32 BCBusiness JANUARY 2015 ADAm + keV
A Taste of
Wine Country
I
t took Jay Garnett a couple of years to
find the perfect setting for his agency,
Icon Fine Wine & Spirits, on Mainland
Street in Yaletown. He wanted it to be
central for his staff and clients as well
as close to the
BCLDB, restaurants, stores
and the SkyTrain. "But the big thing is
we wanted to have a feeling of a tasting
room," he says, "so that when we did
events with our customers or had sup-
pliers in town, we had a room that felt
like you were at the winery—even though
you're really not in wine country."
The 1911 building has 20-foot ceilings,
exposed brick walls, polished concrete
floors and massive beams. Garnett
designed most of the interior himself,
keeping it open, clean and simple, with
pendant lights made from wine bottles. To
highlight the beams and stairs, he opened
up the mezzanine, previously used for
storage, and created loft-style offices.
Most of the main floor is open-plan,
with just a few enclosed offices for account-
ing and logistics. The salespeople work
with laptops at raised desks that can be
converted to tasting tables as necessary.
Natural light pours in through tall
windows. Outside is a square with trees
that are leafy in summer and lit up at
Christmas. "Every Thursday there's a
farmers market in Yaletown that spills out
right here, so it really has a great atmo-
sphere for us," says Garnett. "You go to a
tasting room in the Okanagan or in any
wine country, you feel connected. There's
people busy working and putting wine
away, and people are relaxed because
they're on vacation. That's the environ-
ment that we wanted to create."
■
Icon Fine Wine & Spirits
creates a space to savour
in Yaletown
by Felicity Stone
O F F i C e s P a C e
Everybody on Board
The boardroom is used for everything from staff
meetings to training sessions with suppliers.
"Everybody from the accounting clerk on up comes
to all the tastings," says Jay Garnett. "Everything we
do needs to be permeated to everybody."
Upper Management
In his upstairs office,
Jay Garnett analyzes
potential products—
new listings coming
into the government
stores or new wines
to try.
