Flourist: “Simplicity and Utility” for a Small-Batch Flour Company in Vancouver

Is Shaker design the new trend in restaurants and cafes? We think so (see 8 Ideas to Borrow from The Commerce Inn in NYC for particularly compelling evidence). And it makes sense: The Shakers created systems of thoughtful order for living—and eating—communally, so why not apply their vision to these, our modern-day gathering spaces?

Canadian interiors firm Ste. Marie is deft at creating singular spaces to eat, drink, and celebrate (see St. Lawrence in Vancouver: A Sultry, Blue-Hued Bistro, Right Out of a Painting), and when they took on the project of making a space for Flourist—a small-batch, community-based flour mill founded by Janna Bishop, a clothing designer, and Shira McDermott, a food industry expert—they drew from “the 18th century Shaker communities’ guiding principles of simplicity, utility and honesty.”

Join us for a look—and see how many Shaker details you can spot.

Photography by Conrad Brown, courtesy of Ste. Marie.

Above: Inside the cafe, a palette of pale wood and marble—“malty tones taken from Flourist’s grains and pulses,” according to Ste. Marie—mixes with the agrarian.

Above: The eating area, with the mill behind. Ste. Marie designed the space “to naturally inherit deeper meaning over time.”

Above: Just a few of the Shaker touches: brooms, cutting boards, and blankets hanging from wall-mounted rails.

Above: A ledge is a handy place to rest reading material. (For something similar at home, see Trend Alert: 11 Periodical-Style Shelves for Design Book Lovers.)

Above: Also on offer? Coffee.

Above: Built-in shelves hold baskets and stoneware jugs.

Above: “Canadian commercial flour producers are permitted to use ‘bleaching, maturing, or dough conditioning agents’ in the production of grocery store flour,” according to Flourist. The company offers fresh-milled organic grains with no added ingredients, best bought in small batches and best stored in the fridge. One of the mills has pride of place in the back of the cafe, behind glass.

Above: To visit—or to order flour online—visit Flourist (they ship to the US).

For more Shaker-inspired spaces, see:

• 8 Ideas to Borrow from the Shaker-Inspired Commerce Inn in NYC
• American Style in Marseille: Studio Classico Designs a Shaker-Inspired Bakery
• Scandi Meets Shaker in a Parisian Japanese Restaurant by LSL Architects