How does change happen and how can we use it to better our world?

In the Studio this year, change, sustainability and dynamic movement were palpable in Luum’s 2024 collections: Good Vibrations, Twist on a Classic and Kinetic Energy — playing with energy, vibration and movement throughout the three collections. The Kinetic Energy Collection, which draws inspiration from the dynamic motion in the digital and physical realms, was chosen as Best of Year in Contract Textiles. The Collection brings the transformative power of movement into our spaces, invigorating and inspiring us with innovative weave structures, vibrant color combinations, and artful explorations of materiality — mirroring our collective energy to forge, nurture and reshape our environments for the greater good.

In March 2024 at Interior Design’s Giants and Rising Talent Event, which explored “How Science Shapes Design,” Suzanne led participants in an introduction to Vedic Meditation and was interviewed by Cindy Allen, where Suzanne shared how her practice of Vedic Meditation continues to shape her creative career. Suzanne hosted a weaving project in May with 16 formerly incarcerated women at Why Not Prosper with The Rev. Michelle Simmons in Philadelphia, PA.  Why Not Prosper members brought in an assortment of materials: court documents, baby clothing, graduation sashes, jewelry, shoe laces and other objects to weave an artwork that tells their personal journey from incarceration to reintegration.

Suzanne traveled to her Alma Mater, the University of Iowa, and gave talks at the UI Stanley Museum of Art, where several of her artworks were exhibited. She also held talks in London at Clerkenwell Design Week and led a weaving workshop with Luum Textiles during Design Days in Chicago.

Alphanumeric is a large Commission Art piece that Suzanne completed in 2024, woven with sheath core fiber, discarded mylar balloons, recycled dry cleaning hangers and shredded business ledgers contributed by the client, as Suzanne helped them to identify materials meant to be discarded, that could be transformed creatively in the artwork. Suzanne and FIFTH FLOOR MEDITATION held several course retreats and taught numerous new students Vedic Meditation this year as well.

The 2024 theme of how intention and attention cause energy to flow was also evident at the end of the year, in Suzanne’s transformative decision to step back from her role as Creative Director for Luum, to refocus and begin to hold more creative space and energy for her Art Commissions and for teaching Vedic Meditation to more corporations, architects, designers and artists.  After 43 years in the Industry, it will be inspiring and exciting to see where she goes next.

When you put nature first, nature puts you first.

The studio made major strides in sustainable design, connecting with the A&D community to discuss and unpack how we can more deeply recognize our relationship to nature. And how processes flow toward the greater good when we work with nature as part of its system, and not separate from it. After all, designers and architects have 111% more purchasing power than the average consumer – making them the leaders in demand for eco-friendly solutions.

The Super Natural collection, Luum’s most sustainable collection to date, was awarded Best of Year for contract textiles – putting into focus how renewable, biodegradable and recycled fibers can create the basis for comfortable, classic, and technical textiles that meet the needs of contract and hospitality spaces without sacrificing the planet.

This ultimate culmination of this statement was fulfilled when Suzanne was inducted into the Interior Design Hall of Fame, celebrating over 40 years of achievements in the A&D industry and beyond.

New and creative processes emerged in the Luum line. Melange Check, Wool Fleck and Graph Speck – a trio of sustainable wool blend textiles made from discarded garment waste made their debut; Large scale, organic pattern Spectral Array launched, creating a new sustainable random match upholstery option in the Luum line; and Newknit drapery, a warp knit textile using  a technique that combines the soft hand of knitting with the stability of a woven fabric.

Suzanne exhibited new woven sculptures at Onna House, Fashion Institute of Technology and Ace Hotel New York for BeOriginal. Three Luum Textiles were selected for inclusion into the Cooper Hewitt permanent collection: Emergent, Melange Check and Spectral Array.

Suzanne travelled to Dubai Design Week to speak on a panel about sustainability, meet with the A&D community and give an advanced presentation of her new CEU What Now? on an ever-changing discussion of evolution, wellness and designing with relevance.

2021 was the year of “hybrid.” In-person + digital communication became our new norm, bringing along with it the challenges and rewards of being together again. “What are life’s most important priorities?” “How do we contribute to safety, wellness and beauty in our designs in the most sustainable way possible?”

We discussed these questions and many others in our quarterly design charrettes, helping us gain new perspectives on the the needs of the time. With that in mind, Tick Studio launched the contract industry’s first and second 100% recycled, biodegradable polyester textiles for Luum, Grid State and Ecotone.

Tick Studio launched five collections in 2021 – One for Skyline, Three for Luum and One for Tarkett – All focusing on our relationship to nature, sustainability and community.

Suzanne took part in and hosted many conversations with industry leaders: monthly Tick Talks on design and meditation for Luum Textiles, The Science and Intuition of Color CEU for the A & D community, a women’s history month panel with Cindy Allen + many more.

In the spring, Suzanne opened Fifth Floor Meditation, a Vedic Meditation studio in the East Village and on Fire Island that allows one to deepen and awaken their Creative Intelligence through meditation and knowledge courses.

COVID-19 changed the way we live, work and communicate with each other. Tick Studio worked together with our partners, clients and the A&D community to provide new ways of thinking about product that informs and inspires. Despite delays and challenges, 2 Luum collections and 1 Tarkett collection launched.

Our team provided more video content than any other year, including monthly virtual talks, a step by step guide on how to weave at home with recycled materials and a campaign on cleanability for Luum called Beyond Bleach. Suzanne was interviewed by Forbes and Material.Lab on future color and materiality trends.

Suzanne’s five year period of intense study of Vedic Meditation culminated in a 3-month intensive Initiator Training with Thom Knoles in Rishikesh, India from January – March 2020. After her return, she hosted talks on unstressing and cultivating creativity entitled Tick Talks and Creation Operation which allowed her to stay connected with what designers and architects need more than ever during this time.

Using innovative technology and honest materials, new and creative processes emerged in the Luum line. Ranging from Tilt Shift, a textile made of postconsumer textile waste from the apparel industry; to Dispersion, a drapery using a subtractive process that results in a delicate but powerful grid pattern; and Color Fuse, a tactile and bonded woven textile with a polyurethane top.

Suzanne teamed up again with Mary Wallis and Richard Roepnack to create a woven neon art commission for a two story corporate atrium. The artists proof, which is recyclable and reconfigurable, was exhibited at Venice Design.

Suzanne’s Life and Design Tenets CEU on balance in life and design was hosted worldwide from Chicago to China.

Luum experienced a game-changing moment with the introduction of Heather Tech and Digi Tweed, both fiber blends of sustainable materials and complex dye technologies paired with a beautiful color story and price point. Luum Stitched Arc Angle was also introduced, with ultra flexible qualities. This multidirectional and multidimensional product can be used for both acoustical wallcovering and upholstery.

Meanwhile the Scale Study Series was introduced for Tandus Centiva, which brought architectural scale and intrigue into spacial relevance.

The IxD Series was introduced for Tarketts’ Tandus Brand. Comprised of three unique yet complimentary designs — Output, Input and Optic — the series was designed in response to the interactive connection between work and play.

The Mighty Atlantic, a weaving of 64 discarded blue Mylar balloons, was shown in the exhibition “Earth Matters” at TextielMuseum in Tilburg, the Netherlands.

Tarkett launched a groundbreaking technology to deliver digitally printed LVT in the industry. Chris Stulpin, Chief Creative Officer at Tarkett, asked Suzanne to co-create the concept of Collections Infinies and work with five outside designers to come up with a body of work. Suzanne’s collection, entitled Trans Materia, was made up of five materials: felt, foil, rib weave, marble and wire that could blend into one another.

Also this year, a chance of a lifetime arose to place a handweaving in the Temple Emanu-El in Dallas and to work with architect Corky Cunningham on his construction of the Stern Chapel. Suzanne was asked to develop a handweaving for the ark cover. By using Mylar balloons for the weaving, the concept of transformation was expressed to all who came for worship. Balloons representing family milestones were woven into this piece.

With technology being a major topic in everyone’s consciousness, Suzanne took a look at the age of analog and digital pixels.  All images coming from her studio had references to the pre-tech boom.  Seeing the Christopher Wool show at the Guggenheim in 2013 pushed her work to pre-tech imagery with the softness of textiles.

Michael Reynolds of Wallpaper was pairing creatives together to come up with ideas for their show in Salone de Mobile in Milan. Mary Wallis, a lighting designer who had worked in neon, was Suzanne’s pairing.

The results of this collaboration, Entangled Light and Woven Neon, were shown at Salone del Mobile for Wallpaper magazine.

Separately, color development for Teknion’s Variable Chair was introduced.

That same year, His & Hers CEU, the first of its kind talk, took on a Post-Gender Society.

Luum, a new brand of textiles, entered the market under Suzanne’s leadership. The Luum collection was based on their weaving lab — each product starts with the fiber and is built from there. Working with fiber manufacturers allowed Luum to come up with the raw material first. Tectonic structures, as seen in architecture, are rendered in graph form.

HalfTone — including Powerbond, Modular and Transition tiles — introduced as the first transitional carpet tile for Tandus. Transition tiles coincided with Suzanne’s CEU Talk ‘His & Hers,’ reflecting post-gender society and change.

Pulp Fiction artworks, made of shredded divorce documents, were introduced to the art world at Design/Miami Basel. With transformation being the theme of her TEDX talk, it became apparent to Suzanne that the best way to unleash the frustrations of a 17-year marriage was to weave it out of her.

Art weavings Hooked Up in Brass and Hooked Up in White were created, each consisting of 5,040 recycled dry cleaning hanger hooks. The discarded hooks from other woven sculptures became a wonderful folly in weaving. Like tapestry weaving, these pieces were hand laid in to create a beautiful texture.

Refuse DC, a woven-art sculpture made of recycled dry cleaning detritus, was created for the Gates foundation. The piece was a collaboration of collecting — the clients, architectural firm and the contractors contributed hangers to be used in the piece. Tick Studio received a box of hangers a week for 6 months in preparation for the weaving.

Holding the philosophy that weaving holds life together Suzanne Tick initiated the Lap Loom Weaving Workshops for middle school students with New York City’s LREI.

Dinner with President Barack Obama whose mother Ann Dunham was a weaver.

Charlie Rizzo, President of Skyline, contacted Suzanne to see if she could change the complexion of glass — to soften its appearance. From this working relationship, three collections for Skyline were created, one of which was Collection in Whites.

Being the 4th generation of recyclers in the family, Suzanne searched around her house for materials to weave — she found dry cleaning detritus. Thus Suzanne’s work with dry cleaning materials began to take shape.

Suzanne used side-emitting fiber optics. The fiber allows light to pass through the sides and the ends. This was a mock up for a building atrium.

After developing the Tuva Looms brand, and working with Interface’s Bentley Prince Street brand for 5 years as a consultant, Suzanne was charmed by their innovation in the environment and sustainability arenas. Suzanne Tick, Inc., took on Monterey first, then was asked to take over the entire direction of the Tandus brands. This year also marked the first annual design retreat to Fire Island for Tandus.

The Chatter Collection, a collaboration with 2×4, was introduced for KnollTextiles. Michael Rock, Susan Sellers and Georgianna Stout, the genius trio of 2×4, created Chatter as an Integrated Interior™ collection of wallcoverings and upholstery fabrics. The collection references the digital stream of electronic transmissions, and features a pattern called Pause which elevates punctuation to an iconic status.

Andrew Cogan, the CEO of Knoll, asked Suzanne Tick if she would work with his dear friend, Stephen Sprouse. The two started their collaboration together in 2000, and created Static Screen for Knoll in 2003.

The product Static Screen was conceived from an experiment where Suzanne photographed static that occurred on a TV screen while Stephen jiggled an attached cable wire.

Stephen was known for graffiti and Camouflage, here the Declaration of Independence was printed on Extreme Velvet. The launch timing could not have been worse. It took place two months after the US invaded Iraq.

First of three Woven Fiber Optic Light sculptures created in collaboration with Harry Allan.

Imago had exploded into the marketplace and was The Hot Product. Invited by Jon Otis of Object Inc to participate in the Cooper Hewitt Maypole Event, the maypole was made out of a hundred Imago samples.

Imago for KnollTextiles, the precursor to 3form, was invented and launched. The initial collection consisted of 24 products of textiles encapsulated in layers of PET and embedded with the textiles’ imprint.

3D knitted fabrics developed for Knoll furniture.

Transparency became the conductive element that then turned into Imago. Transparency was a product ahead of its time, a panel fabric that was see-through. One could see the energy of the building material through the system, and because of that it became the conduit to design and build Imago, which became 3form.

Suzanne’s hand-woven stainless steel exhibited in Structure and Surface: Contemporary Japanese Textiles at MoMA.

Other highlights included Knoll’s Cranbrook Symposium, Suzanne shown with guest Michael Bodziner, and the launch of Silver Screen Drapery for KnollTextiles. The drapery had an aluminum backing that reflected UV rays, creating an architectural iridescent feeling.

Resolution became the first fabric ever to sell one million yards, a cause for celebration for KnollTextiles and the environment. As the first solution dyed panel fabric, Resolution exhausted no dye affluence into the water stream. The fabric’s innovative color and fiber properties were the first of their kind in the textile industry.

In the same year, Collection Renew was launched, marking Suzanne’s debut in the residential marketplace.

The New Day Collection was the beginning of a 17-year relationship with Knoll and KnollTextiles, serving first as Consulting Creative Director of KnollTextiles, then as Contributing Designer.

Simultaneously, Tuva Looms Woven Broadloom Carpet Company was introduced to the A+D community.  As Co-owner and Creative Director, Suzanne launched a timeless collection of sculpted, woven and architectural broadloom products.

During this time, Suzanne was hired by ICF as Design Director for Unika Vaev. This was Suzanne’s first exploration into the world of international architecture and furniture designers.

After three years of working in the carpet industry, Suzanne’s first woven collection for Harbinger launched in the marketplace.

1990 marked Suzanne’s first collaboration for contract textiles. Suzanne connected with Laura Guido Clark to create a collection that grew out of their mutual concerns for the environment.

Brickel opened its atelier, ushering in a new generation of designers. Suzanne was hired to oversee textile development.

In the same year, Suzanne began working with Harbinger carpets, focusing on color development for a design called Cobblestone.

Suzanne got her start in textiles with her mentor Boris Kroll. She traveled with Boris to his mill every Tuesday. There she learned the whole process of constructing a textile: fiber selection, yarn twisting, dyeing, costing, warping, jacquard-design structures and dobby constructions. It was a kind of textile boot camp.