
H and I first came across Pillow Talk last summer at Dundas West Fest, a local street festival celebrating one of Toronto's coolest neighbourhoods. Pillow Talk focuses on hand-painted, custom pillows created by interior designers Melanie Brown and Robin Schurman. We were lucky enough to pick their brains about design, their amazing product, and starting up their own business.
How did Pillow Talk get started?
Melanie: We started in the summer of 2013. Robyn and I both
work for interior designers, so we’re always discussing the fabrics and textiles we source. We’re also both painters; initially we thought about selling
paintings but we wanted to incorporate interior design, so we decided to
combine pillows and painting.
Robin: We’re both studying interior design at Ryerson and
after a grueling second year launching Pillow Talk was something fun to do
that was both creative and completely separate from what we focus on at school and work.
We were asked to participate in the "By Hand. With Heart" market
at Dundas West Fest in June, which was our first event. I was part of Akin
Collective in Parkdale with Oliver Pauk. I’m still very good friends with
Oliver, and I noticed a call for artists on his Facebook page. We had really
just started working on the pillows, so we decided to go for it. That’s when it
got serious for us.
What did you study in
school?
Robin: I studied painting and drawing at Concordia
University in Montreal. I've gone back to school for interior design, to pair a
more practical degree with a creative one. I wanted to combine interior design
with fine arts.
Melanie: After finishing my undergrad degree in Political
Science and Psychology at Queens, I headed down to New York and took architecture
classes at Parsons. I decided I wanted to focus on design so I moved to Italy and
completed a diploma program in Florence before returning to Toronto and enrolling
at Ryerson. And I’m finished after this!
Has it helped you
with your business?
Melanie: Definitely. Since we both work for interior designers we deal with
paint colours, textiles and décor everyday. It's helped us to decide what we want to contribute
to the market.
Robin: Working together has been great too. We’re similar but our backgrounds are very different so we can marry practicality and
design with the different skills that we have.
Tell us about your
pillows. Where does your inspiration come from?
Robin: I think our inspiration comes from painting, drawing
and sketching. We’re both constantly sketching. We look to fashion for
inspiration, especially for colour trends. It’s also interesting to see the different
fabrics in showrooms we go to for work. From there we look at different patterns and
think about how we can do something that is as unique. When you’re painting
directly onto cotton canvas you can be so free, there are so many different
things that you can do.
All our pillows are hand-painted, and they are all so
different in how we start each one. Some of them are really precise, where we use
a stencil, and some are completely free hand with a water colour approach and multiple layers. Each piece is unique and different. We've noticed that most people like mixing both styles
and patterns in similar colour palates. It’s very effective. And it’s our hope
to avoid over matching, to be more eclectic.
How long does it take
you to create a pillow?
Melanie: We start by sourcing our fabric. Then we take it to our tailor who sews the cases. After we pick up the cases we start painting.
This process varies depending on the pattern. And often we start something and
then go back to the pillow and add a second tone or layer to give it more depth.
The black and white pillows take longer because using the white paints means
you have to be very precise. Plus time for drying and heat to set the paint. Start to finish it could take anywhere from 1 to 3 hours.
What’s a typical day
like for you?
Melanie: It’s running around doing errands. In the
summer when we had a few days off work we would spend time going to showrooms to source
fabric, picking up fabric, bringing it to the tailor, sourcing the zippers we wanted to
use. We’re at a point where we've figured out those kinks - we've got a system
but it’s still a lot of running around.
Robin: But once the pillows are done, it’s fun to play around and
arrange them into collections. That’s the best part. It was fun when we did the
House & Home shoot at Cambie Design, because it's a completely white
space. It was great to be able to display them on shelves and move them
around. It really highlighted the designs and product.
What do you love most about what you do?
Robin: For me I think it’s because I really feel that I'm at
a point where I can merge my fine arts and design skills. For every interior
designer fabric and throw pillows are like pieces of candy that can go into a
room, so to be able to create that yourself is something I find exciting.
Melanie: I like the freedom of it. We’re not stuck doing a
certain style or working with a certain colour. We’re constantly doing new
things – we can take a doodle or sketch that we do in class and turn it into a
new design. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't but we don’t feel bound
by anything. It’s the one thing we have for ourselves. When it turns out and it’s
a success, it's gratifying.
Would you say there’s
been a tipping point for your business, or is that still to come?
Robin: In general, I think that’s probably still coming, but
I think having the press with House and Home really helped us since it’s a
design magazine. It gave us a little bit of a name.
Melanie: After Dundas West Fest we got a few emails and
custom orders. We did a show for our black and white fall line and those all
sold. That was pretty successful.
Do you have any
advice for other female entrepreneurs who are just starting out?
Robin: Keep doing it and don’t be afraid. People really
appreciate one of a kind pieces. You don’t know unless you try. It’s funny
because the pillows we considered mistakes were the pieces people really
wanted.
Melanie: You have nothing to lose. Experiment along the way,
until you figure out what you like and what works best for you.
What’s next for
Pillow Talk?
Melanie: We’re going to focus on custom
orders until the spring. Then we’ll start working on new patterns and colours. We’d
love to eventually do the One of a Kind Show; it’s on our radar, but only when
we’re ready.
Robin: We have our pillows at Y & Co. right now, which
is a rug and fabric store popular with designers. We’re hoping that through
that connection, people start noticing and ordering
our pieces.
Where can shoppers
find your pillows?
Email pillowtalktoronto@gmail.com for custom orders, visit the Facebook group to view samples or Y& Co. in Toronto.
No comments:
Post a comment