Tapiola Design was built out of the love and appreciation for forests and what they provide.
Originally a Northwestern Ontario girl, I grew up beside a small lake and trapline and became fascinated with what nature had to offer.
I studied forest ecosystem management in Thunder Bay and then worked in BC’s logging industry timber cruising and engineering. I saw the importance of forest’s supportive ecological and economic communities while working in this industry. I was drawn to the “non-productive, low-value” timber particularily. To me, they were the most beautiful, story-telling and resilient trees of them all.
I always made artwork on the side, and grew up in a creative household surrounded by makers. This “low-value” timber led me to look at clear-cuts and “waste” wood in a new light. I started salvaging and up-cycling abandoned fibres during my down time.
Since leaving the industry, I worked various labour jobs… wherever I could pick someone’s brain. I was the annoying one on a worksite asking too many questions. From fiber-glassing in Campbell River’s boat yard, cleaning sawdust at a mill site to cabinetry installations and furniture building in Courtenay and on Quadra Island. Buying my first tools at yard sales, I picked up skills along the way and grew comfort with hand tools and woodworking machinery.
Fast forward, I most recently owned a woodworking shop based in Powell River BC servicing the Sunshine Coast and Vancouver Island. I have now relocated to Ucluelet BC to and have opened a studio and gallery where my work is sold.
My goal at Tapiola Design is to reframe how we look at our natural resources, used or “new”, while sharing its story with art and furniture.
