I’ve never been a fan of New Year’s resolutions. Of course, if you’ve known me in January over the last 30-odd years, you wouldn’t believe that. Every year, I think I’m going to tackle this bucket list I’ve been carrying since undergrad, but rather than use the impending end to the previous year to bolster myself to action, I tend to drag my feet, procrastinating until that big January 1 date.
I can’t be the only one.
Being on a publishing schedule, I love that for the second year in a row we’re kicking off January with the Pioneers’ issue. As the cold air starts to settle in and we slow down, keeping an eye on the names who push through, innovate, and build themselves and others up is like a rallying cry to start on your goals and dreams, no matter the date. This issue is full of influential individuals and spaces that pique the imagination: from Patricia Urquiola’s exhibition, “Patricia Urquiola: Between Craft and Industry,” opening at the Philadelphia Museum of Art (Happenings, p. 18); to Mannington’s new Design Center designed by Corgan, providing visitors with a retreat to do more than look at samples (Dressing Room, p. 46); to the amazing super heroes kicking cancer’s butt (And On That Note, p. 58).
We are also introducing our third annual Designer of the Year in our Profile (p. 54). Although you may have already guessed by our fun and funky cover, it is Elodie Blanchard. If you haven’t had the opportunity to see this amazing woman’s work, I recommend doing so immediately (seriously: stop reading here and flip on over to that article).
Blanchard’s work never fails to impress, whether it’s being showcased at grand scale in HBF Textiles’ showroom or in the tiny square of my phone as I scroll her Instagram feed. There’s that raw innovation in each of her pieces that flips the creative switch in the brain. It takes a special kind of person whose work makes you want to immediately create—it doesn’t matter what but the desire to build and test your artistic limits bubbles up inside.
I believe this talent comes from her love of all things artistic, blending design with performance, fashion, and fiber art. It’s contagious when someone’s vision of the world seamlessly blends the things they love.
So if you’ve let your feet drag a little the last few months, I hope this issue provides what you need to get those feet moving again (dancing if you’d like!), charging ahead toward your goals and resolutions. I hope 2018 is full of beauty and creative endeavors that build you up.
Kadie Yale | Editor-in-Chief
[email protected]
