IDIBC instituted the Fellow Awards to recognize the outstanding contributions of certain members and individuals in the design community.
A Fellow is currently, or was previously, a Registered member who has been nominated by the Membership and approved by the Fellow Nomination Committee for having contributed in a significant manner through distinguished service to the betterment of the Association, the interior design profession or the applied arts to an extent sufficient to warrant the honour of Fellow
For 2020, we are pleased to welcome new Fellows Sally Mills, Jim Toy and Gerry Shinkewski. Read more about our new Fellows below.
Sally Mills, a principal at Kasian Architecture Interior Design and Planning in Vancouver, has a long history of advocating for the interior design profession in BC and across Canada. She served on the IDIBC Board of Directors as President, and currently she sits on the Board of Governors. As the BC Director for Interior Designers of Canada (IDC), Sally played a liaison role between our provincial and national organizations. In 2018 she was elected President of the IDC Board of Management; today she serves on that Board as Past President. Interior design education is important to Sally. For several years she taught interior design courses at BCIT, and continues today as a member of the BCIT Interior Design Program Advisory Board. Students at KPU have also benefitted from Sally’s guest critiques in their design studios. She is valued as a mentor by students and interior design professionals alike, and she will be valued by IDIBC as a new Fellow.
Jim Toy’s induction as a Fellow of IDIBC is long overdue. As owner of Vancouver’s False Creek Design Group since 1994, Jim is a longtime member of the Vancouver interior design community. He has volunteered in several significant roles within IDIBC; President of the Board of Directors, member of the Board of Governors, member and chair of the Regulatory Process Committee, and Governance Committee member, to name a few. IDIBC can always rely on Jim to help out where needed. Jim provides an important link between the interior design and architectural communities in BC. He served as the IDIBC Liaison on the Council of the Architectural Institute of BC (AIBC) for four years; recently he concluded a three year term as Board Chair of the Architectural Foundation of BC (AFBC), a Board on which he also sat as a Director from 2011 to 2016. Jim will bring his extensive experience to the IDIBC Fellows, where we hope he will continue his good work on our behalf.
Gerry Shinkewski is one of the founding partners of Seeton Shinkewski Design Group (known today as SSDG Interiors), one of the largest interior design firms in Vancouver. Established in 1979, many Vancouver designers speak fondly of having worked with Gerry at SSDG! The profession of interior design is near and dear to Gerry. As a member of IDIBC he volunteered on the Legal Committee, and even though he retired from practice in 2016, Gerry remains active on the Regulatory Process Committee which is diligently working towards the regulation of BC’s interior design industry. For over a decade, Gerry sat on the City of Coquitlam’s Advisory Design Panel. From 2009 to 2017, he volunteered as a Board member at Douglas College, acting as the Vice Chair for five of those years. Gerry never turned down an opportunity to share his wealth of experience with young designers. He was a frequent guest lecturer and mentor for appreciative students at BCIT. We are pleased to welcome Gerry to the IDIBC Fellows.
