Well provided
Provide Home owners work with local designers to bring life to interiors
David Keeler and Robert Quinnell of Vancouver’s Provide Home are often credited by local designers as being hugely supportive of their work; selling it alongside that of established names like Missoni Home and Oscar Maschera. Their eye for quality has made Provide Home a favourite for design professionals since it opened its doors in 2007. The Sun caught up with Keeler to discuss the pair’s winning approach to home interiors and how the local design industry has changed over the last eight years.
Q How important are local and independent designers to you and Robert?
A We are proud to be a part of the Vancouver design community and are always impressed by the quality of our homegrown talent. Our concept from the start was to curate a space showcasing modern, local design, mixed with unique things found on our travels.
Q What was your motivation for opening Provide Home and how has it evolved over time?
A We l ove to travel and always found ourselves searching out inspiring home interiors stores while in great cities like London, Paris, New York and Sydney. This is how we discovered we shared a passion for design (as well as travel) and at the time we felt Vancouver was lacking a modern, lifestyle destination — so we saw an opportunity to open our own space and that is how Provide started. Now, almost eight years later we have clients all over the world who are responding to our signature viewpoint and that is really thrilling.
Q Tell us about your design backgrounds?
A Robert had a successful career in fashion, working for brands such as Tommy Hilfiger and Tommy Bahama. I studied graphic design at Parsons in New York and worked for more than a decade in advertising and branding.
Q Which local or independent Canadian designers are you excited about right now?
A At the end of last year we started working more with (Vancouver’s) Barter Design and are very excited about representing their furniture and accessories collections in our showroom and online. Barter’s designs are uncomplicated, timeless and thoughtful — they champion the beauty of local, natural materials. We share a mutual admiration for nature and how it can inspire us in the creation of products for living. We also love the work of Bowen Island-based artist Joshua Van Dyke who makes impressive sculptures from repurposed skateboards. Van Dyke’s art pieces have a very West Coast sensibility and fit beautifully in many of our clients’ modern homes.
Q How has the local design scene changed since you opened your doors?
A Vancouver has become quite sophisticated designwise as more people move here from around the world. People who have recently relocated from cities like New York, Hong Kong and Mexico City are our customers and we love hearing their stories and how they came to be here. It’s very exciting to see Vancouver become more international and respected culturally.
Q How do you choose the products you stock?
A We regularly attend design trade shows in New York, Paris and Milan and do extensive research online, looking for the best in international design. As a couple, we have different opinions and we use that to our benefit, editing down from thousands of options to choose things that fit with our esthetic and make sense from a business standpoint. Over time, we have gotten to know our customers and their lifestyles — we anticipate what they are looking for.
Q You seem to favour colour and pattern in the products you sell, do you have a style preference at Provide?
A We like modern, sophisticated design with a layer of colour and texture — this adds a relaxed edge and a bit of personality.
Q What is the most far-flung product you have ever stocked and how did you find it?
A Our most unique pieces have been the wall sculptures by artist Joshua Van Dyke. We discovered him via a client with a home on Bowen Island who had purchased one of his works — immediately we wanted to represent him at Provide.