by GRAY Editors
Thumb through the design-filled pages of Currents: Contemporary Pacific Northwest Design ($65, New Heroes & Pioneers) and you’ll notice quite a few names that have had a creative hand in making the PNW design community what it is today.
The book, curated by Interior Design Show (IDS) Vancouver director Jody Phillips, explores our region’s incredible design boom and features the works and insights of more than 40 Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver, B.C. makers and designers, including Cathy Terepocki, Annie Tung, Phloem Studio, Electric Coffin, Darin Montgomery and Merkled Studio.
“I am delighted to be constantly engaged in an enthusiastic discussion of our region’s design scene,” Phillips says. “Despite the physical checkpoints between the two countries, the Pacific Northwest is truly borderless. For Canadians and Americans alike, the PNW is not just a geographical location but a state of mind; a sensibility rather than a particular style or aesthetic. We are experiencing more than a moment in this region and it requires investigation and acknowledgment.” Designed by Copenhagen-based art director Daniel Zachrisson, Currents highlights inspiring visuals throughout and provides a behind-the-curtain look at some of the designers’ creative processes, including Todd MacAllen and Stephanie Forsythe of Vancouver-based molo, who hope to use courses in survivalism and MacAllen’s new skills as a helicopter pilot to increase the possibility of interacting with “interesting and isolated businesses to work with as partners.”
“We feel so fortunate to be in a region that is so uniquely supportive of design,” says Sallyann Corn, co-founder of fruitsuper and Seattle-based JOIN shop. “We’re also fortunate to have access to an abundance of materials and manufacturer resources. There is an energy within our creative community that is contagious.”
To pre-order a copy of Currents: Contemporary Pacific Northwest Design, go here, or pick one up at the 14th annual IDS Vancouver, September 20-23 (GRAY has a stage and programming throughout the weekend!), at the Vancouver Convention Centre West.