Interview with The Loyal Loot Collective | Canadian Christmas

This Christmas, we are going back to Tracey's roots and presenting a ‘Canadian Christmas’. A carefully curated selection of gifts, sourced are from independent brands, different regions of Canada and completely exclusive, not sold anywhere else in the UK apart from Tracey Neuls London.

Read our interview with the designers behind The Loyal Loot Collective, all the way from their studios in Edmonton and Calgary. See their amazing Log Bowls here, combining nature with a high gloss finish and handmade using locally reclaimed trees of all varieties (fallen or cut down due to infrastructure or inclement weather). 

See more photography of their process here.

Great name! Where did it come from?
We came up with the name Loyal Loot in school in 2004. We wanted the name to embody our philosophy of creating modern heirlooms. Items that aren’t throw away.

How did you come up with the Log Bowls? Did you have a lightbulb sort of moment?
Yes, the project was actually for a self directed school course. I took the opportunity to come up with an idea for a design competition that was happening in Canada at the time, called ‘Cabin’. For the project I sketched trees and stacks of logs over and over in my notebook. The coloured pens I was using to sketch added such an appealing element that I then thought that bright colour combined with the rustic wood, would make a striking combination.

What’s your favourite moment in the process of creating the Log Bowls?Definitely picking the colours.

How do you source your materials? Is that an important part of your process?How and where we source our material is very important to us. All of the wood we use is unwanted and is cleared from farmland, city spaces and roadsides. We pay a lot of attention to the type of wood and when it was cut down. It then has to dry in a controlled environment for approximately a year.

What’s the most surprising use for your designs that you’ve seen so far?
We’ve had some interior design and art dealers us the bowls in large groups mounted on a wall. We never imagined that use ourselves and find the final affect quite stunning.

Is there a particular artist or movement that’s been an inspiration for your design practice?
Hella Jongerius and many in the early 2000s Dutch design scene were a huge influence on us. We have also of course been huge Eames fans.

 
Where would you be your dream place to spot one of your designs in?
We would love to show our work at Art Basel Miami.

What other designs have you come up with that you haven’t had a chance to produce yet?
We have so many!! Currently, a glass arts and crafts inspired vase and a reclaimed concrete table.