Edmonton on Screen: CBC’s On Design Shines a Light on Local Creative Energy

Design has always been part of Edmonton’s identity, quietly shaping our city. From workshops to studios, this city’s designers contribute to ideas and products that reach far beyond our borders. CBC On Design, a five-part documentary series produced by Edmonton’s own Sticks & Stones—captures that breadth, bringing national attention to the people and processes behind the things we use every day.

Guided by former MADE Chair Max Amerongen, the series moves beyond aesthetics to explore the thinking, experimentation, and persistence that define Canadian design. Many of the featured creators call Edmonton home, reinforcing what those within our community already know: this city is a serious place for design, and it’s shaping conversations well beyond its geography.

Words by Max Amerongen
Sticks & Stones / Producer, CBC On Design / Former MADE Chair

How much does the average person think about designers? CBC On Design is a series that looks at the Canadian industrial designers behind objects we encounter in our day-to-day lives. Created by the team at Edmonton-based creative agency Sticks & Stones for CBC Arts, the series follows five different designers through the creation of an object. The series mixes shop talk with production footage - giving non-designers a glimpse of the conversations designers have about each other’s work.

Edmonton designers are very well represented in the series. Of the studios featured, 3 are currently based in Edmonton, and one is formerly Edmontonian. Is this bias on the part of the creators of the show? Maybe a bit - but it also reflects our city’s vibrant design scene, with many more designers doing national and international work than we might think.

Episode 1

Concrete Cat

Edmonton → Montreal

The first episode of the series focuses on former Edmontonians Matt and Shawna Heide of Concrete Cat. After over a decade in Edmonton, Matt and Shawna moved to Montreal to take advantage of local expertise in import/export and intellectual property, as well as proximity to New York, their main market. We’d show you more of their creation process, but part of it is top secret.

Episode 3

Geof Lilge

Edmonton

Most Edmonton designers probably know Geof Lilge, the subject of Episode 3. From co-founding Pure Design, a 90’s powerhouse of the Edmonton design scene, to his kitchen brand OnOurTable work, to seating you’ve probably sat on at Division Twelve, this episode explores the through-lines of Geof’s multifaceted career.

Episode 4

OneTwoSix Design

Edmonton

People are surprised to find out that OneTwoSix is still designing and manufacturing phone booths in 2025. But phone booths provide a crucial thing that’s missing from the contemporary office: a quiet spot to take a call. When everyone moved to working from home at the beginning of the pandemic, it looked like Loop Phone Booths might not be necessary. But, as anyone in an office job can tell you, now that almost every meeting is hybrid, they’ve never been more important.

Episode 5

Rashelle Campbell

Edmonton

Rashelle turned a pandemic hobby into a successful business. Her products lean into a specific aesthetic niche: a 90’s kid’s dream bedroom, which itself draws on an Austin Powers vision of the 60’s. Coming to design from a marketing and communications background has also meant that, unlike many solo designers, she has been able to build a very successful brand image for her business.

When the series was first pitched to CBC, it didn’t seem like something that would be geopolitically relevant. But the Trump tariffs have affected many of the designers featured in the series. Many did a large part of their business in America, and are impacted greatly by the chaos and expense introduced to cross-border trade. Rashelle in particular has been impacted by the Ssense bankruptcy, drawing attention to the asymmetrical power dynamic between designers and the large companies they rely on to do business.

Discover these designers and studios in our Design Atlas ↗︎