Tell us about your first memories of being creative. What were your early influences and/or exposure to art and culture?

As long as I can remember, I always knew I wanted to design something. At seven years old, I was convinced that I was going to design shoes when I grew up: my days would be spent daydreaming and drawing sneakers, sandals, and chunky heels. 

I spent a lot of my holidays as a child on Hornby Island, a small island near Vancouver. A small community of artists and retired draft-dodgers, my mother would always take my sister and I to whatever studio was open on the day; we would sit bored while watching her carefully choose pieces of art she was drawn to. Wayne Ngan, a ceramicist I still deeply admire to this day, was one of those artists.  At the time I never understood what she cherished so much about his work but I can see now how much those visits affected me.

Describe your work in 3 sentences or less.

If nothing else, I hope that my work will be timeless. I strive to find a balance between modernism and nostalgia, while keeping functionality in mind at all times. Lately I’ve been really enjoying exploring how colour can fit in to these goals as well.