Made in Vancouver: Heidi Rey on Building Studio Heidle and Making Meaningful Objects

No one can accuse Heidi Rey of just assuming she could be an artist for a living. “I had that classic young person experience of being told there’s not really a space for artistry and having a career,” she says. Instead, she studied real estate and business and more (“I went to a bunch of schools,” she laughs) until it was finally, truly clear she wasn’t satisfied with any of it. “I was just like, what am I doing?” Rey recalls. She dropped business and instead signed up for a cabinetry and joinery program at BCIT, before adding one last credential to her long transcript: an industrial design degree from Emily Carr.

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From there, she landed at furniture company Article for a few years, designing some of their top sellers (like the Quincy kitchen island) and then working in research and system development, but the constraints of being part of a production line were sometimes challenging. “It was an amazing experience and so validating, but being creative nine-to-five isn’t always how it works,” she says. “I’m a pretty neurodivergent person, and I’ve learned a lot about the poetics of how my brain works in the past couple of years. I see I was trying to force it into a shape that it didn’t quite fit.”

To get back to the love of actually making things—getting physical with furniture again—she took a leap out of the corporate world and into her very own Studio Heidle in 2023.

What started as select commissions is evolving now into a line of intentional sculptural pieces, including kitchen and servingware, a range of tables and other unique “objects of observation.” (She was named a One to Watch in Western Living’s 2024 Designers of the Year awards.) It’s a move that happened alongside some recent meaningful time with her family—time that’s given her a new perspective about what really matters. “Heidle stuff now carries more meaning and more punch,” she says. studioheidle.com

WE LOVE LOCAL

A few of Heidi Rey’s favourite shopping spots and homegrown makers.

Noon Jewellery

@noonjewellery

“Sophia Armstrong is phenomenal. She actually made my ring when I got engaged last winter, and it was a really beautiful, deeply love-felt experience.”

Cream Pony

2190 Main St.

“Cream Pony does great doughnuts and chicken. They’ve just opened their second location on Main Street and it’s run by a mother-daughter duo exemplifying doing what they love with such great intentions.”

Old Faithful

320 W Cordova St. and 1985 W 4th Ave.

“It’s my favourite place for gifts. From a design perspective, you can trust that the intention behind every object there is understood deeply. I appreciate the curation.”

Studio Full Bloom

1319 Commercial Dr.

“They have their flower stalks all in vases, so you can just walk in and put together your own bouquet and they don’t look at you weird or anything.”