Peter Power/The Globe and Mail
Fashion designer Jacqueline Piron makes deluxe T-shirts from soft organic bamboo, Swarovski crystals and pieces of Japanese ribbon and lace. She draws inspiration from the many style and history books displayed in the great room in of her family's 5,000-square-foot home in Kitchener, Ont. "I often take ideas from the past and incorporate them into my sketches," says the 28-year-old graduate of Wilfrid Laurier University, who launched her eponymous label earlier this year. The room is thought-provoking in other ways as well. Overlooking the Grand River, it gives Piron and her parents an uninterrupted vista of their bucolic surroundings, another influence on her work. "I feel very happy and inspired here because it is so light and airy. It makes me feel at ease."
The telescope
"It is a big Vixen and was a Christmas gift to us from my brother when we first moved in. He bought it for us because we have a lot of wildlife in our backyard: deer, wild turkeys, a heron and an eagle. We're a big nature family so we use the telescope to watch the wild things in their natural habitat, close to the river."
The hand bags
"These are by Alexander McQueen. I have collected his clutches over the years. Some are gifts and some I purchased myself. For me, they are works of art; they are where fashion meets art. They are also made with Swarovski crystals, a material I use in my own work."
The chairs
"They are by Wesley Hall and were picked out by our interior designer, Michelle Van Rooy. One of my shirts is named after her, as she designed the whole space. These chairs are also in my brother's house and we loved them so much that we asked for the same ones. They have a traditional feel but the material and the nail-head detail make them modern."
The coffee table
"It is by Bernhardt and made of glass and aluminum. It's from Accents for Living in Guelph. Michelle picked it out. We liked it because it was airy and didn't compete with the view. I use it to display our history and fashion books, and for sketching my designs."
The fireplace
"It is made of limestone and is actually a doublesided fireplace. I love it because of its size and how it commands the room."
The paintings
"These are both by the artist Janna Watson and were purchased in Toronto at the Bau-Xi Gallery. They are mixed media on panel with resin, so they are super-modern paintings in a very traditional room. I like that mix. She's also an up-andcoming Canadian artist, so she's kind of like me with my T-shirts designs: young, Canadian and contemporary."
The staircase
"It has a floating walkway at the top that leads to the other side of the house, where the bedrooms are. It wasn't carpeted when we first moved in three years ago. But we have dogs and the amount of falls I've had on that staircase made carpeting essential. It's made of wood and wrought iron."