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Tag Archive | "Toronto"

I Covetous: Pirwi Design at Fiber Living

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

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It felt like IDS all over again when I popped into Toronto's Fiber Living last week and stumbled upon the jaw-dropping work of Mexican design firm Pirwi. Fiber's Ansis Kalnins told me the furnishings had just arrived from Mexico City and hadn't been on the floor for a week yet so what you're seeing here is literally fresh off the truck. Pirwi's designers are focused on sustainable materials and practices and they mix the latest computerized cutting tech with old fashioned hand bending and finishing to craft tables, chairs and case goods that look and feel truly innovative. Constructed mostly of plywood, the designs are skeletal, geometric and absolutely beautiful. Pricey, too, as you might expect from products this cutting edge.

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When a Rose is Not Just a Rose

Monday, February 13, 2012

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Forgive my surprise at seeing IKEA's winter 2012 flyer and their new Emmie line of bedding awash in chintzy florals and toiles. The company's press materials trumpet "new textiles with old charm" and reference "an English garden at the end of the 19th century." If this were almost any other retailer I'd hardly take notice but IKEA is a global machine and when it hitches its wagon to a trend, you can bet the style has legs. The arrival of Emmie brought to mind a conversation I had with online seller Susan Elliott recently who predicted that the smash hit British period drama Downton Abbey (below) would be an interior design Inukshuk pointing the way to a new (old?) design direction. After a decade of mid-century madness — triggered in part by Mad Men, another wildly popular TV series — I feel the ground shifting and a new zeitgeist emerging.

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Picture Perfect Pottery at Bluebird

Sunday, February 12, 2012

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Last week, I passed by Toronto's Bluebird, a shop specializing in handmade gifts, mementos and decorative items and I was so struck by the gorgeous display of Sara Paloma pottery just inside the front door that I followed my curiosity inside. With such narrow necks the vases are utterly impractical and stunningly beautiful. On sale for 15 per cent off, the vessels range in price from $125 - $260. Paloma is a potter based in Emeryville, California.

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Punch and Judy on the Block

Friday, February 10, 2012

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I concede that this post is only tangentially related to home décor but since my dearly departed Scottie dogs were named Punch and Judy I have a soft spot for anything relating to the centuries-old and highly collectible puppets. Toronto's A.H. Wilkens is auctioning a wide range of Punch and Judy memorabilia on Tuesday (February 14) ranging from 1800s playing cards to figurines, mugs, door stops, books, decorative plates and an antique tea set. Many of the items are included in box lots and shouldn't command especially high prices.

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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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