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Introducing the 2026 WL Designers of the Year
Robert Ledingham Memorial Award 2026: Schédio Spaces
Industrial Designer of the Year 2026: Nolan Talbot-Kelly
Meet the rising talents catching our eye in industrial design, furniture and making.
Great design careers don’t arrive fully formed. Alongside our 2026 Designers of the Year, we’re keeping our eyes on three rising talents whose work stood out across industrial design, furniture and making.
From shoreline-inspired furniture and travel-inspired cribs to rugs that turn artificial intelligence into handmade art, meet Western Living’s 2026 Ones to Watch.
The organic shapes in designer Grant MacPherson’s body of work—from the curvy Squish end table and nightstand to the sculptural Carve bowls—have a very natural source of inspiration indeed: the same Vancouver Island shores where MacPherson grew up.
“I’m drawn to these almost aerodynamic forms,” he says. “I think you see these kinds of things in nature, like a really well-worn rock on the shoreline. There can be some beautiful shapes in that.”
After spending a couple of decades in design and construction and 17 years in Tofino, MacPherson landed back in his hometown of Victoria and felt ready to make a career change.
“It felt like a good time, maybe the last time, I would be able to change lanes and go into furniture, which is something I wanted to do for a long time,” he admits.
The pieces in his current collection are concepts from a series he began developing in 2018, now updated with a focus on sustainability. The collection combines hardwood and natural-fibre composites, giving the pieces a variable texture.
The top and bottom pieces of the Squish nightstand and end table feature traditional solid hardwood, while the sides are made of natural flax fibre, with recycled carbon fibre for reinforcement and a bio-based epoxy resin creating the unique material. The goal was not to create something maximalist or eye-catching, but rather something simple that encourages interaction with the furniture through its unusual texture and the difference in feel and temperature between the two materials.
Judge Lyndon Cormack, co-founder of Herschel Supply Co., praises MacPherson’s catalogue as “quietly strong work with a nice, clean, minimal aesthetic and clear design restraint.”
“The Squish series, including the end table and nightstand,” says Cormack, “has a confident silhouette and a smart use of natural flax fibre and recycled carbon composites.”
Both the Carve Bowls and Squish Nightstand were also among the 2026 Western Living Design 25 finalists.
—Medina Mohammed
Justin Segal turns off his phone on Friday afternoons, going tech-free until Monday. So when inspiration strikes him on the weekends—whether he’s travelling to Sicily, Greece or the Amalfi Coast—he’ll grab whatever is close: pen and paper, a journal or even a napkin.
One such napkin was the starting point for several of his designs in Storkcraft’s Art of Nursery collection, where nightstands, dressers, table sets, recliner chairs and convertible cribs draw inspiration from his travels abroad.
Take the Amalfi crib’s spherical feet, for example, reminiscent of the rocky Amalfi Coast landscape where Segal honeymooned. The Sicily crib’s arches, slats and chunky cylindrical feet evoke classical Italian architecture, Roman columns and aqueducts.
Rather than coming from “a need to fill white space” and meet business needs, the designer’s drafts are born out of a vision. They’re also designed to grow with the child: convertible cribs become toddler beds, daybeds and full-sized beds.
“There’s an authentic story behind each of them. They’re all rooted in wanderlust and travel,” says our 2026 One to Watch in Furniture Design.
“The idea of creating furniture that grows with a child is particularly commendable in what can often be a wasteful industry,” writes judge Nicole Marion, founder and principal designer of Studio Marion. “Baby furniture is a challenging category with many regulations and requirements, making this accomplishment especially impressive.”
Storkcraft was founded in 1945, and Segal joined the family business seven years ago as senior marketing manager, gradually beginning to design furniture for the company. The Santorini crib became one of Storkcraft’s bestselling models, and Segal now serves as creative director and vice-president of product and brand.
“[This collection] is a reminder to pause and admire the beauty that surrounds us, and that you can find inspiration in anything,” he says.
—Nibras Sharar
Jamie Girouard can hook rugs anywhere—from his living room floor to Pitt Lake’s rocky shores. He brings his projects on canoe trips, working by moonlight. “I can just relax and look at the water and hook away,” says the artist and educator.
Girouard is intentional about sourcing natural materials: he could often be found repurposing burlap sacks from local coffee roasters into rug backings or scouring thrift stores for fabric—until word spread and shrunken sweaters began appearing on his porch. “The materials come to me now,” he says with a smile.
In his pieces, the traditional practice of rug hooking is juxtaposed with the tech-forward subject matter that inspires his designs. His earlier artwork included Star Wars characters painted on velvet, but now his work is more science than sci-fi.
In Fuzzy Logic, for example, one of several rugs depicting computing principles, Girouard visualizes AI decision-making with vibrant polka dots—each colour stage influencing the next.
Judge Caroline Boquist of Walrus praised Girouard’s execution of scientific concepts: “His use of colour, shape and texture come together in a cohesive and unexpected interplay that’s both artistic and delightful.”
Through his art, Girouard learns about the technology shaping our world, for better or worse. But his practice is not AI-generated. “The imagery is all me,” he says.
—Justine Drummond
Medina Mohammed is a Master of Journalism student at UBC’s School of Journalism, Media and Writing and is currently an intern at Canada Wide Medina. She enjoys reading, music and spending time with family and friends.
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