Meet the Team Canada of furniture design | Canada Voices

In January, when an epic storm dumped enough snow on Toronto to bury a Honda Civic, Jake Oliveira and Jason Henderson were in the middle of launching Ourse, a new furniture brand. The weather could have easily upended their plans, which included a booth at the Interior Design Show (IDS). “Fortunately, it seems, nothing can keep Canadians away,” Oliveira says. “It’s such a testament to our resilience that so many people still showed up. We had so much interest.”

Their booth’s location near the entrance of the trade show was a strategic move. “We wanted to catch people’s attention as they walked in,” Henderson says. Their standout Soufflé Stool, designed by Quebec-based studio smallmediumlarge with a plush, doughnut-shaped seat, grabbed more than a few eyeballs. But what really got showgoers talking was Ourse’s commitment to crafting everything in Canada.

Oliveira and Henderson first had that idea about two years ago, when the two friends met for a coffee. Oliveira, a product designer, was lamenting that many of his peers often must look to European or American manufacturers for sales and production. Henderson, who has an extensive background in furniture sales and marketing, thought that was crazy. He knew there was a demand for made-in-Canada pieces, even before the U.S. trade war. “I often hear from clients that they want to source local,” he says. “We also have so much talent, so much diversity, so many skills here. Why can’t we produce more of our own designs?”

With some research, they quickly located craftspeople in different provinces with the skills to make high-end furniture. “People often think things aren’t made here,” Henderson says. “That’s simply not the case.” They settled on the name Ourse, a French word for bear, but also a word that sounds like “ours.”

To put together a launch collection, the duo reached out to Canadian designers they know and admire. Top of the list was Winnipeg-based Nicole Marion. She first caught Henderson’s eye in 2020, when her bubble-gum pink Percy chair was on display at IDS. For Ourse, Marion has created a playful dining table, called Peggy. It has a natural wood top made from Canadian ash that contrasts a customizable, colourful base. “They gave me a few parameters, but not too many,” Marion says. “From there, they had good ideas to refine the design, make it ready for production.”

Other designers from their initial wish list include Montreal’s Thom Fougere and Toronto’s MSDS. Fougere has created sleek dining chairs and a lounger that blends an angular, upholstered seat with an ash wood base. MSDS has fashioned a streamlined bookcase with thin, steel shelves perched on an ash structure.

“Right now, we are proud to say we have designers from three different provinces,” Oliveira says. “But we want Ourse to grow in the years to come. We want to put together a sandbox for designers to play. And we want them to come play from right across this huge, wonderful country of ours.”