Behind the Design
Mosaik
For the team at Artaic, preserving the ancient art of mosaics is core to their mission. Based in Boston, Massachusetts, Artaic specializes in creating custom mosaics by combining traditional mosaic techniques with modern design tools and automation. Founded in 2007 by Dr. Ted Acworth, a trained mechanical engineer with a Ph.D. from Stanford and a postdoctoral from MIT, Artaic has modernized the age-old art form with an emphasis on sustainability.
Ted’s appreciation for the ancient art form led him to approach the craft through a technological lens. And, with a shared passion for sustainability, the team at Artaic cleverly explores an innovative solution for repurposing felt scraps and remnants. The result is FilzFelt’s Mosaik, a customizable wallcovering that combines the sound-softening magic of pure wool felt, the tradition of centuries-old mosaic design, and the modern technology behind Artaic.
We caught up with Ted to chat about his travels across Europe, where he first stumbled on the art of mosaics, his passion for engineering, and ulitmately what led to a unique partnership with FilzFelt, exploring of a new natural material, and putting a contemporary twist on the art of mosaic design.
Tell us about what first drew you to mosaic design! Can you tell us about your trips abroad and the mosaics you stumbled on that led to your love for this art form?
What first drew me to mosaics is that they’re a physical, durable, tangible, artistic, creative, and often strikingly beautiful medium, with very traditional methods for design and manufacture. I am always interested in innovating. Crossing paths with traditional mosaics felt like an opportunity to make a beautiful art form more accessible by making it quicker to produce, easier to manufacture, affordable, and more flexible.
I first stumbled upon mosaics in some of the great museums in Southern Europe, particularly Italy and Turkey, the heartland for mosaic design. I started looking for more as I traveled. I found that they were all over Europe throughout the former Roman Empire. I even found mosaics in England. Places you can hike to in the forest and find them in the ground. Over the years, stories come up about another great finding of a centuries-old mosaic uncovered somewhere - like in someone’s farm field. It’s fascinating.
“I first stumbled upon mosaics in some of the great museums in Southern Europe, particularly Italy and Turkey, the heartland for mosaic design. I started looking for more as I traveled. I found that they were all over Europe throughout the former Roman Empire. I even found mosaics in England. Places you can hike to in the forest and find them in the ground.”
What first drew you to engineering? How did your path in engineering evolve and eventually lead you to where you are now?
Engineering was something I learned enough about in just enough time to try it out as a major in college. It seemed like it might be the best fit. I liked the idea of designing machines to solve problems or apply creative solutions, and I knew enough that I was leaning toward mechanical engineering as my primary choice.
And I’m glad I did. Over the years, I’ve become interested in other disciplines, including robotics, optical, and other forms of mechanical engineering. I’ve always appreciated things that were real and tangible - things that I could touch and feel and see. I’ve ventured in and out of many different things throughout my career - it certainly hasn’t been a linear path. I’ve just always steered toward learning about and exploring things that interest me.
Was there a point or event in your engineering education/career that led to a shift towards the design world?
I chose early on a design orientation. Most engineering is more analytical - given a problem, how do you solve it - whereas design is more about identifying a problem and devising a solution. One is analysis, and the other is synthesis, which is arguably more creative or more of a design approach. I was fortunate to land at Stanford for my doctorate, which has a fantastic design program that I was able to learn through. I rubbed up against the design discipline to the extent that one of my advisors there became one of my earliest investors in Artaic.
Are there other natural materials you’ve experimented with?
There are many materials I’ve experimented with, exploring options out of my own curiosity. And there are lots I’ve explored at the request of our customers. I’ve spent sixteen years curating materials from around the world, leveraging my international experience to seek out and identify amazing materials in glass, ceramic, and stone. And now, Wool Design Felt.
I’ve traveled around the world visiting factories to learn not just about different materials but how they’re made - materials of the highest quality, in wide ranges of color and texture, and always with an eye on their environmental impact. Two of our tile lines are 100% recycled, and the others have significant recycled content.
Over the years, we’ve seen a surprising range - we’ve had a hotelier with a collection of 10,000 room keys wanting us to make a mural from those. We did a project at Philadelphia Children’s Hospital made out of marbles. We’ve done lighting and backlit glowing tile (right). When Filzfelt came to us about felt, I was naturally very intrigued.
Any that you’re curious to work with in the future?
I’m curious to work with domestically sourced materials. After the COVID supply chain crisis, I’m very curious to find domestically sourced products with the hope of reducing our overall environmental impact.
We like working with the felt acoustic tiles because they explore a completely different type of application - an acoustic solution. And it’s not even recycling; it’s reuse, which is better and always preferable.
Can you tell us how sustainability drives your design practices and the significance it plays in your approach to design?
The print-to-fit piece is significant. We manufacture to exact specifications for each project, so there is no waste. And we always look to transport it slower and cheaper (sea freight vs air) and in sustainable packaging. The felt program is amazing regarding upcycling - even re-using packaging, and not just the material itself.
About Artaic
Based in Boston, Massachusetts, Artaic specializes in creating and fabricating custom mosaics through an innovative approach that combines traditional mosaic techniques with modern design tools and automation. Using robotic technology and its proprietary design software, Artaic customizes and assembles mosaics from any source of inspiration.