Pair turns old church into live-work creative studio
Industrial and product designers say `cool space' inspires innovation
Industrial and product designers Krista Humphrey and Bernard Mitchell bought an old Catholic church in Trail six years ago and renovated it. They did the “hand labour” themselves, sanding its original maple floors, and brought in professionals to help with the wiring and plumbing.
The church was built in the 1930s to serve Trail's strong Italian community. With its 22-foothigh vaulted ceilings and soaring windows, Humphrey and Mitchell felt it was the perfect location to launch their design studio Wewerke, says Mitchell. Under Wewerke, they've designed products, furniture and sporting goods.
“It's a really cool space. That's kind of how Bernie convinced me to move into an old Catholic church,” says Humphrey.
The pair studied product and industrial design at the Artcenter College of Design in California. When they finished their studies they considered applying for jobs or pursuing a more entrepreneurial path and chose the latter, says Humphrey.
“We both missed Canada, and we wanted to live in the Kootenays. We were looking for a studio space when this church came onto the market,” she says.
ARTISTS BY NATURE
Humphrey and Mitchell recently launched Qwrkhouse design, an artistic offshoot of Wewerke.
Their Qwrkhouse products aren't necessarily designed for mass production and are all made in-house or, rather, in church.
“Self-satisfying” is how Humphrey and Mitchell describe these artistic items. But they're obviously satisfying others as well, with invitations to exhibit their work in Berlin and Italy, positive feedback received and more invitations extended. “Berliners really responded well to our work because it's curious and different,” says Mitchell.
DIGITAL SCULPTORS
They are digital sculptors, says Mitchell, designing objects on their computers and using a 3D printer to make them real.
When they've printed an item and get a feeling for what it looks like, they then scale up and print it as large as possible.
“Our goal is to get to a place where we're printing at human scale or even for event spaces,” says Mitchell.
WHAT 3D PRINTING HAS ALLOWED THEM
Humphrey says that because they live in a smaller, more isolated place, it can be challenging to produce the items they design.
3D printing has allowed them to self-produce and have a “pipeline of production” where they can go from concept to design to physical object within a few days, says Humphrey. It also means they don't have to rely on the fabrication skills of others, and they have learned new skills along the way.
3D printers are expensive, though, so they're limited by the size their printer allows them to print at, says Mitchell.
“Right now, half a metre cube is our maximum,” he explains.
THE BENEFITS OF MAKING SMALLER THINGS
Mitchell and Humphrey have shown their furniture at Salone del Mobile (the fancy and famed annual Milan furniture fair) twice, and though they love it, they say one frustration for them was how challenging and expensive it was to get their furniture to the fair.
“We're embracing making smaller things so we can bring things to show,” says Mitchell.
Mitchell and Humphrey often discuss how best to describe the items they design and make.
“Are they lamps or illuminated sculptures? They're not really typical lamps,” says Humphrey.
They concluded by saying their products have “strong personalities,” “character,” and, most critically, “a sense of humour.”