Squamish's Sticks and Stones Furniture may be a relatively new name in the world of furniture design, but the company is already earning a reputation for its inspired and gorgeous products.
Sticks and Stones earned accolades last month for its innovative and stunning designs when owners Yves St. Hilaire and Kaila Jarvis were shortlisted for Western Living's Designers of the Year Awards for furniture design.
"We were very delighted to learn in July that we were one of the companies shortlisted for the award. We'll find out at the end of the month the winners," said Jarvis, director of sales and marketing at Sticks and Stones.
Sticks and Stones designs all custom wood furniture featuring concrete accents.
"People come in with ideas and we go through the design process with them," said Jarvis.
The business began to design their furniture commercially in April 2010.
"My husband [St. Hilaire] had bought a company that worked primarily with countertops," said Jarvis. "But he really wanted to change the direction of the company and move away from countertops to creating furniture."
St. Hilaire and Jarvis began looking for the right person to complement their ideas and help the new business take shape.
"We were fortunate to find a talented woodworker named Roland Benesocky," said Jarvis. "And we started a new collaboration with him."
Jarvis was the first to actually benefit from the new partnership.
"My Christmas present this year was a beautiful dining table," she said. "It was their first collaboration."
But before moving forward, the nascent company had to first come up with a proper name.
"We started throwing around names," she said. "We wanted a name that reflected the product as well as our philosophy."
After trying out a few, Benesocky came up with Sticks and Stones, which they felt perfectly embodied the furniture's signature wood and concrete construction as well as the company's environmental mandate.
"We're a company that believes business can be fruitful and sustainable," said Jarvis.
"We use reclaimed wood in our furniture and use recycled components in our concrete. We also hire locally, plus more than 90 per cent of our materials come from within 100 miles of Squamish."
That business ethic caught the eye of BC Wood, which featured Sticks and Stones at the Interior Design Show West in October.
"They came to us and said we were the kind of company they wanted to work with," Jarvis said. "So, we got involved with their Working Wood program."
Through BC Wood's Working Wood business development and mentoring program, the Squamish company gained valuable experience in the wood design business.
"We get mentoring and guidance through the program to help us succeed," she said. "BC Wood sees us as a future for the industry."
For more information on Sticks and Stones go to sticks-and-stones.ca.
