Photo: Brent Comber, 2024 Award of Distinction recipient
The 2025 Sam Carter Award program continues to celebrate excellence in BC’s vibrant design and craft community. Last year’s Award of Distinction recipient, Brent Comber, is a shining example of how material, story, and place intersect to create powerful, lasting work.
A designer and sculptor based in North Vancouver, Brent has spent decades exploring the dialogue between nature and form. His studio practice is rooted in the landscapes of the Pacific Northwest, with a focus on reclaimed and locally sourced wood. His signature works—bold, sculptural furniture pieces and installations—are beautiful, and they carry the weight of history, environment, and transformation.
The short film produced about the 2024 Award of Distinction recipient offers a moving portrait of Brent’s process and perspective. For Brent, design is about listening—to the material, the context, and the cultural landscape around him.
One of the most compelling themes in the film is Brent’s respect for the inherent life of wood—its knots, grain, and imperfections—and how these are celebrated rather than erased. “There’s a story in every tree,” he reflects, “and our job is to honour that.” This philosophy aligns beautifully with the values of the Sam Carter Award, which recognizes practitioners who elevate material-based design into cultural dialogue.
The film also highlights Brent’s dedication to mentorship and community. His North Vancouver studio is a hub for emerging designers, artisans, and collaborators. Through this open-door approach, he has helped shape a generation of makers who are redefining BC’s creative identity.
The Sam Carter Award, named for the legendary educator and design advocate, celebrates those who blend innovation with tradition, aesthetics with ethics, and art with function. Brent’s work exemplifies all of this—and more.
This award program honours individual achievement and also highlights the rich diversity and strength of applied art and design across the province. From textile artists to woodworkers, ceramicists to jewellery designers, the recipients are a reminder of how creativity can transform both material and mindset.
Brent’s work reminds us that good design is not just something we see—it’s something we feel, inhabit, and use in daily life.
Stay tuned for the announcement of the 2025 Sam Carter Award recipients and join us in celebrating the incredible talent shaping BC’s design future.
BC Achievement: Elevate Excellence. Share Success. Inspire Change.