Who we are . . .
Nik Rust - Designer, Principal
Pamela Goddard - Designer, Principal
Toby Barratt - Designer, Principal
What we do . . .
Propellor is an independent, Vancouver based multi-disciplinary design studio. We thrive on the challenge of creating useful, beautiful and ecologically minded objects and experiences. Our work spans a broad range of disciplines from lighting and furniture design to spatial design and sculpture. There are threads that run through all of our work - an interest in nature, it’s forms and systems, a passion for exploring materials, function and aesthetics and a desire to make things that will last well into the future.
Collaboration . . .
Collaboration makes design better and makes the design process more enjoyable. Every project that leaves our studio is the product of collaboration. Three heads are better than one - working together takes us places creatively that we wouldn’t think of going alone. We also love to collaborate with our clients. Whether it is working with an architect to design the perfect lighting fixture or table for an interior or with a museum on the design of an exhibition, we thrive on the exchange of ideas.
Sustainability . . .
We work at being good citizens. In our community and in the world at large we take our social and environmental responsibilities seriously. We work to reduce our impact at every level of our practice. This has made a big difference in the materials we choose, in our production processes and supply chain, even in the ways we get around town. Evolving as people, as designers and as a company involves continually questioning our choices, learning new lessons and working to take every new step in the right direction.
What we like . . .
. . . the smell of horses, bon-vivants, podcasts, bicycles of all kinds, wool, whiskey, meals with friends, spring in Vancouver, sleeping under the stars, deep conversation, talking trash, making bread, the rainforest, mushrooms, manifestos, shit disturbers, mom & pops, remote Canadian surf spots, the patina of use, fall in Vancouver, birds of all kinds (especially ravens), vibrant public spaces, investigative journalists, creeks, streams, rivers, thrift stores, sore muscles, tidal pools, documentaries, the tundra, drifting in a canoe, gnarly old buildings, permaculture, pillow talk, sea otters (who doesn’t), loooong baths, downpours, problem solving, human-powered devices, summer in Vancouver . . .
selected exhibitions of propellor’s work
2023-2024
Reclaim & Repair: The Mahogany Project - Museum of Vancouver, Vancouver, British Columbia.
2019
Crafted Vancouver: Crafted Interiors - North Vancouver, British Columbia.
2018
IDS Vancouver: Where Land Meets Ocean - New work by Brent Comber and Propellor - Vancouver, British Columbia.
Address: an Assembly of Designers and Makers - The Settlement Building, Vancouver, British Columbia.
2017
Address: an Assembly of Designers and Makers - The Ellis Building, Vancouver, British Columbia.
WantedDesign - Terminal Building, Manhattan, New York.
Outside the Box - WantedDesign Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York.
Outside the Box - Toronto Design Offsite Festival, Toronto, Ontario.
88 Artists from 88 Years: An Alumni Retrospective - The Michael O'Brian Exhibition Commons, Emily Carr University, Vancouver, British Columbia.
2016
Address: an Assembly of Designers and Makers - The Waterfall Building, Vancouver, British Columbia.
Why Design Now? A West Coast Context - West Vancouver Museum, Vancouver, British Columbia.
2015
Design in Canada: Outstanding Achievement from British Columbia - London Design Festival, Canada House, Trafalgar Square, London.
Address: an Assembly of Fine Furniture and Home Accessories - The Waterfall Building, Vancouver, British Columbia.
2012
Otherworldly: Optical Delusions and Small Realities - Musée des Beaux-Arts (MUBA) Eugène Leroy, Tourcoing, France.
Made: Directions and Intersections In Current Canadian Design- Visual Arts Centre of Clarington, Bowmanville, Ontario.
2011
Otherworldly: Optical Delusions and Small Realities - Museum of Arts & Design, New York, NY.
MADE at Home - Toronto International Design Festival, Toronto, Ontario.
We: Vancouver - 12 Manifestos for the City - Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, British Columbia.
2010
Bent Out of Shape - Design Exchange, Toronto, Ontario.
BC Canada Pavilion - 2010 Olympic Games - Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, British Columbia.
Come Up To My Room - Gladstone Hotel, Toronto, Ontario.
Radiant Dark - Assets & Values - Toronto, Ontario.
2009
Radiant Dark - Elegant Corruptions - Toronto, Ontario.
2008
Radiant Dark 2 - Cambridge Galleries/Design at Riverside, Cambridge, Ontario.
Free Spirit - Royal Museum of British Columbia, Victoria, British Columbia.
Movers and Shapers - Museum of Vancouver, Vancouver, British Columbia.
Consumable Waste - Latitude 53 Gallery, Edmonton, Alberta.
Made in the West - Arthouse Gallery, Calgary, Alberta.
Radiant Dark - The Burroughes Building, Toronto, Ontario.
2007
Haute Green - Design Within Reach, New York, New York.
Future Green - Neiman Marcus, San Francisco, California and Dallas, Texas.
MK Lotus Sustainable Home - City Hall, San Francisco, California.
publications
books
Currents: Contemporary Pacific North West Design - New Heroes & Pioneers, Malmö, Sweden. 2018
Pallets 3.0. Remodeled, Reused, Recycled - Braun Publishing AG, Salenstein, Switzerland. 2017.
Otherworldly: Optical Delusions and Small Realities - Museum of Arts & Design, New York, NY. 2011.
Design Book of the Year 2010 - Design And Design dot Com, Milan, Italy. 2010.
Nature: Inspiration for Art & Design - Institute Monsa Editions, Barcelona, Spain. 2008.
selected press
Décormag
Thoughtfully Magazine
Design Bureau
Azure Magazine
RUM Magazine
Nisha Home Magazine
California Home + Design
Space Design Magazine
Canadian House & Home
Canadian Interiors
Elle Decor
awards
2023
Western Living Designer of the Year - Industrial Design.
2011
Canadian Museum Association Award of Excellence as lead designers for the Bhangra.me exhibition team at the Museum of Vancouver.
2010