Forge Apparel's new women's collection

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photo by Cara Howlett

Post by Cara Howlett 

Our neighbour here at the Devenish, Eric Goodwin, is a leather craftsman and founder of his own apparel company called Forge Apparel. Eric is pleased to be releasing his first women’s collection of purses and clutches this week.

Designed to fit Forge's classic look of leather and waxed canvas, the women’s collection will have the look and feel of Forge Apparel's men’s products, but with some feminine touches.

photo courtesy of Forge Apparel

photo by Cara Howlett

“I had my brand manager Kelsey Laugher help me out with some of the designs. She helped me out with what women want as far as dividers and pockets and zippers,” laughs Eric. “I merged her influence and design aspects with my own aesthetic and style.”

After graduating with a business degree, in 2011 Eric rented a studio at Art Central in downtown Calgary where he designed, created, and sold his rustic bags and backpacks until moving to the Devenish building in 2013. 

photo by Cara Howlett

Describing his products as gritty and organic, Eric’s designs are inspired by the Rocky Mountains and travel. “I love that really heritage feel to it, like back before there were five-star resorts and when travel was still pretty gritty,” says Eric. “That’s why I still work with the wax-canvas and the leather–very classic materials.”

You can check out Forge Apparel's new women’s collection, along with his other products, in his online store. 

photo by Cara Howlett

photo courtesy of Forge Apparel

photo by Cara Howlett

photo by Cara Howlett

Collection 5 by EG Forge

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Eric Goodwin of EG Forge was my neighbour in Art Central—and he's my neighbour here in the Devenish building, too! We were both looking at renting here at the Devenish and Eric paved the way and was a tenant first. We're both happily settled into our new workspaces. 

Eric has been busy sewing and designing. He has just released his fifth collection which will become the cornerstone "classic" designs in the EG Forge line of bags, accessories and clothing. Check out the epic films he creates for his fashions.

games night & open house

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Last week, Glen hosted a games design and prototyping night in our new headquarters. For the first time since we moved in there were half a dozen new people seeing the space.

All those glowing windows highlight the UPPERCASE office.

open house this saturday afternoon! 

Locals who would like to visit the new UPPERCASE home and catch up since the Art Central days are welcome to come to our open house this Saturday from 1-4pm. Please let Erin know if you'll be stopping by, so we have a good idea of how much food to have on hand! Families are welcome, too. 

As the sign says, there is plenty of parking just outside the Devenish building.

picture perfect

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The AFTER shot of everything on the new shelves. 

I'm sure you're like me and you look at interiors blogs and pin images of rooms onto Pinterest. (Here's the board that I made while planning the studio.) With impeccably styled spaces, with everything just so... it is wonderful escapism to dream of the perfect place. In moving to a new office, I was faced with a blank slate: what to choose for the walls? the floor? the kitchenette? the furniture? It was the chance to create a new studio, a workspace of my dreams.

I loved my old studio dearly, but that was not meant to be (the Art Central building is being demolished) . The bright side was that I found a wonderful, l000 square foot second level office in a heritage-protected building that is a half-hour walk from my home. I love The Devenish's old bones, its quirky and beautiful characteristics. Specifically in our unit, 201b, the space has seven large windows with deep ledges, brick walls and three distinct rooms that are still open to each other.

My business has changed and grown a lot since the early retail and gallery days of UPPERCASE—and I have personally as well. Glen and I got married the first summer I was in Art Central; we became parents three years ago. I am more mature, the magazine is doing well, I have the responsibilities of employees... with this new office, I wanted to create something more sophisticated while still keeping it charming and colourful.

The picture above is what I envisioned when planning the space. It is satisfying to see things come together in three dimensions! As a graphic designer, I am used to flat page layouts and designing a space is out of my comfort zone—but I do know what I like! I selected a grey wood laminate floor as a neutral base. The walls are a very very light grey with white trim around the windows. The front room is a slightly darker shade of grey. The beautiful old radiators were restored and painted a deep grey. To see my Evernote of the exact finishes, click here.

For furniture, we are using much of the same things from the old space. The white Ikea desks came with us. I purchased shelving for the back wall (Ikea Besta) and the Stornäs extendable table with various Ikea chairs.

This will be a project, workshop, meeting and photography room. 

What you don't see in the picture is the mess around the corner and the damage on the table. At some point in the night, a light fixture had fallen and broken onto the days-old table. When I got in this morning, there were literally shards of the fixture stabbed into the surface of the new table. aackkk!  Looking at the silver lining, I'm glad I went with the cheaper Ikea table instead of this expensive dream table I was coveting.

Here's Jocelyn in mission control, Erin sits at the window at right.

Some of the things that make me feel at home: books, creative supplies and vintage treasures.

I think we'll be very happy here! There is certainly a lot of room to grow over the next five or more years and I look forward to developing some projects that having more space will allow. (Workshops! Internships! Conferences! Creative Events!) 

unpack, assemble, arrange

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The BEFORE view of the office with Glen installing the Ikea shelves.

Finley putting things in his cupboard.

Lots of boxes to play with.

The tent/hiding spot for Finley. This spot will be my editorial work area but I haven't purchased any furniture yet!

Huge thank you to my husband Glen for putting together all the Ikea furniture.

This afternoon I emptied the last of the movers' cartons, so I guess we are officially unpacked! Still lots of arranging and placing and figuring out to do, but I love how it is shaping up.

making plans

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I'm planning out the layout of the new office. What a great challenge to have all this space—the new office is double the size!

Happy that the ugly popcorn effect on the ceiling was smoothed away.

One of the seven windows overlooking a lovely tree, which will help cushion the view of the construction to happen in the adjacent lot.

This area will be our main work area, with my design station at the back and Jocelyn's customer service mission control in the foreground.

Site of a kitchenette with a sink and fridge.

Old wallpaper reveals the Devenish's previous life as an apartment complex.

After touring the new space, Jocelyn, Erin and I took out the new issue for lunch. It is becoming tradition! We enjoyed great food at FARM on 17th. They're just a block away from the new office, so we will be tempted often.

the start of something

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If you follow me on Instagram, you might have seen these shots on Friday. I finally signed the lease document for the new home of UPPERCASE. It is a relief to have those legalities done and now I can start sharing updates and images. The space is currently a real diamond in the rough. My new landlord sees the potential as well and I am really happy that I've been able to select finishes so that it will suit our aesthetics. It's going to be beautiful.

The obligatory BEFORE shot. The space is being used as a catchall for other renovations.

More about the new building soon! First I have to finish sorting everything for our big studio sale this Saturday from 11-4 at Art Central.  (Thanks for the amazing response to our Inventory Clearout Sale in our online shop!)