chair (above) is by Philippe Malouin.
The Cup Lamp by Paul Loebach (who previously answered the Core77 Questionnaire here)
When did you decide that you wanted to be a designer? When I was six years old, in my Dad’s hardware store. The store gave me an applied arts education.
Education: I studied graphic design at George Brown College, Toronto. And industrial design at the Umbra University of Life and Business.
First design job: A brochure for a boat-line company in the Thousand Islands. Wonder if they’re still using it?
Who is your design hero? After Mother Nature, it would have to be Matt Carr, design director for Umbra. The new line he created, Umbra Shift, demonstrates holistic design.
Also from Umbra Shift, the Nest Caddy by Umbra Studio, its in-house design team
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