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The Chinatown Experiment welcomes designer and fine woodworker Kate Duncan, presenting ADDRESS on Friday, May 23 for a two-week pop-up at 434 Columbia St.
ADDRESS showcases items for your home. What’s your ADDRESS? What’s in your home? What do you do with your home, with your space? It all starts at a physical address.
ADDRESS is a collection of furniture, lighting, textiles, horticulture, as well as artwork and sculptural vessels by designers from Vancouver, Calgary, and New York. The two-week pop-up will feature the fine furniture by Kate Duncan, as well as works by Troy Moth, Allied Maker, Le Fil Rouge Textiles, Golem Designs, and many more. This is what’s hot in interior design and home décor right now.
A Golem Designs piece
The pop-up opens on Friday, May 23 open daily 11am - 7pm (open to 9pm on Fridays) through Wednesday, June 3. We had a chat with Kate about her work and curating a pop-up for the first time.
Hi Kate, tell us a little bit about yourself.
I’m a designer and fine woodworker and took woodworking classes all through junior high and high school. When I graduated I went to university to become a shop teacher and started teaching high school wood shop about 10 years ago. One thing sort of lead to another and I ended up starting this little business and had to turn the volume down on teaching to turn the volume up on my business. I couldn’t ever look back.
What do you love about running your own studio? What are some of the challenges?
I love coming and going whenever I feel like it. There's definitely a lot of pressure to meet deadlines and there are definitely a lot of balls to juggle with clients and projects and stuff on the go which is one thing I find challenging.
I also love that at the end of the day I get to bust open some beer! I’ve got a little well stocked bar at the shop so as soon as I’m done on the big equipment and I’m just kind of standing and puttering then I’ve been known to have a bevy or two... which is a perk.
A Kate Duncan piece
Have you ever curated an event before? When did you decide to make ADDRESS happen?
I’ve never curated an event before but I decided to start ADDRESS out of desperation I suppose. I really couldn’t find a platform that was suitable for showcasing my stuff and I was having a really hard time just getting people exposed to my collections.
I ended up running into The Chinatown Experiment and thought, this could work. I approached a bunch of artists that I thought would be a good fit, that I really respected, admired their work, and that had a great aesthetic. It was a neat process to pull everybody together. I’m actually really pleasantly surprised.
What trends do you see in interior design and home decor?
Well, mid-century modern is alive and well. I think that really embodies clean lines and simplicity. Brass is a big trend. It’s nice because things tend to be really balanced right now. So it’s not to say that stainless steel is out and brass is what's on trend, but it’s definitely an option. I find in woodworking, black walnut is super trendy. But there’s also this light, white oak look that’s equally as trendy. It’s that there is maybe a lack of a trend, or a trend towards many trends and options.
Last year, Landon & Derek Dix were featured in a pop-up by Pool at The Chinatown Experiment. They’re also part of the group taking over The Chinatown Experiment for ADDRESS. Is that how you found out about us?
No, actually I know of Landon through the design community. He was one of the artists that I approached. I really like his rope bowls. He was one of the first artists that I got on board and I was poking him a little bit, do you know anybody else that could fill one of these spots? Or do you have any recommendations? Of course, like a good brother would, he recommended his brother. So that’s how we got Derek into the show as well.
Tell us about some of the designers and artists you selected for this event.
There’s a lighting designer Allied Maker. They’re based in New York, and they have a line of brass and wood light fixtures that are just so beautiful. They’re shipping up a bunch for me to put in the show and I’m super excited because there might be one or two that I want to keep! So I’m really excited to see them.
I’m also pretty excited about Troy Moth. He’s a photographer from Victoria who's coming over for the show. He’s got a series of photographs called Burnt. I think that’s going to be a nice dichotomy. To have this refined wood furniture showcased with these images of burnt wood.
What do you appreciate most among your friends?
Good cooking. Or at least the ability to eat a lot! I’m a total foodie so I love to go out for food or for meals. And I love cooking, so I cook a lot. I love it when people come over and eat what I cook. I like it when people cook for me. I’m known as a very good eater amongst my friends.
More info HERE
