The Straight Story

Herriott Grace is a venture of father and daughter, and this is their story.

Lance and Nikole Herriott live 3400 kilometers apart: his workshop is in Victoria, British Columbia, and her studio is in Toronto, Ontario. When she first made her home more than halfway across the country, they started to send packages back and forth.

In some of those packages, Lance began to include his own hand carved spoons. He had been collecting wood since the early seventies, and used his best pieces for these gifts. Nikole loved them; their balance and shape, the pieces were made with unmistakable care. She knew they were something special.

One day it dawned on her that others might appreciate her father’s talent as she did, so Nikole asked if he would ever want to share his work. Lance took a few days to think about it. And, after some convincing, he agreed to her plan, but only with people that understood and cared about the time and effort spent on each piece.

She told him, “Leave it to me, I know just the sort.”

And with that, Herriott Grace was born.

In the three years since, their small shop has grown to selling an array of hand carved and hand turned wooden objects, including spoons, bowls, pedestals, candy dishes, serving boards, rolling pins, plates and mortar and pestle sets. All are one of a kind and made entirely of salvaged, chemical-free wood, ranging in type, age, and origin. None are exactly the same, and thus none are perfect. But the slight imperfections are an affect of the handmade quality. They’ve also introduced a select line of exclusive porcelain dishware. The ceramic pieces are cast in small runs, and boast the rustic, tactile beauty for which their brand is known.

They also make, by hand, kitchen linens, cake flags, birthday candles, beeswax salve and cookie cutters.

Lance still lives in Victoria, and still sends packages to Nikole in Toronto. Now, she styles and photographs those pieces he sends, and together they are Herriott Grace.