Two things everybody knows about Germans: we are not good with words or with showing emotions. So it is doubly hard to express my sense of loss for stalwart Canadian design industry champion Matthew Searle, president of Searle & Company and Chief Marketing Officer for the World Design Summit – Montreal 2017.
Matthew had the rare gift of combining a sparklingly positive and jolly attitude with a tenacious work ethic, in his pursuit of bettering design and social responsibility. Having had the pleasure to work with Matthew on many projects over the years, including the IIDEXCanada show, the sense of loss is hard to describe.
Perhaps Kazuo Ishiguro puts it best when he writes: “Memories, even your most precious ones, fade surprisingly quickly. But I don’t go along with that. The memories I value most, I don’t ever see them fading.”
Goodbye Matthew. Heartfelt condolences to Pierre-Eric and to the Searle family from the entire Canadian Interiors team.
On a less tragic note, the second goodbye goes to Susan Wiggins, CEO Interior Designers of Canada (IDC), who is leaving us for a new challenge as Senior Strategic Advisor at the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) in Washington DC.
Susan is a tireless lobbyist and fierce combatant to furthering the cause of the Canadian interior design industry. Her vision, determination and hard work have resulted in many achievements, most significantly the IDC’s restructuring into a truly national association.
I have had the privilege to work with Susan for many years and would like to take this opportunity to wish Susan all the best in her new endeavours from the entire Canadian Interiors team.
-Martin Spreer, Publisher of Canadian Interiors magazine