Origins is an experimental design and fabrication studio based out of Vancouver, BC.

On paper, we are trained architectural and graphic designers, artists, digital fabrication specialists, and entrepreneurs. At heart, we just want to get our hands dirty.

We operate at many scales, from small objects to furniture and sculpture.

We are agile. Our multi-faceted approach to design and making gives us the ability to shift gears and disciplines quickly, focusing our attention on the projects and problems that really speak to us.

We believe that good design should be honest, humble, and useful above all else.

We believe the pieces we craft should be as beautiful to look at as they are fundamentally simple to use.

We believe that the techniques of tradition and technology should carry equal weight in contemporary design culture. Our expertise in digital fabrication technologies is always supplemented and subsequently grounded by a rigorous approach to our hands-on craft.

Origins is co-founded by Deagan McDonald and Kelsey Nilsen, partners in business and in life. We met while completing our Masters of Architecture at the University of Toronto, and Origins was formed shortly following graduation.

We design and make all of our work ourselves, here in our Vancouver studio (it’s just the two of us). If you’ve welcomed one of our pieces into your home, know that is was crafted by our hands, with care.