CELEBRATING THE WEST COAST: DESIGN VICTORIA 2025
Design Victoria celebrates a vibrant creative community and the power of good design, offering a unique, four-day festival experience—the West Coast way.
May 2025 - NEWS // The month of May on the West Coast is when the clouds begin to clear and April’s showers give way to vibrant spring blooms. While spring is felt in Vancouver, the Design Victoria festival brings the community together for events, installations, tours, and workshops—perfect for both seasoned professionals and design-curious locals.
This year, our team was excited to attend Design Victoria as first-timers, looking to our neighbours for community, collaboration, and inspiration. The festivities offered a ton of unique opportunities to access a number of creative studios normally closed to the public, in celebration of Victoria’s growing design industry.
The event director, Carla Sorrell, brings international experience in design-led events and global partnerships, which informs Design Victoria’s high-quality programming. With 5,000 attendees and 55 individual events supported by more than 100 businesses, Carla’s expertise helps shape this vibrant, interdisciplinary design festival.
“There was such a great vibe in the air — people were really engaged and curious. The audience had been here [Victoria] all along just waiting to find other people in the design sector, and now there was this idea that we could come together as a community.”
Carla Sorrell on the 2025 festival via Azure
Our newest addition to the Ova collection is the Satin Amber finish, pictured here at Thomas & Birch showroom for the Design Victoria Launch Party.
Matthew presented an intimate, happy hour talk at Thomas & Birch titled The Way We Play: chronicling his journey from a young kid who liked to skateboard to a values-led lighting company guided by meaningful purpose.
A 25-foot, feature Ova installation in a satin amber—our newest Ova colourway and finish—at the stunning Thomas & Birch showroom in downtown Victoria.
Our team was delighted to connect with a unique mix of industry colleagues and local guests with a genuine appetite and appreciation for creativity. Along with community connections came delicious food from local restaurants, walkable sights, and captivating artist talks—all along the coastal city.
We were excited to showcase a 25-foot Ova installation in a satin amber—our newest Ova colourway and finish—at the stunning Thomas & Birch showroom in downtown Victoria where the Opening Night Party was also hosted.
Matthew kicked off the second night of the festival with an intimate, happy hour talk at Thomas & Birch sharing why he creates and where and how he finds inspiration to keep creating. From skateboarding as a kid to solo entrepreneurship to a values-led company guided by meaningful purpose, Matthew highlighted the triumphs and tribulations along the way.
He shed light on briefcase, the experimental arm of the studio, where we play with new ideas, materials, and projects that fall outside of the status quo. It is also where our vision can truly come to life, ensuring that the work we put into the world aligns with who we are as a brand and company.
“Bespoke commissions for briefcase is what fuels my creative energy; it’s where I can go into my ‘briefcase’ of oddities and inspiration and pull from everything I’ve collected over the years. The wow factor at the time of final installation – along with the joy on our client’s faces at the end of it - is what makes it all worth it.
It’s an immense satisfaction to have clients both believe in and invest in my ideas.”
Matthew McCormick, DV 2025
More than 70 people attended Matthew’s talk—new and veteran designers alike. We’re grateful for the opportunity to support our Canadian design community and participate in this years diverse program at Design Victoria; it was a welcome reminder of the incredible design and architectural work happening in our own backyard.