STUDIO ROSLYN

Photos by Luis Valdizon.

In a sea of white-tiled backsplashes behind the counters of ice cream shops and reclaimed wood light fixtures in cocktail bars, Studio Rosyln’s aesthetic offers a breath of fresh air in a city whose design world can sometimes feel a bit been-there-done that.

Kate Snyder and Jessica MacDonald are the creative duo behind the self-established firm, and they also happen to be best friends. As fate would have it, mutual interests brought them together while both studying architecture at the University of Manitoba some years ago, and they've never looked back. They've worked alongside each other at various jobs (most recently Oak and Fort and Studio Ste. Marie), acquiring an expansive set of skills before branching out independently.

Since launching Studio Roslyn, Kate and Jessica have swiftly gained attention with their unique style and approach to some of the city's freshest restaurants, residential homes and more. I sat down with them to learn their thoughts on all things design, the rewards of being self-employed and why they knew they’d start a business together since university.

DID YOU ALWAYS KNOW YOU WANTED TO START YOUR OWN FIRM?

Jessica: “When we first met each other in university 10 years ago, we talked about doing our own thing one day. And then after working our last two jobs together, it was just finding that right moment of having enough experience for us to feel personally ready. We felt like we got to that point.”

Kate: “For me, it was August of last year, when I was like, OKAY. It took a month of really thinking about it first, just acknowledging to myself that I was ready. Then I started talking to Jess about it.”

WHAT DO YOU THINK PREPARED YOU FOR IT?

K: “Definitely through previous work. My role at the last job – and all my jobs prior to doing this – I’ve been fortunate enough to be really exposed, involved, taught and just be thrown into stuff. I worked a lot on the management side of things. I was studio director at Ste. Marie and at its biggest point, there were 10 employees I was in charge of. I was fortunate enough to gain a lot of experience in the operations aspects of those companies.”

J: “You’re always soaking that stuff in, because it’s good to know, even as an employee. Our job previous to Ste. Marie was at Oak and Fort, where we were the only two in the store design department design. We set all the standards, figured out how to do everything ourselves and kind of did the same thing at Ste. Marie so after two times around we felt ready to do it for ourselves.” 

WHAT’S BEEN CHALLENGING ABOUT RUNNING YOUR OWN BUSINESS? HAS ANYTHING SURPRISED YOU?

J: “There was definitely a learning curve for me in the client management side of things. Kate was studio director at Ste. Marie while I was more focused on design for the most part of my day. For example, Kate had written up a lot of contracts but I never had, so she showed me how to do that when I started.”

K: “For me personally, the most difficult yet rewarding part of this job is working closely with people. I find that usually goes hand in hand. What’s been surprising for me is the amount of effort, energy and care that goes into business development. For many of the clients we work with, their projects are so personal, so there’s a lot of work that goes into getting to know them and also them understanding Studio Roslyn.”

WHERE DO YOU FIND INSPIRATION FOR PROJECTS?

J: “We like to be super collaborative in the way we design. We feel like the best result is when you’re all working together towards this common goal: talk to the client, figure out what they’re about and what excites them. Kate and I look also to fashion a lot.”

K: “Fashion is my super love. I spend a lot of time on blogs that we’re into. We love talking about what’s happening, especially in the beverage and hospitality world, understanding what’s new and different. There’s some really cool architecture and interior design stuff happening in Australia, it’s a different level of work there.” 

WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE ASPECT OF RUNNING YOUR OWN BUSINESS?  

 K: “The number one thing for me is working for ourselves. Putting in effort and time and your emotion and love into everything and just the reward of doing it for yourself – I love it. It’s also an independence thing, that’s something that’s been instilled in me from the beginning. If nothing else, then I have myself, I’m in control of the outcome of things and I take responsibility for things good or bad.”

J: “Yeah. Knowing it’s all for us at the end of the day feels pretty awesome.”

WHAT ARE THE PROS AND CONS OF ESTABLISHING A DESIGN FIRM IN VANCOUVER?

J: “I like that our aesthetic really stands out in Vancouver. This city is all about that Pacific Northwest, white-wash-everything aesthetic. We also felt like there was room for a studio like us. Vancouver designers are doing cool stuff and we’ve really noticed a change in the last few years, but there’s still a long way that the design industry can go in this city.”

K: “I think the pros and cons are kind of one in the same. It’s a smaller city, but that’s an awesome advantage because we have the ability to push what we’re doing.”

DO YOU HAVE ANY MENTORS YOU LOOK UP TO?

J: “Kate’s godmother Ellen. She ran a design studio for years. When we were starting our business, we’d go to her place for wine and she would go over our business plan with us.”

J: “We’re both really close with our parents. I ask my parents for advice all the time. They’re both lawyers so they help me with a lot of legal advice. My dad works in commercial real estate law, so there’s actually a weird amount of crossover with the people that we work with. So I pick his brain about stuff.”

K: “I grew up in a horse farm, which my parents still have, though they don’t raise horses anymore. My mom is such a huge inspiration. Everything that’s on the dinner table is straight from the farm. The longer I’m away from home the more I understand myself and how I ended up where I am. People are like, ‘How are you doing what you’re doing?’ when they see where I’m from, which is basically the middle-of-nowhere rural Manitoba. But to me it’s making more sense. My parents have always instilled in me that possibilities are endless and if you work hard you can do anything. They’re both extremely creative people.”

ANY PROJECTS YOU’RE EXCITED ABOUT?

K: “A week and a half ago we found out that we got this job for a new restaurant that we are so excited about, but we’re not allowed to talk about it yet.”

J: “We actually talked about hoping to work on this kind of project in the past, and thought it would be like a four-year goal for us. So we're pretty thrilled.”

To learn more about Studio Rosyln and their projects, visit their website.