Downtown Design Success Story: Vin de Garde

Canada-based, Billy Carpenter is the Principal at Vin de Garde and a patented product designer and inventor.  Passionate about collectible wine, he has patented a number of ingenious wine storage designs built by master craftsmen. Applying his experience in construction, wine and detailed industrial design, Carpenter’s sommelier-designed wine cellars are ideal for connoisseurs and have won numerous design awards including the ‘People’s Design Award’ by the Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum. 

Lauded by clients such as Ritz-Carlton, Vin de Garde is now set to open its third location – its first in the Middle East – in Dubai Design District later this year.  Here is Billy’s take on Dubai, Downtown Design and the niche market Vin de Garde has captured in the Middle East:

Tell us a little bit about Vin De Garde; how did it start? And what is it that you offer?

Vin De Garde was born out of two overarching themes: true passion for our product, and the opportunity to address a much underserved market.

Over the years and throughout our travels, we would meet countless successful individuals, from collectors and connoisseurs, to those with simply a passion and discerning eye for great design. These individuals often had impressive homes that featured incredible design and attention to detail, but rarely did that design and quality extend to cellar storage. The options available - even at the high end - were limited, and frankly inconsistent with the bespoke and superior design elements found elsewhere in their homes.

We identified a clear need for someone to step up and provide a contemporary, fully integrated, state-of-the-art, aesthetically beautiful, and truly bespoke solution for cellar storage - and we knew this was something that we could deliver.

Because of our holistic approach: from our passion for the collections themselves to our patented designs of even the smallest individual storage components, our deep understanding of wood science, engineering, and industrial design, and our proven abilities to collaborate with designers and clients on truly unique projects, Vin De Garde was able to quickly emerge as the finest solution - and global brand - for contemporary and bespoke cellar storage and design. 

This is Vin De Garde’s third year exhibiting at Downtown Design, what keeps you coming back?

For us, this event - and really Dubai as a whole - continues to represent the best of innovation and design. Dubai is obviously a very dynamic and forward-thinking city, the leading edge in so many sectors, which fosters the sort of creativity and excellence that we see here at this event.

There is always so much talent and great design on display at Downtown Design, and we’re continually amazed and inspired by what we see here, by the work of our colleagues, and the interesting people we get to meet. Of course, we are also very excited about expanding our business in the region, and this is a great opportunity to share our vision and connect with potential clients and partners.

Cellar Storage Design is a unique offering to the Middle East. What does the brand fully offer in terms of services?

We are unique in that we offer a number of services as a bespoke cellar design, manufacturing and cellar construction company.  Our design office delivers project plans, project management and MEP consulting. We manufacture our cellar components in our shops in Vancouver, Canada and Milan, Italy. We plan to start manufacturing in Dubai in 2016. We install our projects worldwide.

We design and build mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems to control temperature and humidity, LED light fixtures, doors and complete storage systems in full rooms or standalone cabinets.  We manufacture with metal, wood, glass, acrylics and resin.   

Vin de Garde has an architect, industrial designer, mechanical engineer and a sommelier on the design team - we work together to design every cellar.

How do you plan a space around cellar storage and what factors do you need to take into account when designing for one?

We collaborate with our clients to completely understand their expectations for their project.  We consider the space, design elements and materials that suit the client and their wine, capacity requirements, how they will use the space and how it should function.

We design to mimic the natural underground cellar environment and build in controls that will affect the collection when stored over a long term.  We seamlessly integrate temperature and humidity systems, design to protect the collection from UV light, vibrations and toxic odours.  

Where can one experience your product in the Middle East?

We plan to open a design office in the Dubai Design District soon where we will display all of our storage systems, modern furniture, lighting, controls and mechanical systems.   

We have also completed a number of projects in private residences in the Middle East, including Dubai and Abu Dhabi.  We have installed in luxury apartments, villas, and commercial spaces, though do not share locations or the identities of our private clients.

What expectations do you have of this year’s fair?

We look forward to continue developing strategic partnerships and business connections in the Middle East.  We expect to secure a number of commercial projects within many of the new luxury hotels and restaurants being built before Expo 2020.  

Register now to visit Vin de Garde and over 100 brands at this year’s Downtown Design 2016.