You’ve got 10 days left until the deadline—April 15, 11:59 p.m.—so it’s time to get your entries in. There are nine categories for the Designers of the Year awards, ranging from architecture and interiors to fashion, industrial and furniture design—and more!—which you can read all about on our Entry Page.

What makes our awards special? Judges look at a body of work, rather than one project or moment in time. Winning the title of Designer of the Year reflects a holistic celebration of all of the work you do: just ask our past winners.

Without further ado, we’re thrilled to announce the incredible judges for our Maker category for the 2024 WL Designers of the Year.

 

Jonathan Adler
Founder, Jonathan Adler

Potter, designer and author Jonathan Adler launched his namesake brand after leaving his day job to pursue his first love: pottery. In 1993, Barneys bought his collection, and five years later, he opened his first store in Soho.

Today his offerings span furniture, lighting, home décor and more, plus countless iconic interior projects, and retail locations worldwide, all dedicated to bringing Modern American Glamour to your life.

Photo: Hayden Pattullo

Sumer Singh
Founder, Mercedes + Singh, Mtharu

Sumer Singh is an artist with an undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering, a Masters in Architecture from the University of Calgary, and a Masters in Advanced Computation for Architecture and Design from IAAC Barcelona. He operates within a framework at the intersection of design, engineering, architecture, and fabrication.
Sumer’s family name is Matharu, meaning sword hilt maker, going back to 500 years of artists, blacksmiths, poets and authors from Punjab. Owing to his rich lineage and background, he focuses on technical yet free exploration of ideas, which are propelled forward by material science and applied research.
In 2013, Sumer started the MTHARU design studio as a multi-disciplinary and applied materials research lab with in-house manufacturing for objects, furniture, and lighting. In 2017, Sumer co-founded Mercedes and Singh (MASIV) to fulfill a need for complex and multi-material architectural fabrication in Calgary. The company has since grown to become a residential developer, designer and fabricator. A particular emphasis is placed on collaboration, and solving complex design problems for projects such as public art and residential construction. Sumer has been a Sessional Instructor for the M.Arch. degree at the University of Calgary since Fall 2020.

Jody Phillips
Executive Director, Burnaby Arts Council

Jody Phillips currently holds the position of Executive Director at the Burnaby Arts Council and Lead Exhibition Maker at the Deer Lake Gallery and was director of IDS Vancouver for 6 years prior to her national role as IDS Brand Director until February ’21. A proud longtime Vancouverite, Phillips has forever advocated for the region’s creative communities making a career of conceiving of and executing opportunities that promote and highlight the coast’s talent and culture, both regionally and internationally. Building relationships with foundations, associations and governments from as far as Tokyo, Shanghai and Mumbai, to as close as neighbouring Los Angeles and Portland, Phillips has sat on design juries, moderated, been a panelist and is published, including Currents: Contemporary Pacific Northwest Design, © 2018.

Western Living

Western Living

The editorial team at Western Living loves nothing more than a perfectly designed space, place or thing: and we’re here to tell you about it. Email us your pitches at [email protected].