{"id":29303,"date":"2022-03-01T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-03-01T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.essentialhome.eu\/inspirations\/?p=29303"},"modified":"2022-03-01T14:33:39","modified_gmt":"2022-03-01T14:33:39","slug":"my-design-journey-karim-rashid-on-his-new-design-collection-and-becoming-one-of-the-most-prolific-designers-of-his-generation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.essentialhome.eu\/inspirations\/trends\/interior-designers\/my-design-journey-karim-rashid-on-his-new-design-collection-and-becoming-one-of-the-most-prolific-designers-of-his-generation\/","title":{"rendered":"My Design Journey: Karim Rashid On His New Design Collection and Becoming One of The Most Prolific Designers of His Generation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n \"karim<\/a>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s safe to say 2022 will be a year that\u00a0Karim Rashid<\/a>\u00a0will never forget. The NY-based interior designer hit several major career milestones. He not only created a brand new design collection, the\u00a0Kasual collection, in collaboration with the portuguese design brands, DelightFULL and Essential Home<\/a>, but also received recognition by being featured in prestigious editorial pages. Inspirations Blog\u2019s team had the chance to have a lovely conversation with Karim about his\u00a0new design collection<\/a>\u00a0and the fact that he is becoming one of the most profilic designers of his generation, and you\u2019ll have the chance to read all about it!<\/em><\/strong> <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the goal of bringing design to the entire world, Karim Rashid is based in one of the most cosmopolitan cities,\u00a0New York.<\/a><\/em><\/strong>\u00a0His portfolio is filled with incredible\u00a0residential, hospitality and architectural design projects<\/a><\/em><\/strong>, spread all over the world! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Inspirations Blog: Who is Karim Rashid as a designer?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Karim Rashid: It\u2019s always hard to talk about yourself, don\u2019t you think? (laughs) Anyway, so I\u2019m Karim Rashid, and I\u2019ve been designing for 35 years or something like that now. I think that the first thing that comes to mind is that when I was a child, I always thought that design was every aspect of everything we interface or touch or become involved in\u2026 My father was also a set designer for film and television, but also a painter, so my family grew up in a very creative environment, but I liked pluralism. I liked architects and designers who were broad, who would touch every aspect of living. So I loved Le Corbusier, for example, who painted design clothes, designed furniture, design architecture. I found these people who are a bit more, kind of renaissance like or more universal in the sense of their profession. But then I ended up studying industrial design, and it was very much like an engineering degree. Later, I did a master\u2019s degree in design in Italy, and then I was more or less brought up in Canada. So, I think the influences of my education at that time were very much part of the kind of a utopian spirit of humanity. You know, one day we\u2019ll be living on another planet or that everything would be so efficient, technological, seamless, soft, casual and comfortable\u2026 So all those premises, were what started to shape me. \u00a0I guess you see my philosophy a little bit of what design is, so that\u2019s who Karim Rashid is as a designer. Someone who (in a way) doesn\u2019t see differences between any of the design professions. I think it\u2019s all part of the same. I see design as something that evolves and pushes us forward, and at the same time addresses a lot of the needs and desires of human life.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Karim Rashid has an\u00a0incomparable design signature,<\/a><\/em>\u00a0impossible to emulate. Although many designers take great pleasure in drawing on the past, it is the designers that reach into the future that are creating the next generation of style.\u00a0Futuristic interior design relies heavily on the home architecture. Rounded doorways, walls, asymmetric angles should be planned before the construction.<\/strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n \"karim<\/a>\n\n\n\n

IB: In the beginning, was it a challenge to define your signature style as a designer, or was it a fairly natural process that came with every creation you had to make?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

KR: Yeah, that\u2019s an interesting question, because does anyone start out trying to find a signature style? I don\u2019t think that\u2019s what most designers do. I think what we do is to tackle one problem or one project after another, and with time and effort, something starts to shape your vision and your sensibility that\u2019s different from everybody else\u2019s, hopefully. That should be the case because we\u2019re all individuals in a way, so our creative contribution should be very different than the next person or that other person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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IB:<\/strong>\u00a0What was the biggest obstacle you had to face as young designers just entering this crazy, creative world?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

KR: Oh, the biggest obstacle was not to be embarrassed about who I am or what I believe. That was always the biggest obstacle, and I think for the majority of us. I think we spend most of our lives worrying about conforming or fitting in, and afraid to be an individual. It\u2019s scary to know that you\u2019re alone in a way, so you gravitate towards tribe or religion or something to hang on to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

IB:<\/strong>\u00a0You have been recognized with several awards over the years, but what was the award that marked your career?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

KR: I\u2019m going to be very honest with you, I have a very bad memory. (laughs) I got a lot of awards, those that come to my mind very quickly are the ones where I was honored with the American prize, which was I think three years ago. I think it was called the American Prize for design, it\u2019s a national prize, and I was very honored to get it because here they\u2019ve only been giving it for four years. Imagine that in the entire country, there are only 40 people who have already received this award, and that made me very proud because of two reasons: one is that when I moved to the United States, I was hoping to make design a more public subject. In other words, have people down walk on the street know what the design is, like design and care about it. And we are behind in comparison with most of the countries in Europe, especially Nordic countries, like\u00a0 Portugal, Spain, Italy, France\u2026 The design has been part of the culture for centuries, and they appreciate design much more and are more knowledgeable. So I thought \u201cI wanted to do this with the United States\u201d, and it\u2019s difficult because this country is like, cowboys and Indians still. (laughs). You still got this survival of the fittest sensibility where it\u2019s more about other things (money, politics, rain)but not creativity. Now things are changing, because we live in a global (what I would call) creative epoch of the world, so everybody is now interested in creativity, entrepreneurs, and doing new things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve been very creative as Americans, as a sense of the digital age. I mean, we practically owned the digital age, whether it be Google, Facebook, Instagram, it\u2019s all American, all of it\u2026 But I find it interesting, when I worked in Milan, that all these designers had their names on the products. I came back to Canada (and Canada was similar to the states), and nobody cared about any of that, there were no names. If you were hired as a designer, they didn\u2019t want to put your name on a product, just 20 years ago, it was unheard of in a way. So, now every other building in New York has, like a famous architect attached to the building\u2026 50 years ago nobody knew who were all the famous architects that did all the city\u2019s buildings in the 1930s, 40s, 50s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was kind of determined to sort of help that change somehow, and so winning the American prize was an honor for me because most of my work is not in the United States. I actually always felt very underappreciated here, and thought:\u201d why don\u2019t I get projects here? Why aren\u2019t American companies interested in me?\u201d. Then I realized there were two problems: one is I was too two forward in a way, my work was too contemporary, so in turn, I was always hired by Europeans or Asian countries; number two is the publicity about my work was always in the rest of the world and not here. So\u00a0 I was flying literally almost weekly, for years, across the ocean, for projects, lectures, events, prizes, and it was never here.\u00a0 A good example is New York. This is my city and I\u2019ve done hardly any projects here, so that\u2019s why it was an honor to be appreciated by the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Besides working on incredible\u00a0architectural and interior design projects,<\/a><\/em>\u00a0the\u00a0NYC renowned designer<\/a><\/em>\u00a0is also a product designer. You name it:\u00a0lighting pieces<\/em>, furniture items<\/a><\/em> and even a wide selection of miscellaneous products.<\/strong>\u00a0Last year, in collaboration with the Portuguese mid-century brands, DelightFULL and Essential Home, the NY-based designer created a brand new collection inspired by the new concept of home after the pandemic crisis.<\/strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

IB: What comes to mind when you think of Portugal?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

KR: Well, the first thing that comes to my mind is that it\u2019s one of the most underrated countries in Europe, and yet it\u2019s one of the most beautiful. So from an artistic point of view, a creative point of view, from a craftsman, and artisanal point of view, from wine and port and all the things that go on in that country, the landscape, the architecture and the seaside, the fact that you\u2019re bordering the entire sea, and yet Portugal is not necessarily always on people\u2019s radar. So you hear about Italy every day, you know, but Portugal\u2019s as beautiful as the country as it is Italy, right? So that\u2019s the first thing that comes to my mind. Every time I worked in Portugal, I did some very nice projects\u2026\u00a0 I worked with M-Glass, I worked with the Glass Association of Portugal and did really do nice projects with them\u2026 I did all kinds of things and I found every time I did some project in Portugal, it was a very nice process. The people were very embracing, warm, friendly, and the spirit was always very positive. The Portugueses have a really beautiful spirit, so that\u2019s what comes to mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

IB:<\/strong>\u00a0Did you already know the brands before starting this collaboration?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

KR: No, I didn\u2019t know the brands, to be very honest. I did not know the brands and then when I looked at it, I was impressed with the breadth of it, the diversity of the projects, and the quality. I think those were nice. When I work on a new project with a new company, the best thing is to feel like the client wants to do something great, they\u2019re determined. That\u2019s a very positive for me, that\u2019s when I\u2019m most inspired too because when you take on a project where you just don\u2019t feel that comfortable with the client inevitably you don\u2019t get good results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n \"karim<\/a>\n\n\n\n

IB: \u2026 If you have to describe them in 4 words would they be?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

KR: That\u2019s interesting, I would say esoteric pop, that\u2019s how I would describe them. (laughs) I don\u2019t use the word fun, something like animated (is a nice word, I think), and what I like is differentiation. They\u2019re different because, you know, there\u2019s a sort of an international style, especially in furniture. You can see the influences from around the world, but there\u2019s this sort of blurring now where a lot of the furniture is very kind of serious, it\u2019s called understated, but also banal. So you\u2019re sort of the opposite of banal, you\u2019re different and unique.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

IB: This partnership was established during one of the most challenging times over the past two years. When Essential Home and DelightFULL contacted you to create this collection for the brand, did you consider it a good challenge?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

KR: I think all the projects were a challenge because first of all, there were far fewer\u2026 I mean, in my office, we went from about 50 projects to about five at one point, so it was nerving to figure out how to deal with this, how do you juggle it, how do you juggle your staff, how do you work remotely? You know what thousands of companies have gone through, and so that made a challenge around the world. But the great thing is that you as a company, we\u2019re plugging along with building prototypes\u2026 For me what keeps me alive is when all of a sudden I see a video of the prototype or a picture.\u00a0 I almost had forgotten about the project, but it\u2019s like a couple of months elapsed right. During COVID, a lot of think projects just disappeared, because a lot of factories closed and everything, so for me, it was like exciting like \u201cWow, you are making something\u201d. (laughs)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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IB: Of all the amazing products in the collection, which is the piece that showcases Karim Rashid\u2019s unique vision and why?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

KR: I think for me the special one is the big, and large enormous couch, the\u00a0Kay sofa<\/a><\/em><\/strong>.\u00a0 It\u2019s like a question mark in a plan. I remember drawing this sketch of it, because I actually, by accident, drew a question mark on the drawing because I thought, \u201cWhat do you do with furniture anymore? I mean, is there anything left, is there anything original to do?\u201d (laughs). So it\u2019s a little bit of a commentary that for like a personal commentary on why I drew it. I don\u2019t like this tradition of the way the couch is set up in the chair and all this, I\u2019ve tried in the past without success to break that. If I\u2019m in my living room, why don\u2019t I this time sit on that side of the couch and instead of this side? So it\u2019s a little bit like taking something that would be typical in commercial contexts, like in an airport, but for the home. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I also like the\u00a0Karlotta set<\/a><\/em><\/strong>\u00a0because I still have this like obsession with the womb, and the idea of a blob, in a soft object in your living room. I love that. The thing about the softness is that your legs don\u2019t hit anything, and you just like, fall into something, I\u2019m a big advocate of that. <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

IB:<\/strong>\u00a0What other projects are you working on right now?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

KR: I\u2019m working on a couple of hotels, in Dubai, Berlin, a bunch in Germany, Vienna\u2026 Well, there is one that it\u2019s on hold, but I want to mention it because it\u2019s I am very passionate about it. There\u2019s a hospital in Israel, but it went a bit on hold because when their next wave of COVID hit, they needed to the hospital. We were about to get it all and start the reconstruction, but then they needed the beds, so I\u2019m sure it\u2019ll start up again. Then the 3D printed line of furniture, a collection from ocean plastic, carpets, some other things. Not that many projects, I mean, I didn\u2019t answer the question about how COVID affected me personally, so I would say I\u2019ve learned to be much more chill about everything. (laughs) So, before I had a desire to work, work, work, work and produce, now I\u2019m cool with fewer projects because I feel just more spiritually relaxed about things. I don\u2019t feel a part of that machine that I was in for many years\u2026 So that\u2019s how it affected me personally. Then also just worry about my personal health, taking care of myself a lot. Then the downside, the hard part, was just that I realized that the only reason we\u2019re on this planet is for each other. So loneliness or feeling removed or inactive in the world or not contributing, and all those things were the parts that affected me, like negatively. But with that said, I can\u2019t complain because many, many people die, lost their jobs\u2026It\u2019s crazy what happened in the last two weeks. I don\u2019t think any of us thought this is something like this could even happen, and it\u2019s not over. Hopefully, it\u2019s over soon.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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DelightFULL and Essential Home decided to join forces in order to put together a<\/strong>\u00a0timelessly modern house in Chicago<\/a>, filled with the designer\u2019s new pieces of the Kasual Collection.<\/strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chicago is known for its bold architecture and incredible connection with art, and this\u00a0amazing residential design<\/a>\u00a0isn\u2019t an exception. A new concept of home design has emerged where casualism becomes the star. \u00a0Six different rooms show six unique experiences and every luxurious room has its own purpose. Based on the thought that casualism is the future, every piece was achieved to bring people together in one space, creating that safe and welcoming feeling. Let yourself be inspired by an\u00a0interior design project<\/a><\/em>\u00a0like never seen before!<\/strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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READ MORE:<\/strong> Discover Karim Rashid\u2019s New Stunning Collection With Essential Home & DelightFULL<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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For more irreverent design ideas with a vintage twist, don\u2019t forget to follow Essential Home on\u00a0Pinterest<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Instagram<\/a>. Subscribe to our newsletters\u00a0here<\/a>!\u00a0<\/strong><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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