Page 57 - SHARP Winter 2022

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WINTER 2022 • AUTO 57
of paradigm shifts, Nova Scotia was banning plastic bags. As he struggled with his predicament, a chance to buy a boat arose. Couvrette and “three other idiots” — artists and English majors — spent two years refurbishing the 11-metre-long metal and fibreglass vessel before sailing it to Guatemala. “Every single thing was wrong with it. But it was the start of this journey that I was on. [Even] twentysomething Mischa was infatuated with freedom.”
Couvrette, now 36, returned to Toronto a year later and enrolled in a furniture design course. But he became frustrated again, this time by economies of scale, produc- tion lags, and dwindling Canadian manufacturing. So he decided to open his own shop. Today, with Hollis+Morris, Couvrette operates a 13,000-square-foot facility north of Toronto and releases two collections of minimalist lighting and furniture annually. The company’s catalogue of biomorphic and geometric designs (made from metal, glass, and renewable wood) is a success.
He credits his success to instinct — he knows when to outsource — and to his on-site prototyping lab, with- out which he’d be unable to rapidly experiment. This frees up precious time for him to finesse the output. Because — unlike the bike, which he “drew” first — a Hollis+Morris product’s form is the result of process. In the prototyping lab, he “smashes” ideas, materials, and techniques together, testing the capabilities of his tools. During the pandemic, he experimented with new materials and methods and quickly came up with Hol- lis+Morris’s 2021 collection. This includes a solid wood pendant steam-bent into a delicate horseshoe inlaid with LEDs, a bulbous sconce illuminated by a glowing disk of sanded acrylic, and Willow, a versatile luminaire with a spiral of hand-blown glass orbs and a power source stealthily tucked into a junction box. The composure of the collection belies the joyful fervour he put into it.
Couvrette’s pursuit of freedom has always inspired his approach to design. No matter what he’s building, he always knows when to shift gears.
PHOTOS BY NAOMI FINLAY