Hasta La Ideas

Vancouver interiors studio Ste Marie has designed an artisanal flour shop and bakery in the city that has furniture influenced by the American Shaker movement.

Ste Marie was enlisted by bakery and flour mill Flourist to design their first location in the city. In addition to the mill, the shop includes baking facilities, a cafeteria, and space for workshops.

Flourist is located at 3433 Commercial St, in East Vancouver, an up-and-coming neighbourhood in the city. Encompassing 2,800 square feet (260 square metres), the bakery interiors are a warm, caramel-like colour.

“We wanted the space to feel like standing in a wheat field on a perfect sunny day – a nice counterpoint to some of those grey Vancouver days,” said Craig Stanghetta of Ste Marie.

“To pull it all off we incorporated a mix of a farmhouse sensibility and good Scandinavian design principles,” Flourist added. “The outcome is a space that should look classic and current but also fresh and fun in the same breath.”

Drawing from agrarian references, Ste Marie also designed the furniture and fittings to take cues from the American Shaker movement.  The style, known for its simplicity, has become popular in recent years with Neri&Hu, Jin Kuramoto, Torsten Sherwood and Pinch all recently referencing the aesthetic.

Simple wooden chairs are used for the freestanding seats, while built-in seating is made with wide wooden planks using clean lines.

“Building off the Shaker principles and pastiche, the interior of the Mill and Bakery highlights abundance and warmth with a straightforward approach,” said Ste Marie.

“A palette of malty tones taken from Flourist’s grains and pulses, enveloping the space like a field of wheat.”

The company was established by Shira McDermott and Janna Bishop first as a mill, producing grains, flour, and beans from Canadian farmers, and selling wholesale online.

“Flourist brick and mortar locations are the next stage of our effort to disrupt the traditional and overly commodified food supply chain, which is particularly egregious in the grain, beans and flour markets,” said Flourist.

In front of the shop window, a communal table provides space for Flourist to teach baking workshops within sight of passers-by. It is built as a freestanding square object and topped with a textured marble slab.

Built-in shelves showcase the store’s baked goods, cookbooks, and other cooking accessories throughout, alongside Shaker antiques and other memorabilia. The mill is located at the back and is fronted by glass so it is also visible to customers.

In New York City, a cookie shop by The New Design Project uses a lighter beige palette for its interiors.

Other bakeries include a bright pink shop in Odessa, Ukraine, that is meant to reference the colour of bread, and a minimalist, industrial extension to a historical property in Uruguay, by Pedro Livni Arquitecto.

Photography is by Conrad Brown.

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