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More, More, More From IDS 12

Sunday, January 29, 2012

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Visitors to this year's Interior Design Show ascend to fair level through a vast curtain of felt dubbed "Strip Tease" by Toronto's RAW Design. Composed of approximately 1,300 long strips of felt that collectively tip the scale at 3,700 lbs, the purpose of the installation is not at all apparent until you enter the show and see it from the convention floor where it transforms into a giant screen for video and still image projections. (Photo above by William Suarez). There were lots of great booths and exhibits on the IDS floor and today's post features a few of my favorites.

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IDS 12: A Few of My Favorite Things

Saturday, January 28, 2012

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This is NOT a comprehensive look at this year's Interior Design Show in Toronto. By 11 pm, after an entire day of talks and exhibitions — including a guided tour of the Gladstone Hotel's annual Come Up to My Room — I was knocked down and dragged out. Lineups dissuaded me from touring the always popular IDS demonstration spaces (How Do You Live?) and I completely missed the DesignGenNext, the show of promising student work from Ryerson, Sheridan, OCAD, Humber and George Brown. Even without those pieces of the puzzle my IDS experience was exhilarating. This year, I started with the Studio North exhibition of new work by Canadian designers and Prototype, a launching pad for innovative new products.

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Starstruck at IDS

Friday, January 27, 2012

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I was lucky enough to start my Interior Design Show whirlwind yesterday morning with talks by top New York designer Amy Lau and 1stdibs.com founder Michael Bruno. Between the two speakers, Lau kindly signed copies of her lavish new book, Expressive Modern, and Bruno was one of the fans in line, along with yours truly, to get his copy autographed. Lau was utterly magnanimous: we chatted as she signed my copy and asked for recommendations of things to see and do while she was in Toronto. I steered her to the Gardiner Museum of Ceramics, which I was pretty sure she'd love. Bruno was also friendly, not to mention impossibly handsome, as he posed for a picture and we shared a few words. Yes, I was starstruck at IDS.

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IDS 12: Let the Fun Begin

Thursday, January 26, 2012

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Toronto's Interior Design Show (IDS 12) kicks off this morning with a slate of design heavy hitters and a media preview in advance of this evening's big opening night party ($60 and worth every penny!). Tomorrow is trade day, then the doors open to the public on Saturday and Sunday ($22). This truly is my favorite event of the year and I'm palpably excited to see what's new and what's next in interiors, something IDS is incredibly good at presenting. As always, I'll be paying special attention to the Studio North and Prototype exhibits where Canadian talent and cutting edge designers face the industry and the public in search of customers and critique. Above are pieces from Studio North participants Nomo Creations, Tahir Mahood and Tyler Mackenzie Craft & Design.

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CB2 Uncorks Queen West

Saturday, January 21, 2012

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Given that CB2's first Canadian store is housed in a former party palace it was fitting that the company blew off the roof last night with a major opening party featuring DJs, drinks, decorating celebs and a happy crush of pretty young things. Crate & Barrel's younger sister showed off her colourful, hip style with a media preview followed by an invitational for local taste-makers. The most popular observation was about how much colour was on the floor. Atomic orange, kelly green, electric blue, triumph red, canary yellow -- CB2 turns up the volume on saturated hues that dovetail perfectly with its young, urban demographic.

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