Content area
Full Text
If doing what you love for a living is the measure of success, then Glenn Pushelberg and George Yabu are arguably two of the most successful interior designers in the world. The fact that Toronto-based Yabu Pushelberg, the small but increasingly influential firm they founded 20 years ago, has been at the top of the short list for some of the most coveted interior design projects on three continents (and counting) is just icing on the cake. It's not that the Canadian duo is not ambitious; but they do seem driven primarily by the excitement of rising to new challenges rather than by fame and fortune.
"It has never been my life goal to be a 'famous' interior designer," says Pushelberg, the firm's managing partner. "The key for us has always been to do what we enjoy." Yabu, who serves as creative director, concurs, "We're just doing our thing. But the current notoriety outside Canada is certainly fortuitous-especially since we're in the process of opening a New York satellite office." Working up to their current level of recognition in a new market would have been daunting. But even before they were discovered by Bergdorf Goodman in 1998 for their first big New York assignment, Yabu and Pushelberg had already set their sights on what they call "the world's stage." They have no plans to leave Toronto, which they see as the driving force of Canada, but they acknowledge that New York is more energized and a city where they're likely to meet clients with the most rewarding projects. "From a personal growth point of view-and because the professional challenges [in New York] are greater than in Canada-we think it's a natural place for us," says Pushelberg.
While Canadians do have a reputation for being insular, these citizens see themselves as international players. They don't necessarily agree that Canadian designers have lived in the shadow of the United States. According to Yabu, it's not a balanced comparison for several reasons: Canada has a smaller population than the state of California, it has far fewer designers, and most of them focus on regional projects.
"You can do lots of work without venturing outside Canada," explains Pushelberg. "But it isn't necessarily going to be great work, because...