emske, design studio

A little tribute to some winter wardrobe essentials that came through during chilly season. * cute glasses 👓 * long wool coats * comfy and tall boots (these are by @shoproune 👢🖤) * baggy vintage denim * soft slouchy bags * wired headphones (for music, podcasts, 📞 phone calls) * different earring stacks everyday * lip balm * and of course… the emske wrap tee . . . #canadiandesigner #wintermood #designstudio #smallbusinesslove #fashiondesign . . . Video description: a video montage to instrumental lo-fi beats music of a woman getting an outfit together. Showing glasses, earrings, headphones and a purse then a full outfit selfie in a mirror. Wearing tall black heeled boots with baggy jeans tucked in, a black wrap oversized tee and a long grey wool coat and grey balaclava. It’s snowing in the video and the woman is walking outside in the snow and posing for a photo in front of an industrial cement building.

Re-imagining some common household objects & re-exploring clay as a medium to create from 🙌 Celebrating & honouring these ceramic prototypes that have been fun to work on the last few years, as things develop from ideas to tangible objects! Here’s to more iterative designing, and continuing to develop adaptive multi-use products for the demands of humanness 🫶 not a bad tagline 💫 . . . Video descriptions: these six slides consist of imagery and videos that have been collaged together overlapping each other. The imagery is of clay home good prototypes made by emske. They are neutral tones of off white and black. The objects range from, a palette and pinch cup, a multi-use vase, an adaptive mug, a multi-use candle holder, and 2 in 1 dish with lid. There are clips of the pieces moving, and still photos including one of the designer setting the scene for the photoshoot that has a canvas backdrop. Music is instrumental. . . . #designstudio #adaptivedesign #exploratorydesign #creativity #canadiandesigner

Give your merch table a glow-up! ✨ Back by popular demand, the DIY Merch workshop returns to The Wherehouse (Unit 15, 12 Cataraqui St). Drop in and get hands-on with designers and makers emske (Em Harmsen) and eronone (Aaron Forsyth), the artists behind the space, as they help you bring your ideas to life. Learn to screenprint, customize your own apparel and accessories, make buttons, and more—all on the spot. Bring your own tee or choose from a selection of thrifted pieces onsite.  📅 Saturday, May 30
 📍 The Wherehouse | 11 am to 4 pm Free, fun, and wildly useful! The event is co-presented by the Kingston Music Office and The Wherehouse

Throwback to a digital illustration done for a client a few years ago. Even though it’s an oldie, it’s still a fave. I love collage, so it’s always fun to piece illustrations together to create a fun composition and using Procreate for this type of work is a dream 🌟 swipe for a colour version 🎨 . . . Image descriptions: image one is a black and white version of a digital illustration of people interacting together of all abilities, ages, races, etc. the composition of the people in the piece forms a circular shape, indicating the circularity of life and our connections to each other. The second image is the same, but has some muted colours behind the imagery. . . . #digitalillustration #designstudio #creativelife #canadiandesign #disabilityinclusion

Coming up on Tuesday, join us online to learn about different platforms for building websites that are engaging and accessible! March 3 at 6pm, 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝗿𝘁 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸: 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗪𝗲𝗯 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗔𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘀 with Em Harmsen — RSVP now for the Zoom link 🖱 𝗔𝗕𝗢𝗨𝗧 𝗘𝗠 Em Harmsen is a multi-disciplinary designer and artist. She runs emske - design studio, a mindful creative studio that is environmentally conscious and adaptably minded. She has a background in fashion design, technology and accessibility. Em is currently completing a PhD focused on user centred design at Queen's University. She is an advocate for inclusive practices and a big fan of slow thoughtful design and artistic work. 𝗦𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝘂𝗽 𝗮𝘁 𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗿𝘆.𝗰𝗮 ✨ Making Art Work is a professional development series co-presented by Agnes Etherington Art Centre, Modern Fuel Artist-Run Centre, and Union Gallery. Second photo by @photosby.riley

Any day is a good day for finding your creativity! Some of these magazine clippings are over 10 years old, and the time has come to turn them into something special 🌟 . . . Alt text added for all images #collage #creativity #creativeinspo #geti̇nspired #designstudio #slowdesign #makeitwork #visualartist #collageart #wip #workinprogress #designprocess

A little cinematic moment for some fabric scraps wanting their 15 minutes 🎥 also a preview of a little sticker design launching with the first capsule designs🤞hopefully this spring 💗 more to come, until then… enjoy these little dancing textiles! . Video description: a short stop motion video of fabric scraps coming in from the sides of the frame and meeting in the middle to find each other and have their moment, turning and unfolding and then leaving the frame. A hand pushes a holographic square sticker of a floral collage into the frame and as it leaves, a scrap piece of paper with “emske” stamped on it twirls its way down to the middle of the screen. . . #designstudio #slowdesign #stopmotion #stopmotionanimation #animation #creativity #designprocess #textiles #slowfashion #textilevideo

Photographic examples of a chronically ill person wearing different outfits and taking pics of them 🥰 These pics were taken over the last 4-5 years through lots of ups and downs. The interest in personal style never wanes despite living in a sick body at times and this… is precisely why… the world needs more adaptively designed lifestyle and apparel goods that are reflective of real life experiences and perspectives! Also, remember to wear your clothes, again and again and again, even the fancy ones, just wear them 💅 . Video description: video montage of a woman wearing a different variety of outfits, from casual to dressy. Some photos are taken by others and some are selfies in mirrors showing the outfit. These photos range from the last 5 years and are taken in different settings from home to different events, cities, shops. . . . #ootd #designstudio #chronicillnessawareness #normalizingnormal #thisislife #normalizechangingbodies #adaptivedesign #outfitselfie #personalstyle #rewearthat #wearyourclothes

Normalize Changing Bodies… this statement has been at the heart of emske design studio, and is the “why” behind a lot of the aspirations for the studio. 🌟 It’s such a real thing to experience changes in our bodies, whether by an acquired injury, the natural affects of aging, developing a chronic illness, delivering a baby, creating purposeful changes to feel more aligned with our vision for ourselves… these are just some examples. These are common human experiences, yet many designs aren’t created with adaptability in mind when it comes to functionality and use throughout the seasons of our lives. Design that honours our humanness… that’s where it’s at!!! 🫶 Video description: the view of a curtained window from the perspective of laying in bed. Written overtop is the phrase: normalize changing bodies. The curtains are dappled with shadows of the outside tree behind them with golden sunset light illuminating them. There are stacks of books on the bedside table that is in between the bed and the window. A look into the perspective of someone dealing with a chronic illness flair up, resting up in their bed. . . . #normalizechangingbodies #slowdesign #adaptivedesign #humanness #bodieschange #seasonsoflife #designforreallife #aestheticsandfunctionality #chronicillness #disabilitydesign #canadiandesignstudio

Textile developments & experimental weaving from 2025 🩵 Getting in-depth and hands on with crafting techniques will never get old. Textile design and weaving is such an underrated art form! It’s all around us all the time from the clothing we wear to the furniture we use. The fibres matter, the type of weave matters, the weight of the yarns all matter in how that textile will perform, feel, drape, wear. 👕 🛋️ Video description: layout montage video with 4 clips per section. The videos show weaving been done on various looms with a variety of yarns types and patterns. Some projects are off the loom draped on display, and others are in various levels of completion. There is a clip of flowers, a disco ball and a dog also within the four tile video layout template. Instrumental upbeat music plays over the video. . #textiledesign #designstudio #weaving #weave #loom #fibreshed #naturalmaterials #ragweaving #cottonyarn #fibrearts #textilearts #traditionalcraft #fashiondesign #slowdesign #creativeprocess #wovenfabric #textiledesigner #canadiandesignstudio

It’s true… creativity + empathy really does make for a good combination. For several years now I’ve been studying design practices that are lower impact, more inclusive, empathic in nature and can say without a doubt, it’s what the world needs more of. 🌍 💗 . . . Visual description: a digital image assembled in Canva of a torn piece of paper that reads: Creativity + Empathy = a Good Mix. The paper is laying on top of a vintage blue floral quilt fabric. . . . #designthinking #designempathy #creativeprocess #designprocess #designstudio #empathy #designquotes #quote #creativeapproach #slowdesign #studiopractice #creativity #research #designresearch