About Messen
If you've got a few seconds, we'd love to tell you a bit about Messen's founder, its mission and its inspiration.
Our Founder...(s)
The idea for Messen started long before even the name or the concept was created. It started when Nicholas met the most beautiful woman in the world. His now fiancée didn't really acknowledge him at that time, but through a shared passion for adventure, family and learning, they eventually became acquainted. They finished their undergraduate degrees in Squamish, British Columbia after which Sydney completed a Masters and Nicholas spent some time as a long-haul truck driver before moving to Vancouver so that he could pursue his law degree.
With Sydney's encouragement and support, Nicholas fostered the skills and ideas that have enabled Messen to come alive.
It was in the hustle and bustle of the city that Messen started turning into a real idea. With Sydney's encouragement and support, Nicholas fostered the skills and ideas that have enabled Messen to come alive. Since then they've moved to Kelowna so that Sydney can train as a doctor, at which time she promptly informed Nicholas that they've got a child on the way!
Our Mission
Our dream at Messen is to bring custom furniture to every Canadian’s home. Through thoughtful and detailed engineering, we have developed a unique and innovative manufacturing and distribution process that leaves the important customization decisions with our customers, while keeping the process simple.
Here at Messen, we want to share the made-to-measure feeling with everyone.
For a long time, custom furniture was a privilege for the elite few who had the time and resources to acquire it, and only those fortunate enough to own custom furniture got to experience how fit and finish add a special feeling to the home. Here at Messen, we want to share the made-to-measure feeling with everyone.
Our Inspiration
The spark for Messen ignited when Nicholas and his fiancée moved into a new apartment and had to purchase furniture. On a tight budget and with very little free time, Nicholas had to model a floor plan of the apartment and then find deals and furniture that would fit not just their budget, but also their small space. Working within the confines of traditional furniture shopping forced trade-offs in design, quality and price.
Working within the confines of traditional furniture shopping forced trade-offs in design, quality and price.
Thus, the concept for Messen came to life on an average afternoon on the third floor of a very old but recently remodelled Vancouver apartment near Kitsilano. Sitting at his desk and studying, Nicholas was looking at the following design situation:
The middle vertical separators are, for instance, doubled up, which is not just wasteful, but unsightly when compared to the isolated outside verticals. The height extenders used to make the most of a small space were unsightly, the shelf did not sit flush to the wall, and the veneer was mismatched and lacked a feeling of depth or quality. There had to be a better way.
From that idea, Messen grew to what it is today. Nicholas applied his knowledge of woodworking and taught himself to design furniture using mathematical and parametric principles. He learned about the materials and processes that go into producing furniture, and learned about what is important in a design, all of which goes into every piece made by Messen. The result is furniture that is tailored to those who value not just a perfect aesthetic, fit, and finish, but who also value durable, environmentally friendly and locally made furniture.
The result is furniture that is tailored to those who value not just a perfect aesthetic, fit, and finish, but who also value durable, environmentally friendly and locally made furniture.
Today Messen offers a handful of designs that can be customised to the exact preferences of each customer, but we will continue expanding on our range as we grow. We are well on our way, and can’t wait to keep introducing new models, designs and opportunities to customize your furniture, all of it made to measure.