Back in December 2015 I talked to Toronto design professionals, Matthew Adams and Terry Briceland about their work with Teb Interiors. The following is a profile that I wrote based on our conversation. For more information about Matthew and Terry’s work visit: ww.tebinteriors.com.
In The Beginning…
The story of Teb Interiors began at the fabric store where Matthew Adams and Terry Briceland met.
“We were both working there,” explains Matthew, “ Terry was also doing a lot of sewing and drape making. He had more than enough work to deal with. He knew that I was sewing, and stuff like that, and he asked me to come aboard, and help out.”
Terry started out by sewing on the side, and then he decided to expand and make stuff for his friends’ homes. One of his friends happened to work in the television production industry. They needed a sewer for a pilot that they were working on, so they hired Terry. The pilot turned into a show called Take This Home And Sell It, which lead to work on a variety of other TV shows. One-day Terry’s TV work ended. “ I had to make money,” admits Terry, “I started off by doing this for living but it also became a passion of mine, and I love it.”
Both Matthew and Terry share a mutual passion:
“I like being able to think of something that becomes a tangible product,” Matthew adds.
How We Roll…
Terry and Matthew are self-taught designers. They learned everything that they know via hands-on practice, rather than formal schooling.
“We invented our own fabrics. We also taught ourselves how to silkscreen, upholster, and make lights,” Terry adds.
Often Terry and Matthew’s hands-on learning happens through reverse engineering, and research. Sometimes clients will bring in a chair that needs to be re-covered. Terry and Matthew often end up taking the chair apart and putting it back together again. There’s always something new to learn, whenever they reverse engineer a piece of furniture.
“Experimentation is an important part of our work. It’s actually experimentation based on our knowledge and experiences. We also know a lot about sewing, which helps us make the best possible product,” Matthew adds.
Teb Interiors produces work that contains a pinch of rock and roll darkness. According to Terry this involves celebrating alternative sub-cultures that often scare people. Examples of these subcultures include strippers and drag queens, motorcycles, and rock and roll.
Highlights Over The Years
When asked about the typical project Terry replied:
“We like the passionate, the loud, the obnoxious, the more in your face stuff.”
Sometimes Terry and Matthew will do something that’s as simple as adding fabric to a chair. Their true passions are projects where they can use the edgy aspect of their work to its full potential. Examples of past projects include an eight-foot tall bed and Rocky Horror Show custom artwork. Early on in their career they also silkscreened an image of someone’s dead cat on a set of pillows.
Terry and Matthew combine traditional materials, with found objects. These found objects come from everywhere from lawns, to ditches, to people’s homes.
But what’s next for Teb Interiors?
“We’re trying to incorporate everything we do to deliver the best design. We want to push people. Push boundaries,” explains Matthew.
