|
|
|
 |
 |
What's New
|
|
|
|
|
|
Elias Olivarez is the owner of IDEO Design in McAllen, Texas, a design firm serving the Rio Grande Valley since 1992. He also owns a contemporary Latino gallery, Sala Arte. With a degree in interior and industrial design from the University of North Texas, Eli has designed interiors, furniture, lighting and accessories over the course of his 24-year career. His most recent design passion has focused on reinvigorating the architectural and artistic integrity of flooring design. He recently was commissioned by Oshkosh Floor Designs to design three signature collections for the flooring inlay company.
Early in his career, Eli spent time in New York City working with various designers and productionists. He returned to Texas with a keen understanding that space is valuable and, therefore, details and the human element in design are important. These concepts drive Eli's approach to floor design as well.
In 2002 he was hired as flooring designer and art director for Tile Brand International to design an Ernest Hemingway collection of floors. As he researched Hemingway's life, Eli traveled the writer's path to experience the culture, terrain, and residences of the man and the legend. In turn, he became interested in experimenting with new materials. Eli was one of the first American designers to introduce a mixed media flooring concept at the national flooring industry trade shows with a wood collection, a ceramic collection, and natural and metal accent collection, licensed under the Hemingway name.
In 2004 Eli was commissioned by Oshkosh Floor Designs to design three signature collections. Eli uses past experiences to create contemporary design that explores the posibilities of human nature. In developing his signature collections for Oshkosh Floor Designs, Eli has drawn inspiration from past movements that gave flooring its place in architecture...when good design and art mattered in a space...when the way people used a space was important.
"Lately I have been studying the rituals of our collective social history," says Eli. "It's a matter of looking back and analyzing designs that were created for more humanistic reasons, including social placement, religion or artistic discovery."