Bio

Bio

Joe Edwards, (principal of TLC Design) inadvertently began his career at age 5 when his parents built their first custom home.  Consequently Joe’s curiosity & enthusiasm around the building process took on a life of its own.  His understanding of tools & materials  grew significantly through his exposure  at his fathers hardware store & in his early teens he began to study about & build furniture in his high school shop facilities.

At the age of 18, Joe did one year of studies toward a degree in criminology & the following year studying Sales in Toronto but found it unfulfilling.  In January of 1971 Joe sailed to Australia via Fiji, Tonga & New Zealand & returned to Canada 2-1/2 years later having travelled around the globe.  The luxury of time in various countries had the common theme of Joe pursuing his interest of studying the distinct architecture & craftsmanship of each region he experienced.  He was often temporarily employed & regularly volunteered his services in order to gain experience with building along with forming personal relationships  & life long ties with some depending on his length of stay.

Joe-EdwardsUpon his return to Canada in 1973 he began his journeyman carpentry apprenticeship & was indentured with a custom home builder.  Given his wide range of interest in building, Joe took a sabbatical to learn Log Home Building & eventually taught this art form & skill in various locations in B.C.  After becoming a journeyman carpenter Joe’s propensity & responsibility was primarily finishing the interior architectural trim work & mouldings of each home.  Demand for his talent led to making pieces of furniture. At this juncture Joe’s sense of perfection was such that he enrolled @ Sheridan school of Design in Toronto. Here, the study of furniture design enabled him to receive the intellectual & practical rigours required to deliver top notch product under the watchful & experienced eyes of the Sheridan masters while earning a degree in Applied Arts in Furniture design.

After Sheridan, Joe met people in the film industry who encouraged him to experience & challenge himself with that aspect of the trade, which he did.  It was an apprenticeship of a very different mindset when it comes to building where Joe’s talents  soon afforded him some very interesting set building & set furniture work.

Joe-EdwardsJoe moved back to his home town of Vancouver in 1988 with the intention of establishing his own Company.  He worked days for high end contractors doing interior architectural finishing & cabinet work.  Evenings were spent working on commissioned furniture pieces in his rented shop space.  Eventually, Joe had sufficient contacts & commissions to go out on his own.  Time Lasting Craftsmanship was established in 1992.  Since then Joe has become an established name in the greater Vancouver area.  He now has a fully equipped shop in Burnaby with an experienced team of craftsmen.  TLC Design is a full service facility which offers design consultation as well as the supervision of building & installation of all  cabinets & millwork for entire homes in some of the finest high end residences in the city.