RoyBanseDesign profile
Roy Banse was born in Toronto in 1963. A self-taught designer, he developed his passion for design while living in Europe.
Upon completion of a Business Economics degree, he embarked on a career in investment banking as a foreign exchange trader. While achieving success as a currency trader, he decided to pursue his true passion, design. He attended Ryerson University and Ontario College of Art & Design in Toronto, taking various furniture and interior design courses. While living in Munich, Zurich and London, he became more and more inspired with modern design and architecture, to the point where he came to the fork in the road that ultimately led to a new career path in the world of design.
He returned to Canada and in May 2000 established Fluid Living, a retail furniture showroom based on a core collection of his own furniture designs. It wasn’t long before clients began asking him to apply the same design sensibility to their homes.
So it came to be that in March 2002 Fluid Design was born. From the outset, the work focused on finding unique ways to approach the use of space, scale, light and materials. Early commissions included residential interiors for actor/writer/producer Don McKellar and film director Patricia Rozema. In 2005, Bombay Sapphire commissioned him to design the Blue Lounge, a traveling colour/material-specific lounge that was first unveiled at Holt Renfrew’s annual Toronto Film Festival Party. He went on to design a martini glass for the brand and was also a regular panel judge for the Canadian Martini Glass Design Competition the next four years.
In addition to designing commercial interiors, over time, the scope of projects has widened to include the designing and manufacturing of custom furniture for hotels, offices and restaurants across Canada. With this expansion in design focus, RoyBanse Design was established.
His work has been featured in numerous publications and television shows including Canadian House & Home, Canadian Interiors, Dwell Magazine, Style at Home, HGTV, national Post and the Globe and Mail.