Matthew and Julie Collins founded Uptic Studios on April 1, 2010.
"All good decisions are made on April 1, right?" Matthew says with a chuckle. "But yeah, literally it was Julie and I in our basement for the first couple of years... We've been steadily growing ever since."
Arriving at the office-in-the-basement stage 14 years ago was already the culmination of a winding journey for the multi-talented pair, who met at Gonzaga Prep. After graduation, Julie studied (and got a degree in) special education from Gonzaga University, while Matthew went off to study business at Santa Clara University.
His summer job back home in Spokane changed the course of their lives.
"I was a barista at the Park Bench in Manito Park, and the dean of architecture at WSU would come in the mornings and have an espresso and I'd sit down and talk to him about it," Matthew says. Those conversations sparked his creativity, and he soon transferred to WSU, where he earned a degree in architecture.
He and Julie got married, started a family and moved to Seattle, where Julie was a teacher and Matthew worked in a big architecture firm. After a rainy 10-month stretch on Bainbridge Island, both were ready for a change.
A move to Savannah, Georgia, allowed Matthew to both work as an architect and study product design at Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). Meanwhile, Julie began honing her natural talents for design, styling and photography before the couple returned to Spokane to start their firm. She later returned to school for a degree in interior design and is now leading Uptic Curated, specializing in "procurement," which is the design term for selecting everything that's not attached to the interior of a space, such as furniture and art.
"Uptic Studios is kind of the ultimate design challenge," says Matthew.
"It's about people, it's about community, it's about the love of design, it's about elevating the human experience," adds Julie.
Uptic Studios' contemporary residential and commercial designs strive to meet both aesthetic and functional needs for their clients, while employing cutting-edge building strategies.
"We're working to figure out how to reduce energy consumption and really make buildings as efficient as possible," Matthew says. For example, Uptic designed the South Perry District's net-zero, modular BlockHouse development, which opened in late 2020.
Last fall, Uptic — now including more than 20 employees — moved into a newly renovated HQ in a historic East Sprague building, a long way from their basement origins.
On an early spring day, the open space is flooded by natural light, enlivened by the current installation of colorful paintings by Neicy Frey and desks dotted with vases of blooming daffodils.
"We're just getting started. This is the launchpad for this company to go further," says Matthew. "Uptick is a financial term meaning 'to increase in value.' As designers, we feel like we want to be adding value to whatever we're doing or we shouldn't be at the table."
2nd PLACE: HDG Architecture
3rd PLACE: Fusion Architecture
NORTH IDAHO'S BEST: Architects West,
Coeur d'Alene
