A young Jamie Pryde was sitting in rendering class at BCIT, where he was studying interior design, when suddenly his phone started to ring. Amidst a sea of working students, he picked up the call. The person on the other end of the line was the assistant to famed architect Peter Marino.
Pryde was boldly ambitious even in college, and actually started his own interior design business while he was learning how to design interiors. The Edit is the fine life through his lens, a carefully curated selection of high-end antiques and contemporary wares—and apparently even early on, people were taking notice. Pryde ended up selling a piece to Marino, and has since also sold items to Net-a-Porter founder Natalie Massenet and lord knows who else: he often flips through the pages of Architectural Digest and spots things he sold to other designers without knowing who their clients were. “It’s funny for me because these things could be in the bottom of a basement in antique shop on Main Street, and now they’re living these glamorous lives in Los Angeles,” he says over coffee at Matchstick. When prompted to imagine what it would be like to see where his pieces end up, Pryde goes the other direction: “Or see where they came from,” he suggests. “I wonder what they’ve gone through. Who’s sat on them, what house they’ve been in. It fascinates me. I wonder how they got all their scars.”
Aside from dealing antiques, Pryde works with a select few contemporary designers including Vancouver’s Kate Duncan and Propellor, and Calgary’s Amanda Hamilton. The Edit operates through e-commerce (a function that allows the company to remain a small operation even while selling to the likes of the aforementioned Marino), and also has a showroom located downtown. When he’s not curating for The Edit, Pryde is working directly with Vancouverites to design and decorate their living spaces. “I think it’s important, just as with fashion and dressing yourself, your interiors have to be a reflection of yourself,” he says. His advice for those changing up their interiors? “I think if you’re questioning it, it’s wrong,” he counsels, and adds that you should trust your gut.
Pryde’s gut will be put to the test at this year’s IDS Vancouver, where he has been tasked with designing the VIP room where guest speakers, industry leaders, and media will congregate during the popular trade show. He has partnered with Livingspace, Martha Sturdy, and Jan Kath to create the room, which will be a classic Pryde mix of antique and modern. “I don’t stress about it but I definitely lose sleep over it,” he says with a smile. “I’m confident in my abilities as a designer, but you start to question yourself. Will this be enough? Will this convey my message properly?” His boyish looks and quiet confidence make him immediately likeable, easy to root for. And this is certainly a scenario in which you would cheer someone on. After all, Pryde is designing a room for some of the greats, some of his industry’s legends: Tom Dixon, Emily Henderson, Barbara Barry—all guests at this year’s IDS Vancouver. Pryde smiles. “Little old me, right?”
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