biography
Matthew Kroeker is an independent industrial designer based in Winnipeg, Canada and is the creative director and co-founder behind Top & Derby; an upstart manufacturer that aims to diminish the stigma of disability and aging through the design of more stylish and dignifying home healthcare products. Kroeker is focused on creating smart everyday products and furniture that strive to enhance the rituals of our daily routines. He’s had the opportunity to design for many facets of industry including rapid transit buses, electronics, housewares, and home furnishings. His experimental furniture and product concepts explore a blend of old and unconventional materials that often offer a nod to the past while being firmly rooted in the present. He’s a graduate of the Ontario College of Art and Design and his work has been exhibited in New York and Milan. He’s been published in prominent international publications including The New York Times, Interni and Fast Company, and has earned several awards including a 2014 IDEA award for the Chatfield walking cane.
AWARDS
2014 – IDEA Awards: Silver, Top & Derby Chatfield Walking Cane
2008 – Western Living: Designer of the Year, Furniture Design
2008 – Canadian Interiors: Best of Canada Award, Product Design
2007 – Best of NeoCon: Silver award, Splinter chairs
2007 – Canadian Interiors: Best of Canada Award, Product design
2007 – Interior Design Magazine: Merit Award, Splinter chairs
2006 – Metropolis Magazine: Best Prototype Award, IDS
EXHIBITIONS
Access + Ability, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, New York, 2018
EQ3 Assembly, Interior Design Show, Toronto, 2016
YWG - The Quiet Influence, RAW Gallery, Winnipeg, 2013
Dream House, PlugIn Gallery, Winnipeg, 2009
2 Chairs, Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, 2009
Wry & Ginger, DWR Meatpacking district, New York, 2008
Azure’s 10 Innovative Designers, IDS, Toronto, 2008
New Design Canada, ICFF, New York, 2007
Prototype, Interior Design Show, Toronto, 2007
Wallpaper* Global Edit, Salone del Mobile, Milan, 2006
Cabin/Cabane, Felissimo Design House, New York, 2005
SELECTED PRESS
New York Times, “How Design for One Turns Into Design for All”, January 2018
The Globe & Mail, “Small Studios Generating Big Buzz”, February 2017
Toronto Star, "EQ3 Assembles New Capsule Collection", February 2016
Azure, "IDS 2016: Our 12 Favourite Design Moments", February 2016
Dwell, "This Capsule Collection Celebrates Canada's Next Wave of Design Talent", February 2016
The Globe & Mail, "EQ3’s new product line, Assembly, defines Canadian design", January 2016
Dezeen, "EQ3 Showcases 10 Canadian Designers", January 2016
The New Yorker, "Designing for Disability", April 2015
The Globe & Mail, "All-Canadian cool: Saluting our nation's brightest style setters", June 2014
Fast Company, "A Stylish Cane that Begs to be Carried". April 2013
Azure, "A Cane That Works as Good as it Looks", April 2013
Designboom, "Sneaker-styled walking cane", April 2013
Details, "The Comeback", November 2008
Western Living, “Furniture Designer of the Year”, September 2008
Metropolis, "A Canadian Offensive", May 2008
Winnipeg Free Press, “Building a more Beautiful Mousetrap”, February 2008
Azure, “A Perfect Ten”, January/February 2008
Metropolis, "In Production", July/August 2007
The Globe & Mail, "Slat Happy", August 4, 2007
Interni, "Frammenti d'autore", April 2007
DAMn, "DAMn Productivity", October/November 2006
Canadian House & Home, "The Next Wave", December 2006
I.D., "New and Notable 2006", December 2006
Wallpaper*, "Global Summit", August 2006
Frame, "Let's Sit Outside", July/August 2006
The New York Times, "The Practical Side of Style", May 25, 2006