Not surprisingly, answers to my call for feedback about design in Montreal haven’t been pouring in so it was greatly refreshing to hear from Mike Giles at Furnicreations. He was lovely enough to talk to me about some of the great and more difficult things about working as a designer in Montreal.
1. Thank you Mike for speaking with me, could you describe yourself and Furni’s work briefly?
Furni started about 4 years ago as a partnership between Devin Barrette and myself, I like to think that I have the ideas and Devin makes them a reality. Devin’s the one with formal cabinetmaking training, I’m just a student of the school of life. Over the past year and a half Furni has released two collections of limited edition, hand made, design driven home “accents” and slowly but surely is starting to get recognized on the international design circuit”
2. How long have you been working professionally in Montreal ?
Furni’s been around as a custom woodworking shop for about 4 years but we’ve only been offering “in-house” designs to the general public for about 18 months…..
3. Do you have any event or anecdote that is representative of your experience working in Montreal?
Working in Montreal is funny, we’ve got stores that carry our products in as far away places as Australia and Taiwan but only two stores in town who carry our designs….I guess Montreal is a tough cookie to crack.
4. Do you consider design to be well understood in Montreal?
I believe it’s well understood, there are tons of stylish restaurants, bars and boutique hotels but there is still only a small market of people who are actually buying design driven products.
5. In your opinion, what key designers have shaped the design scene in Montreal?
I apologize for my ignorance, but we spend so much time in the workshop that I am unable to follow much of Montreal design….. I’ve been exposed to some work by Doyon and Rivest and I also like the collective called “RITA” who are doing some really interesting stuff.
6. What is missing from the Montreal design scene?
Exposure and boutiques and people who are willing to spend money on design driven articles!!!
7. What would you say is the hardest thing about working in design in Montreal?
The fact that there are very few outlets for our work.
8. What would you say is the best thing about working in design in Montreal?
That I am inspired by it’s architecture and aesthetics everyday (just take a ride on the metro or go to Ile St-Helene!)
9. Where do the opportunities lie for the future of design in Montreal?
Things can only go up, I’ve been noticing small design articles in the local weekly’s over the past few months and great sites like Créativité Montréal seem to be popping up more frequently…
10. If you had the choice to work somewhere else, where would it be?
I just got back from a trip to England so London is on top of my list right now, of course New York is high ranking also, and I’ve always had a thing for San Francisco…..but the grass is always greener….
