Girl About O-Town

As you know, I love to share stories about the cool, creative and courageous people that live and work right here in Canada’s capital city – and today is no different.  Photographer, graphic/web designer and furniture-maker Matthew Wallace and I have crossed professional paths before, but a few weeks back we had a chance to really connect around a few areas of mutual interest.  Apparently, Matt is more of a furniture nut than me!

Matthew Wallace is a busy guy, running his multidisciplinary design studio Coco Creative, a thriving photography business, and  naCoille Studio, a growing custom handcrafted furniture design company, but despite his crazy schedule, he was more than happy to stop and talk shop.   Sure enough, not only did I discover that Matthew re-uses locally sourced reclaimed wood when designing his beautiful pieces, I also learned that his passion for furniture is matched by his impressive knowledge of Ottawa’s history as a town built by lumber barons.  It was quite the conversation we had, let me assure you.

Anyway, as soon as we got started, I knew I’d have to introduce him to you!  Here are a few of Matt’s answers to my curious questions along with a few gorgeous pieces of his finely designed furniture:

Are you from Ottawa originally?  If not, what brought you here?

I am originally from Ottawa, born and bred.

You’re a busy guy!  You run several businesses in addition to naCoille Studio. Tell us a bit about what you do.

I started out as a designer – I went to school for Graphic Design. Around 12 years ago, I was getting a little tired and decided to assist Ottawa’s top photographer Miv Fournier. I assisted Miv after hours and weekends for around 4 years, and still worked as a Senior Designer as well. Over the last 15 years I’ve had the pleasure of working at five different studios here in town before leaving to open up my own design consultancy Coco Creative.

How did you get into making fine furniture?  Do you have a background in art, woodworking or furniture design?

My background is design.  I hesitate to say graphic design because I feel design spans all mediums. About five years ago my wife and I were out shopping and I saw a table I liked. I thought to myself “I bet I can build that!”, then went home to look online for people selling reclaimed wood. I bought my first truckload and started to sketch and build. My father is extremely handy and has always been willing to share what he’s learned over the years. A couple weeks later the table was built, just in time for Christmas, so it became a gift for my sister-in-law. Since then I’ve been collecting reclaimed wood, as well as wide live edge slabs of walnut. I’ve also started to mill and use my own lumber as well.

How did you learn the traditional furniture-making techniques?

Everything I’ve learned has been from my father. When I was 8 or so, he built our cottage and I spent the whole summer watching and helping. My father grew up on our family’s farm in North Gower and I think he learned by necessity. I’ve been lucky enough to learn everything from him.

What inspired you to use reclaimed wood from the Ottawa valley?

The history. The lumber history here is amazing! We all grew up hearing about the lumber history of the Ottawa valley, the importance of Philemon Wright and J.R. Booth, and how fortunes were made from these forests. Originally the Ottawa Valley was blanketed with old growth forests, which allowed the lumber barons to do what they did. There really is nothing available today with the look and feel of reclaimed wood, and I love the environmental aspect to it as well. So many people nowadays are having their barns torn down, taken to the dump, or worse yet burned. Knowing that I’m using the wood someone cut down on their own property over a 125 years ago to build something makes me happy.

Where do you find the wood – or does it find you? 

I’ve been really lucky. I’ve had a few people who’ve come across my website, email me or phone to offer me wood from their family’s barns and houses. I’ve also come to realize the Ottawa is full of people who’ve been milling their own lumber for years, and I’ve been able to purchase walnut slabs that are 6′ long and upwards of 24″ wide that have been drying in barns for 15-30 years.

Where do you work?  Do you have enough space?  Where is your ideal workshop?

I’m all over the place, depending on what I need to build. I have access to space for everything, but I am in the midst of looking for some commercial space though.

Do you build based on your own designs or commission pieces working together with clients?

Both. Sometimes I’ll build something just to see if i can wrap my mind around it, but 90% of my work is commissioned. I’ll often have clients bring me a photo of a table and ask if I could do something similar.

What is the best part about living in Ottawa? 

Ottawa is the most beautiful city in the world. I’ve been able to travel quite a bit and even though there’s so many beautiful and amazing places in the world, it’s always amazing coming back to the city.

Do you have favourite haunts?  Restaurants?  Shops?

My wife and I love to frequent local shops to see if we can pick up old furniture and repurpose it. Favourite restaurant? I’d have to say we love Japanese Village. The atmosphere is fun and we’re always there with good company.

What is next for naCoille?

Lots. I’ve got quite a few things on the go, but I’d love to find myself some space and setup shop. People often want to see my work, but I rarely have anything. If I could, I would love to get my work into a couple stores here in Ottawa. I’m working on that right now. Stay tuned!

Images courtesy of Matt Wallace, nacoille Studio.

Hub + Spoke 3, Feb. 29, 2012

When this girlaboutOtown began penning posts for this blog way back in 2008, the ‘cool question’ loomed large.  “Is there anything cool going in on Ottawa?”, I posed to anyone who might be listening, “Will we ever be a city with swagger?”.

Fast forward to now, and you’ll still hear plenty of people lament about Ottawa’s less than stellar reputation as a staid government town.  You’ll still encounter some who believe you have to ‘scratch the surface’ to discover Ottawa’s hidden happening scene.  But I believe these O-Town folks are fewer and fewer in between.  You have to have been pretty preoccupied these past few years to have missed the sea change that has occurred in a such a short time.

Change this city has – and swagger we now have.

I’m not talking about the kind of smart-ass ‘we’re much cooler than you’ attitude that results from international recognition.   Instead, I’m referring to the quiet confidence that comes with diminishing concern about the opinion of others and emerging clarity about what really matters.  Let’s face it – Ottawans are too busy city building to bother with banal rivalries and inconsequential comparisons.

Everywhere I go these days, I meet amazing people doing innovative things and enriching this place we all call home in the process.  The opportunities we capital citizens now have to expand our minds, collaborate creatively, and make a genuine contribution seem endless, and our connections to each other are deepening.  Whether you’re a social media maven, a woman entrepreneur, or a handmade artist – communities of interest are growing fast – and intersecting with each other in the most inspiring and constructive ways.    Here is just a sampling of what I mean:

• GirlDevelopIt  – Launched in New York City with chapters in 6 cities across the U.S., Canada and Australia, GirlDevelopIt offers coding and software development classes to women.  Designed to empower more females with the confidence to turn their ideas into tangible technology, classes are open to beginners.
• HubOttawa - This recently opened member-based collaborative workspace  was created to support the development of social enterprises, kick-start ideas, facilitate connections across  networks and disciplines, and  link people with resources and expertise.  I’ve stopped into the Hub more than once, and this is one amazing crowd!
• PechaKucha Ottawa-  Ottawa is among more than 230 participating cities around the world now hosting Pecha Kucha nights.  These events feature the presentation of creative, thought – provoking ideas in the specified 20×20 format (20 slides of 20 seconds each), and are meant to inspire, challenge and uncover the unexpected.

But, there is one area where I really hope we won’t miss the boat.

While all of us adults are busy building, broadening and bettering, I seriously wonder if we shouldn’t be bringing along our kids?

Hear me out.

I’m a mom.  I don’t write about it much, but trust me, it’s the single most important part among all those that I play.  And, my little girlaboutOtown isn’t so little anymore – she’s 9 years old- and her time has arrived.  She’s a pre-teen (Yikes!  When did that happen?!?) and she’s starting to take serious notice of the world around her.  Now I know it’s my job to help her find her way, by offering up interesting opportunities and by encouraging her to try new things, and I do. Most of what she does I let her choose.  She happily plays violin, protects turtles, skateboards, enjoys yoga, makes amazing art, and yes,  sings non-stop, even the shower.  These days her life is mostly fun and pretty fulfilling, and even though we sometimes play Wii, listen to Taylor Swift, and watch YTV,  she’s blessed with boundless enthusiasm, unstoppable energy, and a wide-open mind.

This is exactly why I wish she could come with me more often, to experience what is really cool about Ottawa, beyond the predictable, traditional and intentionally educational.  She’s seen the tourist attractions, been to sporting events, and examined museum exhibits – but knows too there are other ways to learn and explore.  She still talks about hearing writers read at Blog Out Loud (BOLO),  seeing Canada’s most valuable contemporary art hanging on metal racks at the Art Bank Open House, and watching this year’s Academy Award winning film “The Artist”.  Yes – I brought her with me – despite these events being aimed at adults – and with no regrets.  Her experiences left her truly impressed and definitely enriched.

A few weeks back, I reluctantly refused when she asked to join me at Pecha Kucha Night on March 27.  I carefully reviewed the program, and determined it might be a bit over her head.  While 20 slides in 20 seconds seemed to me an ideal format for a 9 year old – some of the presentations slated looked quite abstract.  I went alone – and after hearing a few fowl curse words – congratulated myself on my very good parenting call.  That is until the next day.

Over dinner, we talked about what I had seen and heard, and she was downright enthralled.  When I tried to describe the work of contemporary artist Adrian Gollner – and in particular, his large scale public art commissions – she stopped me short.  “You know what Mom?”, she blurted loudly, “I was just thinking today about paintings and sculptures on the side of big buildings.   I was wondering if there was such a thing or if people even did that?”.

My heart sank.  I knew my poorly articulated explanation of this talented and successful artist’s work would never approximate the experience she might have had just being there herself.  Not only would she have been able to visualize the product of his tremendous creativity, hear his unique perspective on the ingenius ideas behind his work live and in-person, she would have also understood that it is possible for a grown up to travel the world creating art that makes a difference.

So, yes.  I wish she had come with me.

A better future – both hers and ours – depends on our ability to creatively, collaboratively make positive change so this is what I want to expose her to.  I want her to be provoked, challenged and inspired by a diversity of ideas, the impact of small actions, and the power of community – and I am not rushing her maturity, depriving her innocence, or replacing play.  Instead, I believe bringing her along broadens her mind, fuels her discovery, and empowers her creativity.  That’s why you just might see more of us both out and about.

Parents, tell your children – or better yet – show them!  There are makers making.  Artists sharing.  Writers reading.  Designers creating.  Chefs sharing.  Coders teaching  and change-makers changing things.  If you can do it, they can too!

Image used with permission from HubOttawa.