Furniture Designer of the Year 2024: Ffabb Home

When Celina Dalrymple was a kid stripping furniture for her mom’s upholstery shop in Port Alberni, B.C., she wasn’t just negotiating for a little more TV time (though that was certainly part of the bargain): she was figuring out how to do things better. “I’ve always loved the guts of furniture—seeing how it was made, how the frame was put together,” she says. “I always felt like I was a bit of a detective. Why did that break? Why did the foam wear down? Why is this creaking?”

That curiosity would ultimately lead this 2024 WL Furniture Designer of the Year (her firm is one of two winners this year) to launch her own furniture design business, though it wasn’t immediately obvious that this was what she was meant to do. She moved to Vancouver after high school for film school, and found herself taking a job at Luxcious Upholstery on Main Street to help pay the bills.

But she quickly realized how much she genuinely loved the work, and soon opened her own little shop. “I literally had next to nothing—I had a staple gun and a sewing machine, I made a two-by-four frame table, and I somehow convinced this company that I could reupholster all of their chairs,” she says.

Every time she got another gig, she would buy more tools, and, eventually, bring on more staff. “The best thing I ever did was hire people more skilled and experienced than myself,” she says. “They taught me so much.”

One of those upholsterers is now her business partner. Najeeb Dawary sharpened his skills in Afghanistan, and started working with Dalrymple 18 years ago. “He worked like it was his business, too,” says Dalrymple. When, in 2018, she decided to pivot from their custom upholstery business to launch Ffabb Home, a line of made-to-order upholstered furniture that evolved out of her custom work, she asked him to join her. Dawary manages the back of shop and production, while she sketches out new design concepts and manages the business itself.

It’s all produced out of their North Vancouver shop, with pieces precisely crafted with a 13-layer Baltic birch interlocking frame, and designed to the millimetre for both comfort and visual appeal. Prototypes that other manufacturers might move forward with are continually modified and played with until Dalrymple is satisfied. “I’m a bit of a tweaker,” she says with a laugh. “Things like the arm could use an extra inch, or I feel like we nailed the seat proportions, but this could look way cooler if the seam was here. That’s the fun part of developing a new collection.”

The Ffabb collection runs the gamut from classic and modern (like the square-armed, low-profile Coasty) to playful and curvaceous (like the excellently named Jumbalow Juicy). Judge Steen Skaaning of Inspiration Furniture commended Ffabb’s creativity in that collection in particular: “The curves should be predictable, but it somehow surprises. Very nicely done.” And each line has a seemingly infinite sub-series of styles and modular designs, allowing it to work in everything from a small apartment to a sprawling rancher.

Designer Ben Leavitt of PlaidFox Studio is a regular collaborator with Ffabb. “I’ve used the Jumbalow Juicy in so many projects,” he says. “Well-designed furniture should be sculpturally interesting, but it also needs to marry with function. They create curvaceous, comfortable furniture that you want to look at, but nestle into too. They’ve really mastered the art of lounging.”

Ffabb expanded into the U.S. market in 2019, and the duo has since grown to a team of 10. They currently produce approximately six or seven pieces a week, depending on whether or not one of the pieces on order is a bed (“a bed actually takes a ton of time—there are so many little details”), but Dalrymple is intentional about keeping their company as sustainable as the furniture they design. “I’m not looking to have a giant factory where we’re just pumping things out,” she says. “It’s really important to us to have that attention to detail and pride in every job.”

Q&A with Celina Dalrymple and Najeeb Dawary

Was there a childhood moment that hinted design was in your future?

Celina: I was fascinated by the inner workings of the furniture my mother was reupholstering and was always brainstorming ways to create my own pieces. A memory that comes to mind is me sneaking into the workshop around the age of 12 and using her power tools to make a fancy chaise for my bedroom.

Najeeb: I recognize early signs of my future in design, despite a focus on surviving in a war-affected region. I was fascinated with cars, which led me to create miniature Matchbox models, igniting a passion for creativity. Years later, as I began upholstering cars, I saw how those childhood experiences shaped my career, merging past passions with my current reality.

What’s changed for you, personally or business-wise, after the last few years?

CD: My partner Jason and I have taken on a new caretaker role with two magical little gals in the last two years. It has completely realigned my work focus and I have become more routine and productive during the time I am in  the studio.

ND: On a personal level, this period has taught me resilience and adaptability. From a business perspective, Ffabb has grown tremendously, not just in terms of our product line but also in understanding what Ffabb stands for in the world of furniture. We’ve refined our processes, enhanced our designs and solidified our commitment to quality.