New York, zoemowat.com
If you’re wondering what took us so long to name Zoë Mowat to this list, it’s because technically, she only moved to America in 2020, having been born and raised in Canada and based in Montreal. But Mowat has already made her mark on the New York scene, not least with her Isle Collection for Lambert & Fils, which was our pick for the best launch of this year’s NYCxDesign. A lighted tube that rests gently atop solid bricks of aluminum or stone, it represents everything that’s great about Mowat’s approach to design: It’s an inevitable-seeming form — that somehow no one has attempted before — made even more lovely by its juxtaposition of materials and the interplay of color. If that wasn’t enough, Mowat recently launched a new hi-fi brand called Waves and Frequencies, whose first launch has already become designer-made speaker du jour in a year teeming with similar debuts. 

What is American design to you, and what excites you about it?

I suppose as a Canadian I’ve long been an observer from the North, where much of our art and culture is so often defined in reference to the US — as a kind of mirror for what we are and what we’re not. I see the landscape as innovative, idiosyncratic, self-sufficient, and ever-changing, both in the design realm and more broadly. I feel happy to contribute to it.

What are your plans and highlights for the upcoming year?

This year, I’ll be shifting my design lens to the audio world with the launch of Waves and Frequencies, a new hi-fi brand I’m starting with a dear old friend. It’s been many years in the making and our first output is a customizable speaker that sounds incredible. We’ve got a PA in development and plans for music-related furniture, accessories, and event programming. I will also be releasing a new furniture series for the Japanese brand, Ariake. I recently returned from a productive workshop at their factory in Saga prefecture, Japan, where I worked directly with the craftspeople alongside a handful of international designers.

What inspires or informs your work in general? 

I spent ten days traveling through Japan solo after the workshop so I’m sure what I saw will inform what comes next. That’s often how it works: I absorb (and archive) the odd or mundane things I see on the street, or the forms I come across in a gallery or library book — a material, an architectural element, a unique connection point, for example. These small details tend to spark ideas that transform into larger ones, usually taking an entirely new shape and ultimately connecting back to life in some way.