How’d we get our name?

An architect and a musician, Varitone founder, Christina Larson, wanted to forgo the traditional route of naming her new architecture practice after herself. She wanted a name that echoed the creativity of the entire firm and a name that had a deeper meaning to her personally. 

Before choosing a career in architecture, Christina studied music. Her childhood was filled with band concerts, private lessons, and ensembles. Her instrument of choice is the bassoon and in recent years she has played with the Salem Philharmonic Orchestra and the Willamette Valley Symphony. 

With architecture and music both integral to who Christina is, she searched for a name that could encompass these two worlds. Unison was an early candidate: “two or more musical parts sounding the same pitch or at an octave interval, usually at the same time.” While musical in nature, it accurately describes the firm’s strength in bringing together architecture, interior design, and project management into one cohesive, well-executed project. 

However, one day over lunch a friend suggested “varitone.” In the architectural world, it’s what Mutual Materials names their brick when it comes in a variety of shades — Red Varitone, Brown Varitone, etc. Wondering if “varitone” was an actual term or just a playful color scheme devised by the manufacturer, Christina did a little research. She found this Wikipedia definition: “The Varitone was a woodwind pickup and effects unit, allowing direct amplification of the instrument (i.e. without a standard microphone) and the introduction of various electronic effects. It was marketed in 1967 by the Selmer Company, which developed units for flute, saxophone, and clarinet.”

Varitone is also used to describe varied color—wood grains, brick, and even photography backdrops. Discovering the name’s musical roots, Christina immediately knew it was the perfect name for her firm! 

From there, Varitone’s slogan seemed obvious: “Architecture. Amplified.”