Page 64 - enLIGHTenment October 2016

hidden Gem

It takes a VIllage

While Jon and Ryan are completely immersed in

running Renwil – and each o ers hands-on input
regarding product design (Jon) and marketing

(Ryan) – the true secret to Renwil’s success is the
team they’ve put together.

Each executive team member has extensive

knowledge in their respective eld of expertise.
Patrick St. Germain, who heads up the art studio,

once worked at Renwil framing prints in his young-
er days a er he graduated art school and had been

sourcing unusual frames from the company for his

art shows. Doug Karpman, VP/Sales, is a veteran of
Price-P ster, Black & Decker, and Kwik Lock. Phil

Pinksy, Director of Marketing & Product Manage-
ment, came from Diamond Productions Canada,

and Creative Director Alem Sklar, who also earned

a bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts, is adept at search-
ing out trends and establishing the overall design

direction.
Surrounding them are scores of digital artists

who produce the images and schematics needed

for the catalogs, e-tailer shops, and other sales
avenues. There is also a customer service team

dedicated to e-tailers as well as for brick-and-
mortar customers.

The beginning of the process starts with Sklar,

who travels the world – Europe, Asia, India, Thai-
above: Sculpture, land, Brazil, and Mexico, for example – with either
painting, and
experimenting with Jonathan Wilner or Patrick St. Germain to scout
multiple media are all emerging trends. “We are constantly looking at

part of a day’s work in what’s hot in di erent categories,” Wilner explains.
the art studio.
“It could be a texture, pa ern, or even an idea [we
see repeating].”
right: All of the
artwork is signed by Once back on Canadian soil, trend boards are
the artist who created formulated and themes emerge. In one case, Wil-
it. For example, the
ner spo ed a dog statue in India that intrigued
Dynasty series, by sta
artist Michelle Glay, are him. He made some adjustments and re-imagined
ultra- at renderings of it as a sculptural base for a drink table. In another
Ming dynasty ceramics
example, Wilner and Sklar designed a mirror with
that are handpainted an antiquing process that made it distinctive. “I’m
on wood boxes.
constantly tweaking the product,” Wilner notes. “I

make sure a nish really complements the product
and pay a ention to the details like shading each

lamp. The challenge is in trying to take something
that looks high-end and unique within an a ord-

able price range.”

Pinsky adds, “Jon can look at a lamp and know
what will make it look ‘right.’ It’s having those li le

details that make big di erences in the aesthetics.
He doesn’t stop at ‘good enough.’”

62 enLIGHTenment Magazine | OctOber 2016
www.enlightenmentmag.com