Born in Ottawa, Canada, Matt Carr first sparked his passion for design interning at Douglas Cardinal Architects. Receiving an "All-Canadian Academic" award for scholastic and varsity achievements at Humber College School of Industrial Design, Matt has been working with Umbra since his second year of post-secondary education. Subtle design detail, style references, and the reinvention of traditional objects distinguish his signature designs. Recent inspirations include mixing cross-cultural orientations while simultaneously fusing new technology and natural materials in intriguing compositions.
Umbra was born in 1979 when childhood friends Les Mandelbaum and Paul Rowan turned a decorating dilemma into an innovative product. Graphic designer Paul was searching for inexpensive window blinds, to no avail. His solution was to create a printed-paper window shade. He then showed his window shade to Les, entrepreneur and owner of TCH, a music road case hardware company--and Umbra was born. Aptly, Umbra translates to "shade" in Latin. The two cofounders had found Umbra’s niche: modernized home products that would appeal to a youthful audience for whom style was a requirement and finances were limited.
In the past two decades, Umbra’s design team has created iconic trash cans, innovative picture frames, and all-in-one drapery kits that changed the window treatment industry. More recently, Umbra has moved into broader areas of home furnishings with the addition of new categories, including albums, bath accessories, furniture, games, kitchenware, mirrors, personal and office accessories, wall décor, and shelving. Working with a great team of Umbra designers as well as studios such as Karim Rashid and William Harvey of New York, Umbra is among the most prolific producers of home products in the world.
