ABOVE: Multifunctional furniture for small urban spaces, made of birch plywood and organic wool by Emily Carr’s future designers Emily Lin, David Cha, and Michael Johnson. Carlyn Yandle photo
I have a dream that all the stuff we buy for our homes is designed and made locally, out of local materials and ingredients from nearby farms instead of far-off nations, for our local esthetic.
I dream of furniture made of wood from our forests, hardware from local manufacturers, and wool and hides from animals that grew up around here.
Nothing against China, but I’d like to support a wide range of industries that reduces shipping and encourages regional identity. It’s a big dream, but this week I caught a glimpse of possibility at the current show in the main space at Emily Carr University of Art + Design, at Granville Island.
The exhibit is a retrospective of innovative furnishings, household items and toys created by the latest graduating design students, all served up on a long table decked out with wine glasses, candles and mismatched chairs tucked into the white tablecloth.
The layout conveys a design feast for the eyes, but to me it’s dishing out hope for something other than the giant tsunami of the usual plastic crap from half-way around the world as featured in big-box retailers. Instead, here elegant lamps of birch veneer resemble seashells and whimsical rocking toys look like sculpture. Small flat packs of thin plywood unfold into voluptuous vessels, and models of alternative dwelling construction suggest maximum use for the minimum amount of materials. The entire spread engages the viewer, challenging the usual understanding of lamp or toy or bowl or house. It’s all about thinking differently about materials and environmental ethics.
The show is also further example of what I view as a Pacific Rim esthetic. Due in part to trans-Pacific people-migration, Vancouver has become more akin to the design sensibilities of other Pacific Coasts than the rest of Canada. From Sapporo to Singapore to Sydney to San Francisco, we share a psychological connection to our Rim-side mountainous topography and are drawn to design that reflects and reacts to our watery part of the world. We build for the same mild, wet conditions. Bright colours that dance in the deserts look downright gaudy here, competing with our cool-blue, grey-green physical environment while the stone and brick foundation of dry-cold Canada leaves us clammy and bone-damp. We need light, breathable wood, sleek, understated design and natural texture — just what this school’s newest generation of mostly-Pacific Rim designers have laid out on the table.
