Matthew Finlason (born March 29, 1975 in

Mandeville, Jamaica Mandeville is the capital and largest town in the parish of Manchester in the county of Middlesex, Jamaica. In 2005, the town had an estimated population of 50,000, and including the immediate suburbs within a radius of the total population w ...

) is a designer, art director, and producer of film and television projects. He is the host of HGTV's television series ''

The Stagers ''The Stagers'' is a half-hour reality television show about home staging that airs on HGTV in the U.S. and Canada. It is produced by Paperny Films and stars Matthew Finlason, Bridget Savereux, and Maureen Powers. Synopsis Official series syn ...

''.

Career

Finlason worked as a landscape designer while pursuing his

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

from

York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...

in Canada. Upon graduation from York University in June 1999 he worked as a performer on-camera appearing in minor roles on television and film while also working for his family's real-estate business. He subsequently moved behind the camera in film and television

art department Art department in filmmaking terms means the section of a production's crew concerned with visual artistry. Working under the supervision of the production designer and/or art director, the art department is responsible for arranging the overall ...

s as an assistant and then as a set decorator, art director and production designer, before starting work at Dekora, a Canadian home staging company. Finlason was soon approached by

Paperny Films Paperny Entertainment Inc. (previously known as Paperny Films) was a Vancouver-based producer of television programming and films, ranging from character-driven documentaries to provocative comedy to quirky reality shows. It was founded by David ...

to host an HGTV production called ''The Stagers''. Through his profile on this show, he appeared as a home staging design and real estate expert in the ''New York Times'' and the Canadian press. He has appeared on entertainment talk shows including ''

Entertainment Tonight Canada ''ET Canada'' (previously referred to as ''Entertainment Tonight Canada'') is a Canadian entertainment news television series, using the same format as the American entertainment newsmagazine '' Entertainment Tonight''. ''ET Canada'' is a broadca ...

'', ''Urban Rush'' and ''

Breakfast Television Breakfast television (Europe, Canada, and Australia) or morning show (United States) is a type of news or infotainment television programme that broadcasts live in the morning (typically scheduled between 5:00 and 10:00a.m., or if it is a ...

'', as well as the Scripps Network's ''HGTV Showdown'', a televised design competition, in which he was paired with Olympic gold medalist and celebrity amateur designer Kristy Yamaguchi. Finlason has worked with and designed sets for Scott Smith and

Gregory Middleton Gregory Middleton is a Canadian cinematographer,Mark Dillon"Gregory Middleton’s sense of vision" '' Playback'', December 15, 1999. who won the Genie Award for Best Cinematography at the 29th Genie Awards for his work on the film ''Fugitive Piec ...

on ''Capturing George'', a short film commemorating George F. Walker's

Governor General's Awards The Governor General's Awards are a collection of annual awards presented by the Governor General of Canada, recognizing distinction in numerous academic, artistic, and social fields. The first award was conceived and inaugurated in 1937 by the ...

; and Cameron Labine's feature film ''Control ALT Delete''.

Television

''The Stagers''

''The Stagers'' is a half-hour reality television show about

home staging Home staging is the preparation of a private residence for sale in the real estate marketplace. The goal of staging is to make a home appealing to the highest number of potential buyers, thereby selling a property more swiftly and for more money. St ...

that airs on

HGTV HGTV (an initialism for Home & Garden Television) is an American pay television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The network primarily broadcasts reality programming related to home improvement and real estate. As of February 2015, appr ...

in the U.S. and Canada. It is produced by

and stars Finlason alongside Bridget Savereux and Maureen Powers. The Stagers has received four Leo Awards, including an award for Finlason as "Best Host in a Lifestyle Series".

''HGTV Showdown''

HGTV Showdown is a half-hour reality television show that pits designers and carpenters against each other in various design challenges. In each episode, two design teams compete on stage to make over a room for a couple whose decorating styles differ. Starting with staged replicas of the room, the design teams are given four hours to complete the redesign. Finlason was paired with Olympic gold medalist

Kristi Yamaguchi Kristine Tsuya Yamaguchi (born July 12, 1971) is an American former figure skater. In ladies' singles, Yamaguchi is the 1992 Olympic champion, a two-time World champion (1991 and 1992), and the 1992 U.S. champion. In 1992, she became the first ...

in an episode entitled ''Bonus Room Blitz''.

Awards

* "Best Host" in a "Lifestyle Series" - ''The Stagers - The Fox and the Hound'' (2009)

References

Metro News

# ttps://web.archive.org/web/20110713200555/http://leoawards.com/winners_2009.html Leo Awards Nominations and Wins
HGTV Canada -Bio

Matthew Finlason from HGTV's The Stagers Joins RESA Conference

Elianna Lev - The Master

External links

Matthew Finlason Design Official SiteIMDB Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Finlason, Matthew 1975 births Living people Canadian television hosts Canadian interior designers