Inside the Studios and Workspaces of Five 2021 Made in Alberta Award Winners
A look at where the makers behind Willow Rose Beads, Beverage Bombs, StumpCraft and more make their products.
Written By: Redpoint Media
March 9, 2022

As told to Ado Nkemka

Photograph by Jared Sych

What is the thing you love the most about your workspace?

Lee-Ann Callan
Beverage Bombs
Edmonton
2021 Non-alcoholic Drink Category and Overall Grand Prize Winner

“Probably that it’s quiet and secluded and allows my creative juices to flow. I don’t have any interruptions. I don’t have anything pulling me away when I’m creating and when I’m producing. So that’s probably the one thing that I like the most about it — that it is quiet and calm and I’m secluded from everything so I’m free to create without any interruption.”

How does your studio inspire your creativity?

Photograph by Jared Sych

Jocelyn Lamothe
Willow Rose Beads
Spruce Grove
2021 Winner of the inaugural Amy Willier Award for Indigenous Artisans

“It’s my family room. I started beading four and a half, five years ago, and when I started beading, that’s just where I set up my beads to not have the coffee table filled up.

“The space, the way I’ve set it up now, I can look out the window. I live in a city, but I do get little neighbourhood rabbits and birds past that window, so I always love being able to look out that window, seeing some trees and flowers from my flower garden, those tiny little bits here and there of nature. Usually the window’s open, so I have some fresh air.

“I just like that corner, it gives me some perspective. I’m surrounded by some things from my family, from the past; old books and a little bit of artwork and memorabilia. So I guess that inspires me.”

What is the thing you love the most about your workspace?

Tyler Caza, Kristopher Sustrik and Adrian Cole
Hansen Distillery
Edmonton
2021 Alcoholic Drink Category Winner

Kristopher Sustrik: “It feels more like family working here. I don’t feel like we’re a company. I feel like we’re just a big family making alcohol for a living.”

Photograph by Jared Sych

Photograph by Jared Sych

How does your studio inspire your creativity?

Quin Cheung
Quinspired Ceramics
Calgary
2021 Craft Category Winner

“It was important for me to have my workspace be part of my home … I feel like the inspiration comes out in my work when I feel connected with the rest of my life. So that’s why I chose not to have a studio space outside of home. Sometimes, I know, it’s nice to disconnect, but because the art is so important to who I am, so integrative to where I am in life, I feel like when my home is inspired, when the rest of my life is inspired, that comes out in my ceramics, in my work.”

What is the thing you love the most about your workspace?

Jasen Robillard and James Lee
Stumpcraft
Calgary
2021 Games and Leisure Category Winner

Jasen Robillard: “There are elements of every single member of the StumpCraft team that are on display. The space is super bright and open and beautiful, and really enhances our sense of community and [of being a] team. And there’s a little bit of humour at play, so it reminds us to be creative and playful in everything we do.”

Photograph by Jared Sych