Interview Series - Tammy Kanat
Over the coming weeks we will be showcasing our very own interview series, giving you an opportunity to learn more about our key Designers and Collaborators here at Cadrys. We’ll give you insights into what inspires them, how their journeys began and what you can expect to see from each of them over the coming months.
We hope you enjoy this series and today we launch this series with our much loved Melbourne weaver Tammy Kanat, who will be launching her second rug collection over the coming months.
Tammy, when did your love affair with weaving and textiles begin, and how?
In 2011 after struggling to find the perfect art piece for my new home renovation I took myself to a Melbourne institution Wondoflex Yarn Craft Centre to create my own piece. When I returned to Wondoflex to show what I had completed the staff told me I had created “something special.” With this encouragement I enrolled myself in to a series of classes at the Australian Tapestry Workshop to begin my weaving journey. This is where the love affair with weaving began.
Who/What has been your biggest inspiration in this field?
Sheila Hicks is my biggest inspiration I am inspired and enthralled by her creativity everyday. Her fearless approach to her work, it is exciting, bold and meaningful.
What has been your career highlight?
Exhibiting in 2017 Milan Design Week and Miley Cyrus purchasing one of my works.
What colours/tones hues resonate with you right now?
I just completed a piece today with blues, pinks, purples and greys. However tomorrow I will be embarking on a piece filled with bright yellows, oranges, greens and hot pink and the piece after that will be natural and earthy tones! Each piece I create is so different and has its own story and the colours I work with always vary. I love this because I can never get bored. 🙂
You have collaborated with Cadrys and now Anthropologie, what’s next for Tammy Kanat?
To continue developing my work as a fiber artist, to push boundaries and tell my story through my textile art.
What have you learnt from your first rug collection to now launching your second rug collection?
Translating my woven works into a rug collection has been a challenging and exciting journey. The learning curve has been very steep. After all the time and effort we have put into fine turning the designs, I believe we have developed a very strong and unique rug collection that I am very proud of.
I can see customers appreciate the organic and natural shapes we have created and the colour palettes we selected in the designs. Keeping the collection authentic and relevant to my tapestries.
Q: You mentioned that it has been a steep learning curve, how did you find the transition from textile weaving to rug weaving?
I met Bob Cadry at my exhibition a few years back, we immediately connected. Bob’s incredible generosity for sharing his knowledge is what has made this journey so inspiring. It is this experience that has led to a wonderful friendship that gave me the opportunity to make this collection happen.
The design process was fascinating in itself, developing designs on a computer was a whole new experience for me. You literally get see your design work come alive via Galanchia design software, then onto renderings and visualizations. The amazing Cadrys design team, gave me the opportunity to operate Galanchia solo, I feel its best I stick to weaving….
To view Tammy’s latest collection of rugs, visit your local Cadrys showroom today or visit www.cadrys.com.au. Next week we release our newest design collaboration with the very talented team at Walter G.
