An Interview with Kait Paradowski
Artaic’s Design Director Kait Paradowski was interviewed for a featured in officeinsight. The article discussed Paradowski’s prior experience and how it relates to Artaic and her hopes for the company’s design department in the future.
“Kait Paradowski has joined mosaic manufacturer Artaic as design director. In her newly established role, Paradowski serves as the leader of the brand’s design department, overseeing the conception of in-house collections, and the design proposal process for clients seeking custom pieces. I spoke with Paradowski about her move from textiles to mosaics, the benefits of tile, and how mosaics are enhancing indoor and outdoor spaces.
Anna Zappia (AZ): Kait, can you tell me about your background and how you got started in the industry?
Kait Paradowski (KP): I actually have a BFA in interior design from FIT. Before Artaic, I was at Carnegie for about seven years. I started at Carnegie in my senior thesis year at FIT because I felt like I wasn’t getting enough education on raw materials, and that’s such a big part of interior design work. I just fell in love with the possibility of working directly with materials. So, I started as an intern at Carnegie, and in my last role there I was the studio director for the contract vertical line. I was developing wallcoverings, privacy curtains, and drapery.
AZ: Were you concerned about making the switch from hard to soft surface?
KP: There was some education, of course, and things that I needed to learn about tile. But I have knowledge of industry standards, cleanability, and codes, so I felt pretty confident. And actually, throughout college, I was a florist. I always say that it’s similar to the work I do now. The material is very different, but it’s the same kind of idea. You’re playing with color, composition, and tonality to create something beautiful. I’ve always had an interest in hard surfaces, so it felt like a great fit. It’s been really fun to switch gears.
AZ: More people are requesting custom pieces in all categories. How is that going to be important for Artaic going forward?
KP: I’ve been seeing more customization overall in the industry. Interior designers and architects enjoy putting their own spin on things. The opportunity to build a brand is something that I’ve been seeing more of, and I think that will continue. Even when we work with our clients on the residential side, they are looking for something more personal. Those homeowners want something unique that their neighbor doesn’t have. Custom capability is at the core of Artaic’s mission. It’s something that really attracted me to the company. They are constantly advancing the technology, with their robotic manufacturing and the project approval process for clients. I was brought in to work closely with interior designers and architects because of my background in aligning their vision with the company products and services. I am here to foster an environment of collaboration. With the expertise on our side, our clients can trust that we’re going to bring their vision to life. The process of making something custom has been streamlined. I think it used to scare designers, but now I think they’re understanding that it’s actually a really fun process to create these solutions. I like being able to push us to a place that we might not have originally thought of. I think that’s my favorite part, working with designers and that collaboration. That push-pull and the energy that it brings.
AZ: Can you tell me more about Artaic’s technology?
KP: Artaic is really modernizing the centuries-old craft of not only making, but also designing mosaics. We have our proprietary software called Tylist. Anyone can download it from our website and try it. It’s a really cool process. You start by inputting an image, and it can be a photograph, drawing, or logo. The image is scanned, and within seconds, the color and texture are translated into a tile mosaic. And then you can quickly change the tile type or size. You can also play with grout color to see how it impacts the final design. I love playing with the software, and it’s pretty easy to use. Not only are we using it every day to get the renderings done, but clients have the ability to completely download it and play around with it themselves.
AZ: How do you want to develop that technology even further?
KP: We have such a great project process for thus far, but I want to advance it and make it even better. Right now we’re only rendering in 2D, and I would love to kind of get that into the third dimension, because I think that’s what clients are looking for. It really helps sell the product when they can see their space in 3D. And that’s really important, for example, if someone wants to do a mosaic in a pool. They have the floor and they have the wall, so they have to envision that all at once. That’s something I’m really looking forward to diving into.
AZ: More people are utilizing tile, for both commercial and residential projects. Why do you think that is?
KP: Tile can be used anywhere. Whether you’re in a hospital or a hospitality space, you can look around and find tile. We’ve definitely seen an uptick in requests because it is such a great material. It’s easy to clean. It’s durable, it lasts a long time, even with wear and tear and bleach cleanings. Of course, tile also looks good, and you can create so many designs. We have a very large color palette. We have everything from really saturated hues all the way down to your more muted tones. I’ve definitely seen a shift within the last two years, and people are moving away from bright colors. They want more comforting, soft tones. We can also play around with the glossy and the flat finishes to really create texture on the wall within the mosaic.
AZ: There’s a renewed interest in outdoor spaces because of the pandemic. Will we be seeing more mosaics outside?
KP: Absolutely. For the residential sector, we’re working on a lot of projects for the exterior—pools, spas, and patios. People are spending more time at home and in their backyards. They want to feel comfortable and they want to be able to entertain outdoors. We just completed a project, and the client put a custom threshold in the bar area of their outdoor patio that had their family name. Little touches like that create a nice outdoor environment. Actually, we do a lot of public art projects, and mosaics can be found on building exteriors. Tile is ideal there because it is so durable. That’s the fun stuff for me, when I get to work directly with an artist. The retail sector is using tile more, we’re seeing it on the storefronts, because you can really make a design statement with it.”
