Sholto Scruton’s furniture has been displayed in art galleries and used in embassies around the world, and will now be on show at this weekend’s Eastside Culture Crawl in Vancouver.
Wooden mezzo side tables, a sofa from his Emerald collection, and outdoor side chairs from his latest project will all be on display when Scruton — a furniture designer and instructor at Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s Richmond campus — opens the doors to his East Vancouver studio from Thursday, Nov. 14 to Sunday, Nov. 17.
“I enjoy sharing work that is often only seen by private collectors or in public spaces that are hard to visit, like the Canadian embassy in Tanzania, Morocco or Jordan,” said Scruton, adding that it would be wasteful not to share his work locally.
Scruton is one of 493 artists participating in this year’s 23rd annual Eastside Culture Crawl – a visual arts festival where artists open their studios to the public.
This is the fifth year that Scruton has participated in the culture crawl.
“Because I am also a teacher, I feel responsible to share and ideally inspire others to choose a career path that suits what they have to offer the world.”
The culture crawl allows him to “connect with people who are interested in what (he is) doing” and to talk with others whom he wouldn’t normally get to.
Scruton’s grandfather, father and uncle all collected Victorian and Edwardian furniture, which he would often work on growing up.
“I would repair a lot of (the furniture) when I was a kid with my dad and uncle, so I learned a fair bit about woodworking and making things last and repairable,” said Scruton.
He furthered his skills with a fine arts degree and a master’s degree in product design, where he noticed that many consumer goods were consistently being replaced with something new.
But furniture, said Scruton, “seemed like the last vestige that was made to be cherished.”
Scruton’s designs are mainly found at embassies and many of his works are for landscape architects, architectures and designers, such as designing permanent exhibit spaces.
The Eastside Culture Crawl will run from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Thursday and Friday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
Scruton’s studio — Sholto Design Studio — is located at 446 Union Street.
