Technically Beautiful

Matthew McCormick Studio is a multi-disciplinary design house based in Vancouver, Canada that produces distinctive lighting and artistic installations. Founded in 2013 by Matthew McCormick, the studio designs, manufactures and globally distributes McCormick’s distinctive collections.

In addition to creating a selection of bespoke, sculptural lighting pieces, Matthew’s product line is designed in Vancouver and created by a talented network of manufacturers and craftspeople both locally and across the globe—committed to bring the best in international craftsmanship to every hand-touched piece.

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:

• How art and creativity are only one side of a successful venture

• What Matthew means when he says “if I can’t be the best, I’ll be the boss of the best”

• The genesis of Matthew’s lighting design career and how his own home helped spearhead it

• His answer to the FAQ “How did you make the leap?”

• Why Matthew often asks “What story is the space trying to tell?” when starting a design

• Why approaching collaboration without ego is important and what that looks like

• How valued partnerships with the right types of people are key

• The way Matthew grew his business entirely without inheritance or investors

• What challenge Matthew still works on and learns from

• What piece of advice his yoga teacher gave him that stays with him to this day

In this episode….

Matthew McCormick was born in Scarborough, Ontario and raised in the small town of Pickering just outside Toronto. After high school he took a year off to go to Whistler, British Columbia where he fell in love with snowboarding before returning home to attend Ryerson University to study what he calls “the business end of design”. He was always a creative kid - he had two art works in the Robert McLaughlin Gallery at age 12 - but he developed his learning and skills working in art director, marketing, and even maintenance positions before launching his business.

Now known for his innovative and modernist minimal lighting designs through Matthew McCormick Studio, Matthew works hard at developing and continually refining both the design and business side of his work. His approach to success includes checking ego at the door so he can collaborate openly with the best in every discipline and in loving what he does. 

In this episode of What CEOs Talk About, host Martin Hunter dives into the origin story of Matthew McCormick’s lighting design business, how and why he made the leap out into his own studio, and the valuable lessons he learned following the slower path he took. Martin and Matthew discuss the art of collaboration, the necessity of creative time, and how to work with the best in any business.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• URGEO

• Contact email: info@urgeo.com

• Martin Hunter on LinkedIn

• Matthew McCormick website

• Matthew McCormick on LinkedIn

• Matthew McCormick Vimeo

• Mission Possible

• Robert McLaughlin Gallery

• Vancouver Interior Design Show

• Bottega

• Victoria and Albert Museum in London

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