Know Your Local Designer: On A Cedar Log With Brent Comber…

Something spectacular happens where nature meets the urban, and Brent Comber knows all about that. Growing up on Vancouver’s North Shore, the designer’s childhood world was both city living and forest dwelling. Inspired by his surroundings, he began his career in landscaping, working with the raw materials that surrounded him. He acquired his knowledge of landscaping the same way he later acquired his woodworking skills: through his hands. Yet it was through his heart that his work began to transform. When Brent first introduced his work at an outdoor garden show in Vancouver, a woman approached his booth and sat on one of his benches. The woman closed her eyes and ran her hand across the smooth wood. When Brent approached her, she revealed that the fragrance of the cedar transported her back to her childhood, when she and her grandfather would spend hours walking on the the logs that had washed up on the shore. In that moment, Brent discovered the capacity of the wood to tell stories in its own rich and expressive language, and he resolved to continue to craft his pieces with a story in mind. From the 18 foot, one-piece communal table at Salt Tasting Room to the soaring western maple wall sculpture at Yew in the Four Seasons, his artistry can be found in many iconic Vancouver locations.

Indie Profile

Three things about your neighbourhood that make you want to live there: My home is in the Hollyburn area of West Vancouver. I love being able to walk to the beach, to great restaurants and to my children’s schools.

When you finish a piece of furniture intended for a specific space, what do you hope to feel? I feel proud when our work compliments the designer’s vision and excited to see it in context.

What inspires your choice of wood for a given project? It really depends on the particular feel or story I wish to convey. Each wood species can engage people differently, depending on the texture and the finish. For example, our Shattered collection is about the physical energy and thought required to organize the split timber into cubes. It is about the process – the choice of material is secondary.

If wood can tell a story, which one of your pieces carries your favourite story? The Alder Cube. It’s an evocative piece constructed from very simple materials. It also conveys a beautiful story of how a forest can change you as you pass through it. People are fascinated to discover that the piece is constructed from vertical stacked branches and it appears that air is the only thing holding the sticks together. For a moment, you find yourself inside the cube trying to unravel this mystery much like your state of mind when you are in the deep woods. There are other stories hidden within each piece – it all depends on where you look. Read more

Hanging At Emily Carr’s Annual Art + Design Grad Show

Make a point of finding your way to Granville Island some time this week. There are only a few days left before Emily Carr grad exhibition comes down and you really don’t want to miss this annual mind-blower of a show.

Over 300 students are participating this year’s show. Here are just a few Scout picks:

The North building is where you’ll catch the fine arts works. Everything was impressive.

Suzanne Fulbrook’s watercolour and saltwater portraits on unprimed canvases stood out. Possibly not best suited to the traditional living room -  but very impactful. They made me wish I lived in an open concept warehouse with white everything and 70 ft ceilings.

Suzanne Fulbrook

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Say Hi To Courtney Johnston of Vancouver’s “Telly Design”

With the GotCraft? show coming up, we’ve gotten in touch with a few of the local artists prepping their work for show at the annual indie craft fair. Today we hear from Courtney Johnston of Telly Design. Telly, based in Vancouver in a studio that Courtney built for herself in a corner of her home, is known for understated and elegant designs that hold wide appeal. Get to know Courtney of Telly Design below and visit her table at GotCraft? this May 2nd.

Scout Q&A

Three things about your neighbourhood that make you want to live there: I live in Kitsilano, the lovely village by the beach. There is much to love about this part of Vancouver: the beach! A great place to hang out, swim, run, people watch and bbq on sunny Sunday afternoons.  A lot of my friends have settled in Kits and it’s an easy place to meet new friends too (super handy if you run out of gin). I walk and bike everywhere (my car gets dusty). Oh, and the restaurants! We have some good, diverse eats in Kits like Refuel, Maenam, Abigail’s Party, the burrito bar at Capers and my favourite, La Quercia. Read more

Five Minutes With Claire Madill Of Vancouver’s “Heyday Design”

Claire Madill graduated from Emily Carr Institute of Art & Design in 2007 with a Bachelor of Fine Art (Visual Art) and established a ceramics studio from which to launch heyday design soon after. Through her work, Claire explores the nostalgia we feel towards objects and questions what we consider valuable in a particular time and place. Discarded and forgotten vintage wares are translated into fine porcelain objects that you can use and wear, endorsing a new perspective on an object’s purpose and aesthetic. heyday design currently loves vintage Canadian canning jars and the patterns found on the bottom of vintage glass dishes to illustrate this.

Claire lives in Mount Pleasant, works in Strathcona and pretty much bikes everywhere. Claire will be at Gotcraft! on May 2.  Meet her and see her work after the jump… Read more

Indie Profile: Five Minutes With MGB Principal Michelle Biggar

Michelle Biggar is an Australian interior designer who has made her home in Vancouver. She is a principal at mcfarlane | green | biggar  ARCHITECTURE + DESIGN INC, better known as MGB. Gathering 11 years of international experience, Michelle has worked professionally in Australia, the UK and in Canada on a vast range of projects from multi-residential interiors to fashion retail, offices, and restaurants. Some of her recently completed Vancouver projects include Giovane café, bakery + deli and Oru restaurant (both in Vancouver’s new Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel), Obakki’s flagship store in Gastown and an office and gallery for Bob Rennie in Chinatown.  She believes in beautiful, timeless solutions born of intelligent design. Her aesthetic is clean, modern, and contemplative. Her calm and clement manner, while indispensable on multi-million dollar projects, comes in handy at home, where she is the proud mother of Max Lucy Biggar, born February 6th, 2009. Read more

The Shopaholiblog: Something Special At “Vancouver Special”

Even for those who love hitting stores, December can feel daunting. Since we’re down with making things run as smoothly as possible for our readers, we thought it would be a good idea to seek out a few key and kickass Vancouver retailers who are in the know and ask for some directions, because even the most hardened getters-of-things done could use a compass in the yule maelstrom. We’re calling their contributions The Shopaholiblog (because it’s a fun word to say).

For the final installment of the Christmas season, we go to Anne Pearson (interview) of the design concept store Vancouver Special at 20th & Main, in the heart of Vancouver’s super swell Mt. Pleasant neighbourhood.

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The Shopaholiblog: Four Smart Gifts From Around “The Block”

The Shopaholiblog: Decking The Halls With “Parliament” Fa-La-La

OK – time is starting to run out. If you want it under the tree – you are going to have to get up and start doing something about it.  We are always looking to make things run as smoothly as possible for all of our readers, so we thought it would be a good idea to pull together some ideas – tempations to get you moving (you can thank us later). 

Rather than try to pull it off all by ourselves, we sought out a few key Vancouverites in the know and asked for some suggestions.  Today, Colette Soros of Gastown’s shiny new Parliament supplies us with a few fine hook ups for your Christmas list…

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The Shopaholiblog: Killer Gift Ideas From Nouvelle Nouvelle

The Shopaholiblog: “Favourite” Plays Favourites For Christmas

Even for those who love hitting stores, December can feel daunting. Since we’re down with making things run as smoothly as possible for our readers, we thought it would be a good idea to seek out a few key and kickass Vancouver retailers who are in the know and ask for some directions, because even the most hardened getters-of-things done could use a compass in the yule maelstrom. We’re calling their contributions The Shopaholiblog (because it’s a fun word to say).

To start off, we’ve picked Carol Hyslop’s brain. Carol owns Favourite, a fantastic little shop tucked away on the top floor of Lonsdale Quay in North Vancouver. There you’ll find handmade, small-run gifts and accessories created by local and Canadian artists and designers – the very same sort of stuff you dig.

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