<\/p>\n
Patricia McClintock, founder and principal of Montreal-based Patricia McClintock & Associ\u00e9s Inc., didn’t always know she wanted to be a designer, but she has always loved art. \u00ab\u00a0My father thought I should do something serious,\u00a0\u00bb she recalled and, after a stint in the Facult\u00e9 de Droit, a law school in Paris, she earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration and political science from American University of Washington, DC.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.pmadesign.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/5-Indigo-Garden-Blue-Bay-300x197.jpg\")
A world traveler-McClintock has lived in the Far East, Europe, Mexico, the United States and Canada-she developed an interest in textiles and interiors while working for the Jim Thompson Textile Company in Thailand. \u00ab\u00a0I was familiar with the company and familiar with the silks. I’ve always loved textiles-the feelings, the motifs, designs and colors. I went back home and went back to school.\u00a0\u00bb She subsequently earned a bachelor’s degree in fine arts with a major in interior design from George Washington University.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0I moved to Mexico,\u00a0\u00bb she continued, \u00ab\u00a0where I was attracted by colors, textures… Mexico has a lot of art. People are artists without realizing it.\u00a0\u00bb After completing two Internships, she moved to Montreal in 1980 and worked for a local design firm. \u00a0\u00bbThey were doing a project in San Francisco, a 750 room Le Meridien,\u00a0\u00bb she explained, adding that she took on the project not quite realizing how big of a job it would really turn out to be. \u00ab\u00a0It took a good two years of my life, but fascinating years because I was in the thick of it. You either sink or swim-and I guess I swam.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n
McClintock’s favourite part of the hotel project was the art. \u00ab\u00a0When you built a large project in San Francisco back then, 1% of the overall cost had to go to art, and the art had to come from studios in the Bay area,\u201d she explained. \u201cFor two months, we went from one studio to another and spent close to a million dollars\u00a0\u00bb.<\/p>\n
Art is a common theme in McClintock’s work. \u00ab\u00a0I’ve always tried to put good art in guestrooms,\u201d she explained. \u201cBecause budgets are often![\"Fairmont](\"https:\/\/www.pmadesign.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/8-Fairmont-Windigo-Restaurant-300x200.jpg\")
an issue, we try to buy the originals from artists and the originals stay in the hotel as an asset for the property. Then we get lithos made that we can put in the rooms.\u00a0\u00bb McClintock noted that at one time, people could learn about history and local culture from architecture, but these days, designs are slicker. \u00ab\u00a0If you can see good art, at least you can learn something.\u201d<\/p>\n
After designing the San Francisco hotel, travelling back and forth between California and Montreal for Canada-based projects, McClintock needed a break. She decided to go into the importing business, specifically hand-painted tiles, but a call from the Hyatt Hotel in Montreal changed all of that. \u00ab\u00a0They said we absolutely need you,\u201d she remembered. \u00ab\u00a0They convinced me to get back into it, and before I knew it, I was back in and I never stopped.\u00a0\u00bb She founded Patricia McClintock & Associ\u00e9s Inc. in 1984.
\nToday the Montreal-based firm has satellite offices in Florida and Mexico. When it comes to design style, McClintock offered that the firm has no specific style since it’s all about the client’s wants. \u00ab\u00a0I equate being a designer with being an orchestra conductor,\u201d she explained. \u00ab\u00a0You need to surround yourself with the best people in the trade who can understand your client.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, she did note that all of her designs have a classical quality. \u00ab\u00a0It follows the trends, it follows fashion, but it still stays elegant.\u201d McClintock attributes that to her European background. \u00ab\u00a0We inherit a past and we like to keep that past. It’s part of our DNA.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n
When asked what she likes best about being a designer, McClintock answered, \u00ab\u00a0every day is a new challenge, a learning process.\u00a0\u00bb She also enjoys the emotional component of design. \u00ab\u00a0Emotions don\u2019t come from brick or cement, but how people feel when they enter spaces.\u00a0\u00bb And, she added, \u00ab\u00a0I like the fact that as an old lady, I can still continue being a designer-I couldn\u2019t be a ballet dancer.\u201d<\/p>\n
McClintock believes it’s an exciting time for hotel design. \u00ab\u00a0We\u2019re going back to what hotels used to be\u201d, she noted, adding that hotels were places to see and be seen. \u00ab\u00a0But it was only at certain level of society. Now, it’s filtering all the way down.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n
Another trend she loves is the use of color. \u00ab\u00a0We’ve gone from the drab, muted tones to pops of color\u201d she said. \u00ab\u00a0Canada is a beautiful country, but after six months of gray, you realize color is important,\u00a0\u00bb she laughed.[\/vc_column_text][dfd_spacer screen_wide_spacer_size=\u00a0\u00bb30″ screen_normal_resolution=\u00a0\u00bb1024″ screen_tablet_resolution=\u00a0\u00bb800″ screen_mobile_resolution=\u00a0\u00bb480″][dfd_simple_image_gallery dfd_layer_image=\u00a0\u00bb23338,23339,23340,23341″ items_offset=\u00a0\u00bb20″ image_width=\u00a0\u00bb900″ isotope_columns=\u00a0\u00bb2″ images_style=\u00a0\u00bbmasonry\u00a0\u00bb][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
[vc_row][vc_column][dfd_single_image enable_retina=\u00a0\u00bb\u00a0\u00bb image=\u00a0\u00bb23337″][dfd_spacer screen_wide_spacer_size=\u00a0\u00bb20″ screen_normal_resolution=\u00a0\u00bb1024″ screen_tablet_resolution=\u00a0\u00bb800″ screen_mobile_resolution=\u00a0\u00bb480″][vc_column_text] By Nicole Carlino Patricia McClintock, founder and principal of Montreal-based Patricia McClintock & Associ\u00e9s Inc., didn’t always know she wanted to be<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":23338,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[71],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pmadesign.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23335"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pmadesign.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pmadesign.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pmadesign.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pmadesign.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23335"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.pmadesign.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23335\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23740,"href":"https:\/\/www.pmadesign.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23335\/revisions\/23740"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pmadesign.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23338"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pmadesign.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23335"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pmadesign.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23335"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pmadesign.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23335"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}