SNAP - October 2008

We are really excited to introduce our new section called " Design-Feature " in SNAP - Victoria. Every month we will interview local designer celebrities and we will share with you their favorite pieces.

Here is our first article...

Last November I discovered a great little shop in Fan Tan Alley filled with funky and unique design pieces called Onlyhuman. The discovery quickly turned into a valuable resource for projects and I developed great friendships with the owners.

Partners in business and pleasure, Chris Rothery and Christina Stack created Onlyhuman 4 years ago, feeling that Victoria deserved an infusion of some fresh design.

Newly located at 533 Pandora Avenue in Market Square, Onlyhuman offers a varied range of furniture, lighting and ceramics from the groundbreaking Dutch companies Moooi and Droog, local lighting giants Bocci, and the playful menagerie of Jonathan as well as custom furniture designs and services.

Only Human Store

Iván -You recently became the first retailer to bring the Moooi brand to Victoria; could you please give us a little background on the company and their products?

Chris & Christina - Moooi is a Dutch design collection of furniture & lighting founded by design superstar Marcel Wanders. Moooi combines classical extravagance with modern minimalism to create unusual and stunning furniture and lighting.

Iván - You have a great light fixture featured in your store right now, the “Random Light” by Moooi. After looking at the light online I read that it is made in a very interesting way, making each one unique, could you explain the process that goes into creating one of these lights?

Chris & Christina - Hugely dramatic, light as a feather and distinctly Dutch, the Random Light (2002) by Bertjan Pot began as a modernist craft project of sorts. After attempts at knitting fibreglass as a means of creating structure, Pot turned to coiling epoxy-dipped fibreglass around a large balloon in varying patterns. Once the balloon was popped, the dramatic globe shape remained, becoming a buoyant pendant lamp for an entryway, dining room or lounge area. The light bulb is visible at the center of the globe, and when lit, creates an all over glow with minimal glare.

racy...

Iván - Your store is a great resource for custom furniture and distinctive accessories. What makes a product worthy of being sold at Onlyhuman?

Chris & Christina - Because we design as well as produce furniture, Onlyhuman strives to sell products that have a connection not only to the designer, but also the maker. Christina has written an ethnography on textile workers in Vietnam with UVic, it was this experience combined with Chris' everyday furniture making that spurred the concept of Onlyhuman. We also feel strongly about new and postmodern design, and are proud to bring these items to Victoria.

Iván - What is your store’s best selling item?, Do you have a favourite?

Chris & Christina - The "Sun Jar" (Tobias Wong, 2002) -is a solar powered mason jar lamp that has been covered in a frosted finish, contains a solar cell, rechargeable battery and LED lights. The result is a lamp that collects and stores sunshine for night-time! Cute, green, and gift priced at $45. Our favourite? Chris and I are both in love with the Smoke series - burnt chairs covered in an epoxy, iconic black furniture that rises out of the ashes of modernism.

MOOOI UNVEILING

SNAP OCTOBER

Only Human

533 Pandora Avenue.
Market Square

250.383.only (6659)

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