now open: hinterland DESIGN studio in vancouver
January 27, 2016 / Online Exclusive / Written by NESSA PULLMAN / Images courtesy of Hinterland Design
As a visual artist, builder, furniture designer, and founder of Vancouver-based furniture and design studio Hinterland Design, Riley McFerrin draws inspiration from the great outdoors—specifically nature’s sophisticated side. Hinterland opened its new showroom and workshop space in Railtown, Vancouver’s burgeoning design district, this past October. We sat down with McFerrin to get the inside scoop on his influences, Hinterland’s new home, and what’s in store for 2016.
Why did you decide to set up shop in Railtown?
I initially founded Hinterland Design on the rural Sunshine Coast just outside of Vancouver. When I moved into town, I wanted to be in the heart of the city but still maintain a close connection to nature. Our space has a very organic feeling with its rough concrete walls and floors, exposed old-growth timber beams, and an amazing view of the Port of Vancouver and the North Shore mountains. The wilderness feels close even though we're in an urban location. But that is the beautiful thing about Vancouver in general.
What was your vision for the new studio?
We wanted a workshop and a showroom in a single location, to support the way I work. For example, I'll sketch something in the studio, take a drawing to the workshop, prototype a piece, and bring it out to the showroom, all in the same day. So this space is a perfect fit—we get to see how a piece interacts with the rest of our work in the showroom environment and then return to the shop to make changes. In this way, the design and fabrication of a piece can be witnessed by anyone who wanders in. Spaces like this in the city have become increasingly rare.
How does your new location inspire your designs?
Being born and raised a city kid, and living in San Francisco for 15 years after college, the beauty of an urban environment is not lost on me. It's the interaction between the city and the wilderness, humans and nature, and nostalgia and modernity that has always been central to my art and design. Being in a large city can be inspiring but also tiring. In the Northwest we are lucky that we have such epic wilds in our backyard. In Vancouver in particular, it is easy to retreat into the forests and mountains to be filled with natural inspiration. Much of my design is based on that push and pull.
Do you have any interesting plans for the new space?
One of the most exciting parts of having a small showroom in the city is being able to bring natural materials into the gallery. If I'm at a small sawmill in the forest on the Coast working directly with a sawyer on a project, I can bring offcuts, slabs, logs and branches back into the city. These materials can be displayed right next to a finished piece of furniture or a painting on the wall making connections between material, people, and place. We plan to have rotating art shows around these ideas.
We hope to bring more people into the showroom and the workshop, and let them see all of Hinterland’s designs and inspirations in the flesh. Not just online or in print, but in real life. Visitors can smell the freshly milled cedar, feel the wood, and sit on the chair and enjoy the space. I want to give them the chance to feel modern design built from nature.
What’s next for Hinterland?
We are excited to be introducing some new pieces at ICFF in New York in May. We're looking forward to expanding the collection, as well as taking on custom pieces and commissions. I want to show more art and introduce new installations—hopefully more pieces by other amazing makers who feel the same way about designing for our modern world as we do.
Why did you decide to set up shop in Railtown?
I initially founded Hinterland Design on the rural Sunshine Coast just outside of Vancouver. When I moved into town, I wanted to be in the heart of the city but still maintain a close connection to nature. Our space has a very organic feeling with its rough concrete walls and floors, exposed old-growth timber beams, and an amazing view of the Port of Vancouver and the North Shore mountains. The wilderness feels close even though we're in an urban location. But that is the beautiful thing about Vancouver in general.
What was your vision for the new studio?
We wanted a workshop and a showroom in a single location, to support the way I work. For example, I'll sketch something in the studio, take a drawing to the workshop, prototype a piece, and bring it out to the showroom, all in the same day. So this space is a perfect fit—we get to see how a piece interacts with the rest of our work in the showroom environment and then return to the shop to make changes. In this way, the design and fabrication of a piece can be witnessed by anyone who wanders in. Spaces like this in the city have become increasingly rare.
How does your new location inspire your designs?
Being born and raised a city kid, and living in San Francisco for 15 years after college, the beauty of an urban environment is not lost on me. It's the interaction between the city and the wilderness, humans and nature, and nostalgia and modernity that has always been central to my art and design. Being in a large city can be inspiring but also tiring. In the Northwest we are lucky that we have such epic wilds in our backyard. In Vancouver in particular, it is easy to retreat into the forests and mountains to be filled with natural inspiration. Much of my design is based on that push and pull.
Do you have any interesting plans for the new space?
One of the most exciting parts of having a small showroom in the city is being able to bring natural materials into the gallery. If I'm at a small sawmill in the forest on the Coast working directly with a sawyer on a project, I can bring offcuts, slabs, logs and branches back into the city. These materials can be displayed right next to a finished piece of furniture or a painting on the wall making connections between material, people, and place. We plan to have rotating art shows around these ideas.
We hope to bring more people into the showroom and the workshop, and let them see all of Hinterland’s designs and inspirations in the flesh. Not just online or in print, but in real life. Visitors can smell the freshly milled cedar, feel the wood, and sit on the chair and enjoy the space. I want to give them the chance to feel modern design built from nature.
What’s next for Hinterland?
We are excited to be introducing some new pieces at ICFF in New York in May. We're looking forward to expanding the collection, as well as taking on custom pieces and commissions. I want to show more art and introduce new installations—hopefully more pieces by other amazing makers who feel the same way about designing for our modern world as we do.
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