Young Professionals Scholarship Fund

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Application Deadline: September 9, 2015

The IES Young Professionals Scholarship Fund supports the attendance of students and emerging professionals at the IES Annual Conference.

A minimum of four awards (one from each of the Society’s Regions) of $1,000 each will be granted each year to emerging professionals (individuals working in the lighting profession for five or fewer years) and students in their junior or senior year of undergraduate studies or enrolled in a graduate program. All awardees must be a member of the IES.

The grant will offset some of the costs of travel and lodging; the conference fee will be waived.

Scholarships will be awarded to applicants who show evidence of a commitment to the lighting profession, leadership abilities, and potential for future involvement in the IES.

Click here for more information about qualifications and to apply.

 

ABOUT THE ILLUMINATING ENGINEERING SOCIETY OF NORTH AMERICA

IES is the oldest and largest educational and scientific society in North America devoted to lighting. Since 1906, the IES has sought to improve the lighted environment by bringing together those with lighting knowledge and by translating that knowledge into actions that benefit the public. A broad variety of programs, including publications, conferences and seminars, have been established to accomplish this mission. IES publishes and distributes the finest lighting literature authored by committees with the most experienced minds in industry and academia today. Visit the official IES website for more information.

Inform Cooks

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As Kitchen designers, we not only love creating new kitchens but love creating within the kitchen too – a passion that transcends from our work into our everyday routine. The term “Heart of the home” greatly applies to us.

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We decided that we’d share a simple, delicious recipe with you.

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There is absolutely nothing wrong with pasta from a box but fresh pasta can elevate a simple dish into something special and memorable. It’s also dead easy and only takes a couple of minutes to whip up. Here’s our “Pasta Fresca per Inform”, serves four.


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Knock-Offs, because “The client can’t afford the real thing”

 

Should Interior Designers specify a knock-off (furniture, lighting or any other item) because “The client can’t afford the real thing”

Take a minute to think about this: What was your most amazing project? The one that comes “Top of Mind” within a split second of me asking you that question. Ya, that one. That restaurant or bar, that amazing home, workspace or retail store. The one project that you are most proud of and is featured all over your web-site, your portfolio and your social media. It even got published in….

OK, now, imagine you’re relaxing one Sunday morning, coffee in hand, browsing your favourite design magazine and there it is. Yup, there’s a bar in__________ being featured that is exactly the same as the one that you designed for your client. The exact same floor plan, the same flooring, the paint, the seating, the tables, every single light fixture as far as the eye can see. It is an exact “replica” of what you created and it is already the most popular bar in all of__________. A raving success.

“Wow! How dare they! Those were my ideas. I spent weeks working on that concept. What kind of a person would do that?” Well sorry, but there is nothing you can do about it. It’s not like they broke the law or anything….They’re really sorry, but………….”The client couldn’t afford an Interior Designer….”

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2014 Gift Guide | No. 3

Dear Tibor timepiece by Tobias Wong

Tobias Wong was known for creating design pieces that always provoked thought and conversation. He was a brilliant designer and a dear friend to Inform.

His homage to Tibor Kalman is no longer in production, you will not find this piece elsewhere. We have a very limited supply of these incredibly special, signed pieces.

$95
Available in-store

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Fin Utensils by Still Design

Designed in Vancouver, Fin is ergonomically designed to bring a more pleasurable cooking experience. These utensils are shaped to provide a firm and comfortable grip that minimizes stress on the wrists. Each piece has an individual magnetic wall mount with an adhesive backing for easy access and organization.

From $65
Available in-store

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2014 Gift Guide | No. 2

Edward Wohl Breadboards

Each board is crafted by joining sections from a single piece of specially selected, figured bird’s-eye maple, so the wood tone and figuring are consistent throughout. Each is precision-shaped and beveled for graceful shape and balance. Individually hand-sanded and finished to a sensual silkiness, each board is an art object designed to add aesthetic and utilitarian pleasure to your daily life. Some owners display their cutting boards as art and hesitate to use them. However, they are designed to provide many years of service and satisfaction; minimal care will preserve their appearance.

From $30
Buy Online

 

 

Wallace#Sewell scarves and throws

Patterns, textures and colours that you will not find under any other brand. Harriet Wallace-Jones and Emma Sewell work closely with a mill in Lancashire and a finishers in Huddersfield who draw water from their own borehole in pursuit of the softest and purest water, perfect for textile finishing.

From $81
Limited quantities available in-store.

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2014 Gift Guide | No. 1

My New Flame by Moritz Waldemeyer and Ingo Maurer

Ingo’s romantic and tech-loving sides are brought together in this lamp. Based on video of an actual flame, the LEDs render a flickering candle flame in a realistic and captivating way. Rechargable via USB port.

$588

Buy Online

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Concrete Vessels by Steven Pollock for Woodstone Designs

Beautiful concrete tabletop or centrepiece vessels, locally made in Vancouver. Steven Pollock gives this common industrial material elegance through refined and minimalistic shapes.

From $120

Buy Online

 

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Continue reading “2014 Gift Guide | No. 1”

Benny the Weaver

Last week, Carl Hansen & Søn paid us a visit and brought Benny Larson, their Master Weaver. Benny worked tirelessly all day in our front window, weaving Wishbone chair seats, one after another. His focus, speed and accuracy was astonishing.

Thank you Benny, and everyone at Carl Hansen & Søn, for showing our clients and passersby what passionate craftsmanship truly means.

Guest Post: Designer Insights with Nancy Bendtsen by Terrys Blinds

Nancy Bendtsen is part of the design & project management team at Inform Interiors, based in Vancouver, Canada. Nancy was introduced to design at an early age by her mother, this sparked a lifelong passion. She went on to attend the Paris Ecole des Beaux Arts as well the University of Toronto. Then along with Niels Bendtsen owner of Inform Interiors, she helped to shape the growth and direction of the company. So we are proud to bring you the Designer Insights of Nancy Bendtsen.

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Holiday Gift Guide

With a large collection of the worlds best accessories are stocked and ready to go, we are sure you will find exactly what you’ve been searching for.

A few of our favourites detailed below and available in store:

 

 

For the philanthropist with everything – Little Sun by Olufar Eliasson

These playful solar powered LED lamps shine light upon a larger social issue. Over 1 billion people worldwide have sporadic or no access to electricity, making light after sunset based on fuel both costly and dangerous. Each purchase made goes towards providing people access to cheap renewable light for study, work, socializing and cooking.

 

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For the (inner) children – Vitra Eames Elephants and Girard Dolls

It’s never early enough to get interested in design.

The gentle majesty of elephants was well photographed by the Eames duo and based on earlier plywood prototypes these polypropylene versions are child friendly and colourful.
Order online

Alexander Girard originally created these graphic wood dolls for his own Santa Fe home. Many people start their collection of Girard dolls with a single piece but it never seems to end there. With twenty two designs, each with their own personality, it’s no wonder they rarely stand alone.
Order online

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Nancy Bendtsen | The collector.

This article was originally published in Montecristo Magazine, Winter 2013 Issue.

Slender, elegant Nancy Bendtsen is ever-attentive to any client’s presence in her Inform Interiors retail space. There are two such spaces, actually, virtually across from each other on Water Street in Vancouver’s Gastown. What she doesn’t know about the items in the store, from furniture to lighting, tableware to carpets, is not worth the knowing. And she is always happy to discuss things with a curious couple or clients who are virtually certain they know what they need, but have a few little questions before purchase. Today, Bendtsen is upstairs, among some individual pieces of furniture, mainly chairs, that form the backbone of what has, over the years, come to be her personal, and amazing, collection.

It did not start out as a conscious effort to build a collection of this aesthetic and historical scope. “Oh, no, I didn’t think of it that way at all,” she says. “We were offered a piece, called the Henna Stool, by Marcel Wanders for Cappellini. I loved it so much, but we did not take that opportunity, and to this day we still don’t have one. After that eye-opener, I looked at a couple of pieces that had not sold, and decided to keep them.” She pauses, looks around the retail space, all clean lines with a lovely open feel, even though it is full of beautiful things. “As we saw the ad hoc collection grow, we realized early on the importance to Vancouver to have such pieces of design available for people to see. When we had the opportunity of acquiring special pieces which were offered to us, we understood the importance of keeping them in Vancouver. Vancouver has been our home, and we hope that this collection will grow into a museum of design in the future. But for now, we are happy to show some of the pieces at the Inform Interiors store.” She pauses again, and quietly adds, with a smile, “We are running a store, a business, after all. That has to be part of the program.”

Continue reading on MONTECRISTOmagazine.com »