What plywood was to the Eameses, concrete is to industrial designers Shawna and Matt Heide. The Quebec-based duo, who operate under the name Concrete Cat, harness the material in unexpected ways to create household objects like trays, vessels, bookends, and even mirror frames. Riotous colors, expressive organic forms and the pair's signature "Oracle pattern"—a sort of cross between tie-dye and marbling—all feature.

Their process is an unusual blend of controlled and uncontrolled elements, starting with the molds that they make. "We design and fabricate our own molds. Molds change over time, they get better as they age. As a mold ages it allows us to produce more complicated colour and pattern work on an object. For this reason we cherish our molds and treat them with respect, we repair them, every mold is precious. We refine our molds with subtle changes over time. This is the first reason every object is a little bit different from its family."

During casting, they vibrate the molds (by hand) in order to minimize air bubbles. That said, some will inevitably survive, and the duo deal with them on a case-by-case basis, deciding whether to remedy or accentuate.

"Concrete has air entrained withins its matrix, this is part of its nature. Sometimes this air manifests as surface voids. Most voids add character, a fingerprint unique to each piece. We fill surface voids that we deem might limit a piece's intended functionality. We fill voids if we don't agree with their character. Sometimes we fill voids in accenting colours to accentuate their beauty. We embrace voids."

The pair have had a number of clients over the years, ranging from boutique hotels to architecture firms to retail chains. One particularly notable project was their collaboration with Seth Rogen's Houseplant brand, which yielded the following weed accessories:

"Concrete Cat's process to call forth the Oracle pattern is a violent ceremony of chaos. We work blindly in trust. The destructive nature of trying to put a harness on chaos leaves a unique mark on every single thing we make."

In the following studio visit by CBC, the duo reveal a surprising amount of their proprietary process:

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