A leading Toronto-based boutique firm with international influence, co-founded by founding partners Samer Shaath and Kevin Chan, NIVEK REMAS invokes reaction and specializes in impactful interior design for luxury hospitality, residential and retail brands with precision, speed and unmatched originality.

Yinji：Why did you choose to establish Nivek Remas together?

Nivek Remas：It was a very organic process that started from university. We naturally gravitated towards each other because of our similar outlook on design, fashion and art – and especially since our aesthetic was viewed as being a bit offbeat. We were constantly bouncing ideas off one another for our projects. Then we graduated and started working with some of the best designers and learned invaluable lessons and tools, and worked on projects you could only dream of working on. But there was always this growing desire from both of us to do our own thing and have full control of the vision of a project. And because we always collaborated together, it just made sense for us to start a firm together.
A funny story about when we were establishing Nivek Remas though, when we were trying to think of a name for our firm, we scribbled down every rendition of Shaath Chan and Chan Shaath over and over again (since most company names are just the last names of the two partners… but the combination of ours did not sound appealing at all), until one night when we wrote the anadrome of KEVIN SAMER as NIVEK REMAS and loved it instantly
We thought it sounded interesting (from some ethnic original but unrecognizable) and looked visually appealing. And that’s how NIVEK REMAS was born.
Looking back, we both say it's a bit serendipitous and a lot of hard work. It's serendipitous that a twenty-three year old Palestinian from Saudi and a twenty-six year old CBC (Canadian Born Chinese) from Vancouver met in school in Toronto, and became great friends and then partners. I think that's the beauty of a country like Canada, which has such a richly diverse and supportive multi-cultural society. And at the same time, I think we also created our own opportunities - Samer and I were both extremely hard working and persistent to pursue the best firms in Toronto. And when we got hired, we worked just as hard to prove ourselves. Fast forward fifteen years, we’re both working just as hard and just enjoying the work we’re producing and the journey we’re on.

Yinji：Since its establishment in 2012, can you easily introduce your team size, business direction and management model?

Nivek Remas：At the moment, we have a team of eight. It was important for us when building our team to bring strong people on to balance out our strengths and weaknesses. It’s an important strategy to any company’s success. So our team is diverse with people in communications, marketing, technical designers, accounting, financial and strategy. Our pedigree and experience lends to a business direction that is more multifaceted in luxury residential and commercial (hospitality, food and beverage, retail, etc). It’s a model that’s proving to be especially beneficial right now during COVID when the markets are shifting and residential is out performing commercial for obvious reasons. The next step is to diversify even further geographically with desires to grow into China and the Arab nations - naturally since that’s where Samer and I individually have our roots.

Yinji：Working for Yabu Pushelberg for many years, what impact has it brought to you?

Nivek Remas：We never had many role models in design, but we’ve also always looked up to G&G (George and Glenn) in career and in life. Not only are they phenomenal in design and business, but they’re also great guys who are super down to earth. We used to joke with George and Glenn that YP was the best Masters program you could ever ask for. We’ve worked on projects that you can only dream of because of them, but have also worked on some very meaningful philanthropic projects as well such as the 2016 Canadian Summer Olympic House in Brazil and Egale LGBTQ youth housing in Toronto. We’ve learnt so much from them and also the talented individuals whom we’ve had the pleasure of working with at YP. It was really a close-knit family that was hard to leave.

Yinji：How do you define your current design style?

Nivek Remas：We say our design is very much a reflection of our fashion – strong and visceral with a distinct point of view; but if we had to define it design style, probably contemporary.

Yinji：What design master do you like best? At what stage did they affect you?

Nivek Remas：One design master who really shaped our education is Christian Liaigre. He was the one designer we would study excessively when we started out – when Samer was at Burdifilek and myself at Yabu. We also had a very memorable trip to Paris where we roamed the city for all the designer designations that we craved to see. We located four of what we thought were just Liaigre’s showrooms, but one of them turned out to be his studio. Walking through the unmarked door, was a small but beautifully styled and moody foyer with a charming velvet loveseat and soft lighting. You peered around the corner and you could see the most perfect and tidy boutique studio of about fifteen people working quietly together looking onto a private Parisian courtyard. It was a magical moment and something we still strive to recreate for our own studio one day.

Yinji：Has COVID-19 affected the Canadian design circle as a whole, such as the connection of project design, the delay of construction, etc.

Nivek Remas：COVID’s disrupted our industry in Canada from top to bottom. Our traditional ways of connecting with people instantly changed. We’ve pivoted to online video calls but it’s definitely not as effective a way to read people. So much of how we read people is through body language and you just don’t get that online. In Canada, construction was deemed an essential service so it was allowed to continue through the pandemic, but the effects are huge – there were trades who were petitioning to stop working; some would just not show up; massive delays have been incurred as some companies were closed, others open and a few declaring bankruptcy; raw material costs have increased and in instances shortages as well; increased operational and construction costs; import lead-times and costs have risen dramatically; retail is closed so showrooms are only accessible virtually… It’s been a trying year to say the least, but it’s important to stay nimble and see the positive aspects as well.

Yinji：Can you tell us about the project you are currently working on or the latest completed project?

Nivek Remas：Our next project coming up is actually opening very soon at the end of this month. It’s a barbershop that steps right onto Dundas Square (Canada’s version of New York’s Time Square). It’s high concept and just so cool! We did a lot of precedent’s research on barbershops around the world and there’s nothing like it out there. It’s a true representation of who we are, but also a hugely successful collaboration with the owner/barber, Tony Sadiku. He’s an amazing guy who has been dreaming about opening a barber shop in Dundas Square since the beginning of his career and we’re so happy to help him realize his dream. He’s beyond happy with the result, and at the end of the day, that’s what we cherish the most.