017: the influence of space: for the one whose surroundings shape how they feel
A Personal Note from the Editor • Soul & Sound • Artist Residency: Rebel Studio • Design that Listens • Tools for Tactile Thinking • Reading Room
Some places hold rhythm, energy, stillness. They shape how we move, how we think, what we make.
This month, we’re looking at how space influences process. How a room can guide a sound. How a forest can inspire the art we make. How architecture isn’t something we merely live inside; it’s something we respond to.
At hinter, we think about space not as backdrop, but as collaborator. This spring, that collaboration showed up in two ways: through sound, and through art.
Warm Rhythms, our second Soul Session was filmed at hinterhouse—an intimate sonic journey into broken jazz and global funk with Siamak Abrishami. The other was the quiet residency of our first official artist-in-residence, Rebel Studio, who spent time at hinterhaven letting the lines, textures, and light of the space shape a new piece soon to be displayed in one of our spaces.
This issue explores what happens when design, nature, and creativity move together. What space makes possible.
A Note from the Editor
As the hearts and brains behind hinter, you’d think we would already know so deeply that our environment shapes how we feel; and although we do know this in our core, there are moments where we lose sight of it. We get caught up in the moment - busy tending to our child, juggling the every day of a household, a business, a life.
And then, we visit our spaces, or another beautifully curated space while we are traveling, and suddenly it all shifts. The reminder comes flooding back in; we’re here! It screams. Here and now.
It’s not a coincidence. It simply can’t be. When we arrive in a place that was designed to let the outdoors in and to give you space to think, our bodies and minds immediately understand that. They feel it so deeply. Our breath gets deeper. Shoulders get lower. Jaws unclench.
Especially as a sensitive person, the environment has a massive impact on me. Overhead lighting - definitely a no for me. The right sound, right music, right light; it all matters immensely when it comes to how I feel. I can sense when something isn’t right. And I can feel when it is.
The inside of a space matters, as does what is beyond it. Is there natural light? Are there trees? Even in the city, a park nearby or some leaves swaying by a window makes all the difference.
As parents now, we want more of that for our family. We want our daughter to know nature not only for the place outside, but for a place she can thrive and become more in tune with herself.
Already, she smells flowers when we have some in a vase, but how beautiful is it to run through a field of them? How beautiful is it to chase butterflies or get our feet a little dirty? This is the life we envision for her and for us. More birds singing. More fresh air on our skin. More exploring.
Let this serve as our reminder, and yours too should you need it, that the space around us matters. Inside and outside. It matters deeply.
Can we allow ourselves more time outside? Can we work on the interior spaces we spend time in so that they align with our values? Can we prioritize functionality and good design so that it serves us…energizes us? Can we travel only to places that inspire us?
Our time is limited. Use it wisely. Get outside. Spend time in spaces that set your heart on fire. Get inspired.
Sound and Structure
Soul Session Vol. II — Warm Rhythms — was recorded live at hinterhouse. The light was soft. The only setup: speakers, sunlight, stillness. Siamak Abrishami’s selections wove broken jazz and global funk into something personal, alive, responsive to the space.
Sound can’t help but interact with its surroundings. The textures of a room, the weight of silence, the tension between interior and exterior; all of it shapes what we hear. Warm Rhythms was built to live inside the architecture.
Curated for golden hours, laid back hosting, or as a dance night warm up.
Thoughts behind the set:
"When curating the set for hinterhouse, I began by reflecting on the music I had selected for the previous set recorded at Shadow Lake back in March.
Once again I wanted to draw from a wide variety of music while maintaining a clear through line for the listener. The common thread in the Shadow Lake set was a strong hip-hop influence. This time, to align with the cozier and more subdued atmosphere of hinterhouse, I curated the set around jazz and live instrumental elements.
This approach allowed even the more uptempo tracks to feel warm and cohesive within the space.
Given that the ethos of hinterhouse is rooted in slowness and intentionality, I mirrored that in my process—taking time with each song selection and often using subtle thematic or vocal similarities to carefully shape the 50 minute and 36 second story now known as Warm Rhythms."
- Siamak Abrishami
Creative Residencies: What Space Makes Possible
When artists live with the environments they’re responding to, something shifts. The work gets quieter. Or deeper. Or slower. And it always gets more honest.
Our artist residency is built on the idea that inspiration doesn’t have to be chased. Sometimes it just needs space. Rebel Studio’s time at hinterhaven reminded us how much place can do when it’s given time to work on you.
More residencies are on the horizon.
Artist in Residence: Rebel Studio
Our first artist-in-residence, Rebel Studio, spent time living and working at hinterhaven. Her work is textural, emotional, rooted in material and memory. During her stay, she let the landscape and architecture guide her; responding to the visual environment and to the rhythm of the space.
The piece she created will be exhibited across the hinter spaces soon.
This residency is the beginning of something ongoing. A way to invite artists to live with what we build—and to build something back.
Interested in being one of our Artists in Residence? Apply here.
Tools for Tactile Thinking
We’ve been revisiting the value of analog tools because they change the pace of how we work. Writing by hand, arranging physical materials, sketching loosely—all of these practices help slow the mind and give space for new ideas to land.
Here are a few tools and rituals we return to:
• Soft-cover notebooks: minimal, portable, and unstructured. Our favorites are by Midori and Appointed. Use them for thoughts that don’t need to be edited.
• Scissors and tape: not just for crafting. Cutting things out, taping things up—it turns thinking into a physical process.
• Postcards and printed photos: tactile moodboarding. Keep a rotating collection of images, textures, colors, or phrases you want to live with.
• A dedicated surface: a table, corner, or tray that signals: this is where things begin.
• A tool for sound: a record player, a small speaker, or silence. What you hear while you think affects what you create.
The point isn’t to achieve perfection. It’s presence. Tactile tools help you get out of your head and into the process.
Design That Listens
Rather than focusing solely on what a space looks like, we’re interested in how it behaves. How it holds light. How it welcomes sound. How it invites pause.
This section will begin a recurring series where we explore architectural details that don’t shout for attention—but quietly shape how we feel, move, and interact with our surroundings.
We’ll highlight one feature or design moment each month. Sometimes from a hinter space, sometimes from elsewhere. Always with the same question in mind: what does this space ask of us?
Maison Melba
Tucked in the Eastern Townships, Maison Melba isn’t a typical hotel—it’s a curated experience. One that begins with space, but quickly extends into taste, landscape, and rhythm.
With a minimum three-night stay, everything is slower by design. You’re not meant to pass through quickly. You’re meant to arrive. To settle. To experience.
Set on a working orchard, the stay includes immersive culinary moments shaped by the land. Farm-to-table meals prepared by rotating chefs. Thoughtful menus built around what’s in season, what’s growing nearby.
Maison Melba is an invitation to explore the best of the region, guided by people who know and love it. The land. The ingredients. The pace.
We’re curating this experience for you. One that reflects our shared belief: when space is designed with care, everything that happens inside it becomes more meaningful.
Reading Room
This month’s selections are grounded in space, process, and slow unfolding:
Read:
The Eyes of the Skin by Juhani Pallasmaa: a look at architecture through the senses
What Artists Wear by Charlie Porter: on creative identity through material and space
The Poetics of Space by Gaston Bachelard: a classic on the emotional power of rooms
Closing Thought
Spaces shape us.
Sometimes in obvious ways—a view that stops you in your tracks. Other times in quieter ones—a shift in how you breathe, think, move. This month reminded us that space isn’t just where things happen. It’s part of how they happen.
Whether it’s a room that holds your thoughts, a landscape that stirs something new, or a home that lets you feel more like yourself—where you are matters.
May you notice the spaces that hold you well. And may you find more of them, slowly and with intention.
The future is bright.
Any thoughts provoked? Ideas sparked? Any corners of the internet worth sharing? Join the conversation and drop a comment below.
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