Introducing this year’s judges for three IDC awards programs.
Jump to: Value of Design Awards || Innovation in Design Thinking Student Competition || Innovation Awards
Value of Design Awards
These awards shine a spotlight on Canadian interior designers by providing a forum to showcase the benefits of design thinking: an empathetic, inventive, and iterative process focused on the human experience within interior spaces.
Judy Henderson
Principal, Inside Design Studios
With over 20 years of design experience, Judy Henderson leads the IDSI team through each project, from strong concept to innovative solution. Since starting Inside Design Studio Inc. in 1997, Judy has built an exceptional team of designers, who strike the delicate balance between creativity and responsible, sustainable design. She has a Bachelor of Interior Design from University of Manitoba and is a Registered Interior Designer accredited through the National Council for Interior Design Qualification.
Her project experience spans from office, residential, and institutional to hospitality design. Along with working on five-star hotels in Australia, she has handled numerous urban hotel, destination resorts, and international hotel brand projects in Vancouver and throughout BC.
She has helped Kwa’lilas Hotel achieve their vision of marrying traditional culture with modern décor. For Judy, it was important to use modern elements to showcase the modernity of First Nations culture and how the Gwa’ala-‘Nakwaxda’xw people continue to make strides as they move forward. Rather than replicating traditional designs, she wants to introduce guests to a strong history with a great art form. The hotel design is warm, welcoming, modern and progressive, and although it is a contemporary setting, the local artwork remains perfectly in balance.
With a daughter of First Nations descent, the project holds a special place in Judy’s heart. She is overjoyed to be a part of such a dynamic team and to learn how different groups can work together to achieve outstanding results.
Marc Bherer
President and Senior Designer, Desjardins Bherer
Marc Bherer brings more than two decades of experience in interior design. He is a member of the Association professionnelle des designers d’intérieur du Québec (APDIQ), Interior Designers of Canada (IDC), and the International Interior Design Association (IIDA). Known for his versatility and adeptness in transitioning between creative and managerial roles, Marc Bherer is driven by a consistent passion from the initial sketch to the final execution, overseeing numerous large-scale projects.
Specializing in high-end residential projects, as well as select commercial and multi-residential endeavors, Desjardins Bherer has garnered a strong reputation over the years, now standing among the most prominent professional offices in the field of interior design. Notably, Desjardins Bherer has received over twenty national and international awards.
The creative process at Desjardins Bherer begins with a comprehensive understanding of the firm intervention context and the client requirements. Progressing with an aim to integrate stakeholders concerns and find realistic solutions while maintaining aesthetic considerations, the firm ensures a balanced approach to design.
Vanessa Tantalo
Owner and Principal, Tanolo Tech Integration Inc.
Vanessa Tantalo is the Owner and Principal of Tanolo Tech Integration Inc., a Building Code and Accessibility Consulting Firm. As a Registered Interior Designer with 18 years of experience in various sectors including Corporate, Seniors Living, Multi-Family Residential, Retail, Commercial, Industrial, Municipal, etc. Vanessa leverages her expertise and project understanding as a designer in combination with her technical expertise in building code and accessibility to support Interior Designers and Architects.
Vanessa is an active member of ARIDO, IDC, CIDQ and APN and holds BCIN Large Building Certification through the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing. Vanessa works as part-time faculty with Humber College’s Bachelor of Interior Design Program, which provides her with an opportunity to educate the next generation of Interior Designers in Ontario. Driving her passion for accessibility, Vanessa is always leading with an inclusive lens as an RHFAC Professional and also sits on the City of Brampton Accessibility Advisory Committee as a volunteer member.
Innovation in Design Thinking: Student Competition
Founded in 2021, this competition provides students with a national platform to demonstrate the value of interior design and illustrate the positive impact design has on the users of the spaces, supported by evidence-based research.
Dorothy Stern
Professor, Algonquin College
Dorothy has been a professor in the Bachelor of Interior Design (BID) Program at Algonquin College in Ottawa, Ontario since 1998, and was the Program Coordinator from 1998 – 2008. During this time she spearheaded the BID program’s Council for Interior Design Accreditation (CIDA) accreditation, its transformation from a three-year diploma program to a four-year baccalaureate credential, as well as the BID Bridging Program. Now semi-retired, Dorothy continues to assist students as a study skills coach within Algonquin’s Student Support Services division.
In addition to sharing her passion about the role of interior design in the responsible shaping of our world with students, she continues to be engaged in the interior design profession through the publication of academic papers, as well as through research and interdisciplinary collaboration. Over the past two years, Dorothy has continued to collaborate with Ingenium: Canada’s Museums of Science and Innovation, and Carleton University on a research project focused upon domestic technologies and interior spaces, and aimed at engaging with immigrant and other communities who are underrepresented in the national collections. Additionally, in conjunction with an Algonquin College graduate designer, Dorothy has completed a unique project entitled “Voices from Home” which focuses upon the ways in which seniors living in assisted living environments create a sense of home within their interior space.
Dorothy holds a BID from the University of Manitoba, an MES from York University and an M. Arch. degree from McGill University. She has practiced nationally and internationally as both an interior designer and urban designer. Her areas of research include gender and domesticity, vernacular housing, ‘everyday’ architecture and design, cultural landscapes, and the theory and philosophy of design.
Kerri Peyton
Principal, Peyton Licensed Interior Design Inc.
Kerri Peyton is the principal designer of award-winning design firm, Peyton Licensed Interior Design Inc. in Calgary. The firm’s work focuses on commercial interior design including offices, childcare, retail and hospitality, as well as health care/wellness spaces and multi-family residential.
She is a Licensed Interior Designer recognized by the Alberta Association of Architects and holds degrees in Interior Design (Mount Royal University) and Communications Studies (University of Calgary). Following work experience with leading architectural and interior design firms in Calgary, Kerri started her own design firm in 2012.
Having completed her own professional accreditations over her 20-year design career, Kerri now mentors other young designers through the Alberta Association of Architects and the National Council for Interior Design Qualification (NCIDQ). She is also a Studio Instructor in the CIDA-accredited Bachelor of Interior Design program at Mount Royal University.
Her work has received two MASI design awards in 2018 and 2021 representing the best in Prairie interior design. In 2019 she was selected to travelled to Copenhagen, Denmark as part of a delegation of interior designers from across Canada. Her speech entitled “The Experience Matters: Cultivating an Amazing Project Team” was featured at Buildex Alberta in 2022 and Buildex Vancouver in 2023.
Innovation Awards
This awards program, which is exclusive to IDC’s Industry Partners, was established in 1984 to honour excellence in product design and new showroom creativity.
Tracy Bowie
Design Industry Consultant, Tracy Bowie Projects
Tracy Bowie has been a passionate advocate of Canadian design internationally for over 30 years through organizing events to bring the design and architecture industry together for networking, inspiration, access to new materials, products and trends and education on key issues such as sustainability, wellness and accessibility.
After a rewarding career leading IIDEXCanada and managing Designers Walk, in her semi-retirement she now leads her own firm, Tracy Bowie Projects where she programs conferences and tours for associations such as ASID, IDC and Restaurants Canada, organizes sales and marketing strategies for key Canadian manufacturers like Eventscape and helps to launch design events like the Architecture and Design Film Festival in Toronto at TIFF Lightbox which celebrates five years in the fall of 2024.
Tracy also gives back to her community by Chairing the Board at her church, mentoring youth and helping to organize events for important organizations like Stopgap, Out of the Cold, CCSJ Food Pantry, Ronald McDonald House and the Breast Cancer Support Fund. She is also a recipient of the IDC/IIDA Leadership Award of Excellence (2013), is an honourary member of ARIDO and has also been a DesignTO Ambassador as well as a member of the advisory board of the Ryerson School of Interior Design and the Interior Designers of Canada Foundation.
Karl Travis
Partner and Senior Interior Designer at Hager Design International Inc.
Karl is a Partner and Senior Interior Designer at Hager Design International Inc. and has over 22 years design experience. He is a graduate of Algonquin College in Ottawa and has a Diploma of Interior Design where he is also a 2010 inductee of the college’s Hall of Fame for the School of Media and Design: Interior Design. He earned a B.A. in Urban Physical Geography at the University of Western Ontario.
Karl has an extensive background working in the hospitality industry which included partnership in a restaurant formerly located in Whistler, B.C. Karl earned his NCIDQ qualification and is registered with the Interior Designers of Canada, the Interior Designer Institute of BC and is a member of the NEWH Vancouver Chapter. He is formerly a board member of the Retail Design Institute and has also spent time working in Toronto as well as Bermuda as an Interior Designer.
When he isn’t leading our restaurant division, Karl will most likely be watching soccer, playing tennis, pickleball or volleyball with his family or taking copious amounts of photos. His passion for fine wines is equal to that of his passion for building code (no, not serious!!).
Louise Mazauric
Architect, Provencher Roy
French by birth, born in Japan and arriving in Canada in 2014, Louise Mazauric holds a double master’s degree in architecture from Laval University in Quebec City and joined Provencher_Roy in Montreal in 2018.
Involved for the past six years in large-scale projects across the country focusing on accessibility and sustainability, her practice is focused on interior design projects for universities and institutional buildings. As head of the material library for the firm’s four business places, Louise is recognized in the industry for keeping abreast of the latest developments in sustainable and inclusive design.
As an extension of her professional activity, Louise is actively involved in promoting DEI within the commercial real estate industry with the CREW M organization, of which she is a volunteer. Motivated by the desire to give back to the next generation, Louise is also involved in mentoring and lecturing at universities to help build a more inclusive, equitable and diverse Canada for all.
All award winners will be honoured at IDC’s award celebration. In addition, all winning projects will be featured on IDC’s website, newsletter, and promoted on IDC’s social media channels.
Please contact communications@idcanada.org with your inquiries.
