Stepping into Jason MacIsaac’s store Ministry of the Interior honestly gives me the urge to start shoplifting, mainly because I want just about everything. Though really, how do you hide a dining table under your coat? Apart from filling his shop with brilliant stuff, his design of Soft Citizen’s workspace recently popped up in v. cool Frame magazine. Oh, and did I mention, he’s also in on the IDS with possibly the most unusual of all of the Ultimate spaces (which involves lots of wood and some very precise calculations).
Here are Jason’s 5 quick questions, along with a few snaps that show the interior of MOTI, papier-mâché pieces by Debbie Wijskamp, the Oscar sofa by Matthew Hilton at SCP and one of the Raphael Garnier wallpaper’s from Tres Tintas (available at MOTI).
Arren Williams: What's inspiring you right now?
Jason MacIsaac: I'm always on the lookout for new stuff for MInistry of the Interior, so I constantly see new stuff I'm inspired by.... Nos Das blankets from SCP, Vivenne Westwood wallpaper from Cole & Son, Michael Johansson's artwork, Debbie Wijskamp's paper mache series of furniture.
AW: Is there anything that can drive you crazy when you walk into a space?
JM: Dated wood tones and obvious knock-off furniture.
AW: What's the next thing you have your eyes on for your own house?
JM: We desperately need a new sofa so I've placed an order for the Oscar sofa from SCP. We also need a new stereo so I'm getting the walnut stereo system from Geneva, and I've promised my wife to wallpaper our bedroom for a while now, so I'm planning on using a new wallpaper from the collection by Raphael Garnier for Tres Tintas.
AW: How would you describe your style, and has it changed over the years?
JM: Freshness, colour, conceptual - I think my look is constantly changing and hopefully evolving.
AW: What's next on the horizon?
JM: I'm repurposing parts of my IDS Ultimate space for a film production company's offices in New York and have a few great residential projects.
