Local designer spotlight: Quinn Prince

When it comes to that ‘aha!’ feeling when walking into a space, we know that it’s the key features that often bring that room together.

Oftentimes, at the core of those key features are surface textures, patterns, and materials.

This could be a fireplace evoking cozy vibes in winter, a stunning reception desk when you walk into an office, or dreamy marble countertops in a home kitchen that perfectly complement that morning sun.

One Vancouver creative who works to bring these key features to life in new and beautiful ways is Quinn Prince. We spoke to Quinn ahead of the upcoming Dinner by Design event in Vancouver, to find out how he got into this specialist line of work – and to see if we could dig up a few hands-on pointers for ourselves!

How he became a countertop designer

Quinn Prince took over the local firm SSC Countertops Ltd. (SSC) which was established by Christopher Prince in 1988. The business initially specialized in solid surface countertops such as Corian. And after spending 20 years developing expertise in this field, SSC decided to add both natural and engineered stone to their lineup of products.

Since 2005, SSC has run two fully functioning shops – one for solid surface products and another for stone products which include: engineered quartz, Dekton, granite, marble, and soapstone. Since taking over the family business, Quinn has made it his mission to equip SSC with all the latest technologies, adapting to the newest materials as they appear in the market in order to best serve customers who want hands-on design support in this specialty area. 

SSC now specializes in all areas of custom stonework from countertops to fireplaces, vanities, bathroom countertops, BBQ tops, reception desks, and more. The business motto that Quinn believes in is “to deliver a finished product of the utmost quality, all the while providing premier customer service to clients throughout Vancouver and the Lower Mainland.”

When it comes to design, the devil is in the details and it’s a relief to know there are design specialists out there to help people out and take certain things out of their hands.

Why he believes in hands-on learning

Hands-on learning is important to Quinn as his career was born out of this – learning and training with his dad, Chris. “New staff members [at SSC] are trained on live projects, shadowing more experienced members of the team,” he says.

Quinn has grown up working with his father at SSC and also learning from fabricators who have worked at SSC over the years. Because of his personal experiences, Quinn believes in teaching by demonstrating and learning by doing and takes an active role in training new hires.  

He believes that “learning should never stop” and continually seeks out new experiences and opportunities for growth.  

What he’s doing now

Aside from running his successful business, Quinn is mentoring design students ahead of the upcoming Dinner by Design event. “We are super excited to help Visual College of Art and Design (VCAD) students get a rare hands-on experience in the design industry.”

Quinn and the students have been working on a cocktail bar that will be unveiled at the event this week before being permanently moved to Daily Hive’s Vancouver office. “The Daily Hive cocktail bar has been a collaborative effort between students and suppliers and we can’t wait to unveil it on November 16th.” (We can’t wait, either!) 

You have the unique opportunity to see Quinn’s work for yourself at this year’s Dinner by Design. In the meantime, you can check out some of his extraordinary work on Instagram.

See also

• There's going to be an enchanted dining experience at Vancouver's Harbour Event Centre
• Local designer spotlight: Kyla Ray
• Local designer spotlight: BirdMan the Welder
• Local designer spotlight: Matt Herbert

Dinner by Design 2017

When: November 16 and 17
Where: Harbour Event Centre –  750 Pacific Boulevard 
Price: Free public viewing | $75 cocktail art | $300 gala dinner – Tickets available via The Social Concierge

Daily Hive is a proud media sponsor of Dinner by Design