About
Industrial Designer + Textile Artist
Laura Carwardine is an industrial designer and textile artist who has worked in industrial design, interior design, and retail design.
Laura is passionate about 3D cross-functional problem solving, human scale interactions, and seeking opportunities for innovation, creating memorable moments, simplification, improving user experience, and increasing efficiency and functionality. She enjoys collaboration, observation, details, user feedback, rapid prototyping, asking questions, establishing systems and holistic design thinking.
In her independent textile design work, Laura focuses on using embroidery techniques in modern ways and at a magnified scale to make the details more visible. The tactility, colours, patterns, and textures make embroidery a rich resource to draw from to create modern objects, and a very satisfying medium to work with.
Laura runs @thiscolourpalette which documents colour palettes found in everyday life. She also enjoys posting about things found in stores and the built environment that are curious and unique from a design and user perspective, primarily on Instagram stories and Tiktok.
Laura is currently seeking a new full-time industrial design role. In the meantime, she is providing freelance industrial design work for brands and creating independent textile products. Laura also recently designed several embroidery kits, with the goal to share this love of colour and pattern with others and to provide a meditative analog break from the digital world.
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For a comprehensive portfolio that includes commercial industrial design and retail design work, and to discuss potential collaborations, please reach out!​​
EXPERIENCE
WORK
Designer + Founder, Laura Carwardine (Studio), 2017 - Present
Experience Design Lead, Mejuri, 2019 - 2023
Design Lead + Industrial Designer, Umbra, 2014 - 2019
Designer + Founder, Good Everyday Goods, 2013 - 2016
Restaurant Designer, Commute Design Studio, 2012 - 2014
Junior Interior Designer, KPMB Architects, 2011 - 2012
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EDUCATION
Bachelor of Interior Design, Toronto Metropolitan University, 2007 - 2011
Graphic Design + Fibre, Alberta University of the Arts, 2006 - 2007
Fine Arts + General Arts, University of British Columbia, 2005 - 2006
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EXHIBITIONS
Fried Egg Embroidery Workshop, DesignTO Festival, 2025 (upcoming)
Berry Basket Exhibition, Textile Artist, DesignTO Festival, 2025 (upcoming)
Great Friends Exhibition, Textile Artist, DesignTO Festival, 2024
Artifacts Exhibition, Textile Artist, DesignTO Festival, 2024
Umbra x DesignTO Exhibition, Coordinator, DesignTO Festival, 2015 - 2019
Zip Tie Tapestry Window Installation, Textile Artist, DesignTO Festival, 2018
Stitch Mirror, Prototype Group Exhibition, Interior Design Show, 2014
Loom Chair, Prototype Group Exhibition, Interior Design Show, 2013
Patria Restaurant Cross Stitch Installation, Textile Artist, 2012
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ADDITIONAL EDUCATION
Google UX Design Course, Coursera, 2024
AI For Everyone Course, Coursera, 2024
Fashion Illustration Course, Seneca College, 2015
Basics of Garment Construction Course, Seneca College, 2014
Chair Fabrication + Design, OCAD University, 2012
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