The Multifaceted Design of Company Company
The rising local studio is a sought-after interior design firm, fabrication shop and furniture retailer
Company Company gets its name from a strategic merger. “It’s about business, but also the clients and team that I’m with,” says founder Rachelle LeBlanc. Her studio’s portfolio – which features everything from elegant plywood furnishings to The Drake Hotel’s revamped lobby space – neatly joins another two concepts: design and build.
After starting her career in cabinetry out West, LeBlanc went on to study industrial design before spending four years working on luxury interiors at Yabu Pushelberg. Launched in 2019, Company Company combines her eye for high design with her budget-savvy fabrication experience. Early successes included curved lime-green seating for Hamers Coffee on Dundas Street West and Tetris-like shelving for Queen West boutique 100% Silk.
When the pandemic hit, LeBlanc launched a pro bono initiative that, with a team of volunteers, crowdfunded and built Plexiglas screens for local small businesses and long-term care facilities. These days, her practice includes a studio assistant, one other fabricator, plus a network of collaborators engaged on a per-job basis.
Like LeBlanc, many of Company Company’s latest clients balance multiple pursuits. Public Office, a creative agency that also rents out photo studios and props, recently commissioned her to create a series of geometric plywood benches, stools and shelves for its catalogue of quirky set pieces. “Sophisticated silhouettes done in humble materials are always my favourite things,” says LeBlanc.
Grape Witches, a wine agency turned bottle shop and bar, perfectly showcases LeBlanc’s knack for blending vision with craft. Playful yet refined, the space captures all the fizzy pop of a good Lambrusco. Rich burgundy tiles and a sculptural, back patio water fountain complement stylish birch furnishings like the Easy table, which LeBlanc plans to sell online this fall. “We wanted the space to feel like a dinner party, with a big family-style dining table.” Expanding on this domestic identity, a second floor will soon introduce a living room–inspired event venue perfect for weddings.
Other ongoing projects include full interior design for two residences – plus that Drake renovation, which weaves together the hotel’s original Queen West property and its new addition. LeBlanc loves working with start-up ventures, too, and has been tapped for a long list of upcoming collaborations around town, making Company Company a definite one to watch. COMPANYCOMPANYPROJECTS.COM
