We are sharing some news that is quite pleasing and proud at the same time. For two reasons, first is seeing a Canadian brand EQ3 who is a furniture company that freshly expanding to the US and recently establishing a new flagship located in NYC. Built from scratch, and giving an affordable retail price for Canadian design for our everyday home life. Secondly, through this new flagship, they worked with a Montreal-based creative studio Wedge to come up with a stunning brand campaign to redefine what they stand for, and bring EQ3 brand into today’s lifestyle.
Wedge / Oumayma B. Tanfous
In their words
Canadian by Design means that the values that EQ3 professes—inclusivity, intentionality, progressiveness, accessibility—are not just for show. Instead, they’re baked into every aspect of their business, from product design, to partnerships, to store expansion, to every day operations. EQ3’s HQ lives right next to their R&D factory in Winnipeg; product designers know exactly how long it takes to produce each item they create, because they know the upholsters and seamstresses who produce the goods in the room next door by name. If a customer has a problem with a product, there’s a high chance that the person you’ll reach on the customer service line is Mark Letain, EQ3’s president, who frequently gets on the phone with customers all over the world to help them get what they need. Those are Canadian values, in practice.
In addition to making sure everything runs smoothly at home in Winnipeg, EQ3 also conducts factory audits to evaluate working conditions whenever they initiate a new partnership, such as with internationally renowned brands like Herman Miller , Marimekko , and Vitra . To EQ3, luxury and exclusivity are boring: instead they want to make high quality furniture with an exceptional lifespan at a more accessible, inclusive price point. This means that they design for longevity—not according to trends.
Hamish Smyth
Hamish Smyth
Hamish Smyth
EQ3 (which is short for “Emotional Quotient in the Third Dimension”) is always looking towards the future—and their recent rebrand and launch of their first NYC flagship store shows their commitment to injecting Canadian idealism and optimism into the NYC retail scene. The flagship building was designed in house, from the ground up, by EQ3's former Creative Director, Thom Fougère. EQ3 had a vision for its NYC debut, which they worked closely with Wedge to bring to life—in the form of a “light filled jewel box” that’s been capturing the eyes and hearts of passersby since construction began.
Canadian design values are the next frontier, and EQ3 is leading the charge.
Wedge / Oumayma B. Tanfous
Wedge / Mathieu Fortin
Wedge
Wedge is an independent creative studio based in my hometown of Montreal, QC, Canada. Their work is all related to visual identity, packaging, products, and campaigns, designed for the entire brand experience.
All the images are courtesy by Wedge and Hamish Smyth.
