Season 2 is here, design lovers! And I couldn’t be more excited to kick things off with someone who has been such a champion of my work and the Canadian design scene: Anicka Quin. She’s the VP of Content at Canada Wide Media and the powerhouse behind Western Living, Vancouver Magazine, BC Business, BC Living, and TV Week. Basically, she’s the woman keeping Western Canada on the design map — and doing it with serious style.

Anicka and I go way back, and this chat feels full-circle. Usually she’s the one interviewing me, but this time the tables are turned. We dive into her unexpected path from music writer to magazine editor, the real secrets of what gets published (and what doesn’t), and of course her very first Design Confession. Spoiler: it involves rain showers and let’s just say…I know many of you can 100% relate!

We also talk about the future of design, the rise of layered and lived-in spaces, and why AI can never replace the creativity, connection, and magic that real people bring to the process. Oh, and she shares her design heroes, favorite cities, and what’s on her playlist right now. (Yes, there’s a little George Michael love in there!)

In this episode, we talk about

Anicka’s journey from music journalism to award-winning magazine editor • What makes a home publish-worthy at Western Living • The design trend she secretly can’t stand • Why mentorship and happy accidents can change your career • How Canadian designers are shaking things up on a national stage • Timeless design, Paris cafés, and why George Michael always gets her on the dance floor

About Anicka Quin

Anicka Quin is VP of Content at Canada Wide Media, where she leads the editorial teams behind Western Living, Vancouver Magazine, BC Business, BC Living, and TV Week. Known for elevating Western Canada’s design scene to national recognition, Anicka has been at the helm of Western Living since 2010, guiding its legacy of celebrating architecture, interiors, and culture.

Connect with Anicka & Western Living

• Instagram: @aniqua

• Western Living Magazine: westernliving.ca/subscribe

  
  

  
  

  Special Thanks to Our Sponsors

  
  

  ROBINSON Lighting & Bath
  Bringing Homes to Life.

  ROBINSON Lighting & Bath is Canada’s largest retailer of lighting and plumbing. With 34 showroom and warehouse locations nationwide, they offer Canada’s best selection of design-forward lighting and bath products. Whether it’s a whole-home plan or the perfect statement piece, their design-savvy team helps bring every detail to life.

  • Website: robinsonco.ca

  • Instagram: @RobinsonLtgBath

  • Facebook: Robinson Lighting & Bath

    
    

  Interior Design Show (IDS)
  As Canada’s premier showcase of new products, superstar designers, and avant-garde concepts from North America and beyond, IDS is the platform to experience the importance of design firsthand, uncovering not just what’s new and what’s next, but taking part in the larger conversation around design. Experiential and transformative, IDS brings together compelling concepts, innovative products, upcoming talent, and key experts in the industry to inspire with the best of the future.

  • Website: interiordesignshow.com

  • Instagram: @interiordesignshow

  • LinkedIn: Interior Design Show

  
  

  Bureau
  Bureau is a furniture and design company specializing in workspace fit-outs and made-to-order furnishings. We believe that modern workspaces are decidedly unmodern, fixed on out-of-touch, catalogue cliché notions of what it means to make deep and meaningful work. Utilizing data and technology, we design spaces that flex and modulate to the ever-changing, often abstract needs and behaviours of people, furnishing businesses with the tools they need to shape workspaces that work.

• • Website: withbureau.com/ca
  • Instagram: @bureau.global
  • LinkedIn: ⁠@bureau.global⁠