Give some love to local artists

If you love hand-made and artisanal goods, block out some time this Saturday afternoon (June 4) between 1 and 6 p.m. to get down to the west elm store at 109 Atlantic Avenue in Liberty Village. (Unless you're off to a log-rolling contest  - see below). That’s when the Brooklyn-based retailer, a fave haunt of lovers of modern and nature-inspired home decor, will share its space with Etsy vendors selling handmade or vintage items.

The afternoon is one of a series of  We Heart Handmade Art events that west elm (part of the Williams Sonoma family) is hosting in their stores across North America. In doing so, the company is hoping to introduce customers to new categories of handmade goods that go beyond the home furnishings they traditionally have focused on — and to show some love to local artisans. Expect a fun flea market vibe on Saturday, with a local DJ and food from the nearby Mildred’s Temple Kitchen 

The west elm/Etsy connection is not new; west elm has been propping with Etsy products for years, and is featuring Etsy artists in their catalogue and on their website. Check out their favourite Etsy artists here. 

I love pretty, witty stationery, so I was drawn to the stuff from Toronto-based Deadweight, shown above.

See you down there.

P.S. Overheard someone onTwitter say today that a good handbag (leather allbeit) would cost at least $350. Crikey, that's a lot of money to a poor schmo like me, I said to myself. So I was glad to see the literary, affordable bags shown below (pic - Hannah Heyes)  from  Fieldguided  will be up for grabs this weekend.  Thunder in my heart indeed. After a long and stormy spring, how appropriate.

P.P.S. Either of these would make great gifts. When's your stepdaughter's birthday? Mine has hers this weekend.

 

Dizzying design

 
If you took science in high school, you may remember hearing of the Coriolis effect, named after the French physicist who in 1835 described how the shape of rotating objects appears to change. That's what inspired Thomas Heatherwick, the ridiculously inventive designer who straddles the world of art, architecture and design and whose London-based team tackles everything from a monastery in Sussex to a rethink of London’s iconic buses. It’s all pretty spectacular, but I fixated on the glass bridge at King’s Cross in London I saw on the website. Why, pray tell, can't we have public design like that in Toronto? Is it because we're headed by Mayor Stop the Gravy Train™, who probably thinks that such stuff is pinko frippery?

Heatherwick’s Spun Chair was shown at the Milan Furniture Fair in carbon steel and bronzed brass finishes. It’s described as “a functional chair constituted by a single profile rotated through 360 degrees which transforms the domestic seat into a beautifully rendered spinning top.” Put more simply: when upright, it’s a piece of sculpture, but when seated it in,  a body can swivel in a complete circle. Wheeee! A marvellous idea, but I think I’d go easy on the cocktails if I was sitting in it.

Limited editions will be sold in London at the tres trendy  Haunch of Venison which is, I could not help but notice, showing an exhibit of photographs — many new — from filmmaker Wim Wenders,  who directed the film classic (it's on my personal  top ten list) Wings of Desire. Sadly I can never think of it now without being reminded of the shudderingly bad remake done with, God help me, Nicholas Cage and Meg Ryan called City of Angels.

Trolling for good design pays off

 
 
 
  
 
Some may call it goofing around, but for me trolling online for interesting design and useful products for the home is research. And it’s darn hard work, too At least that’s how I justify letting hours dribble away while I amble around the net! But it really does pay off sometimes. It was during such a fishing expedition that I discovered a young Chinese design company called Innovo, which is run by a trio with a decidedly international flavor — with principals Zhang Lei,Jovana Bogdanovic and Christoph John coming respectively from China, Serbia and Germany. They met — where else — in Milan. I found work from these youngster’s firm on Inhabitat, which is my favourite green/sustainable design weblog. Great design, global reach and good writing. The boilerplate description is that it’s “devoted to the future of design, tracking the innovations in technology, practices and materials that are pushing architecture and home design towards a smarter and more sustainable future.” Well worth following. The coverage of the Xuan light, made with bamboo grass, and the Paper Chair, which riffs on ancient Chinese paper-making arts (both shown above) were part of Inhabitat’s coverage of the Milan Furniture Fair.  Are they not the most beautiful things you’ve seen today (at least so far)?

A cause that's close to my heart

 
Autism affects about one out of every110 kids. In my own family, it turns up in the form of Asperger’s Disorder, so I’m pleased to share news of how you can help —  just in time for World Autism Awareness Day on April 2nd.  As with  all mental illness, there's not enough research done into it, and families suffer silently, because there's still such a  taboo about talking about disorders of the mind. That's a shame, because these family need support. Scentsy, makers of decorative warmers that use a 25-watt bulb to melt scented wax to produce a candle-like light without an open flame, are donating 100 per cent of net proceeds from the sale of each “Piece by Piece” warmer to Autism Speaks Canada. You can buy a “Piece by Piece” warmer for $42 from now through August 31. Click here for more information.

Sisters and brothers, sing Amen - Lady Spring has almost sprung.

 
 

 
One sure sign that spring is on its way? The arrival of the One of a Kind Show  which runs March 30 to April 3 at the Direct Energy Centre at  Exhibition Place. It’s where you’ll find beautiful, unique pieces for the home, such as the footstool by Foutu Tissu, fabrics by Frédérique Satre and lamps by Caroline Gamiette (all shown above). Hours are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday to Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday. Adult tickets cost $12 at the door and $10 online, while seniors and youth between 12 and 17 $6.50. Kids 12 and under are free.

Very fine lacework indeed

 
Now this is pretty. Architect Italo Rota clad fashion designer Roberto Cavalli’s home with metallic “lace” — wrapping three sides in laser-cut stainless steel sprayed with a frosted copper finish. Produced in Cantù by Marzorati Ronchetti , the panels open electronically, so sunlight can be regulated from inside the house. It reminds me of the exquisitely intricate geometric patterns found in Middle Eastern and Spanish design. Sadly, I'm not likely to repeat this at home (although I do love homes overrun with Ivy, which produces sorta, kinda but not really the same effect) But I did see some lovely wrought-metal doors last year at Artefacts in St. Jacob’s that I thought would make a beautiful room divider or garden trellis.

Spotlight on Canadian design (no moose were injured in the writing of this entry)

 

 
 
 
 

It’s been a busy week, what with stories on the Interior Design Show , the Canadian Home Furnishing Market (TCHFM) , the annual trade event that was recently held at the International Centre in Mississauga, and the National Home Show all coming onto the front burner.  

One of the threads that seems to connect all three is a new energy in the Canadian design industry and a wealth of talent emerging in the furniture and décor manufacturing sector. For more news on this, check out the Quality Canadian Furniture network,  an association of manufacturers that sings the praises of Canadian-made goods.

I saw loads of lovely stuff at the TCHFM, as you’ll see by the pictures above, which feature product from Amsico, Contintental, Mobican, Trica and West Brothers. I also learned of two terrific independent designers. Fat Crow Design in Edmonton makes a line called White Moose Brands.  Go to their site to see a lovely metal room divider, and leaf-shaped mats. I did get pics for both, but they would not  load - arrggh - technology!). The  beautiful table of reclaimed wood and chairs (at right) is by Grown Design in Toronto.

 
 At the upcoming  IDS, you'll have the chance  see more great Canadian pieces, including hand-made wood furniture from Shawn Place Design in Prince George  (see below).

 
 

Wondering about e-waste? You should!

 
A few months ago, I mused in this space about whether the decline of paper communications (newspapers, notebooks etc), and subsequent rise of electronic media, had been good or bad for the environment. After all, I asked, hasn’t the electronics industry created a lot of waste? (Bias alert -- I still love my Moleskin - see below!)

That drew an invitation from Matt Weiner, marketing manager of IT solutions for Samsung Canada, to chat about whether we should be concerned about e-waste clogging our landfills.

In fact, Weiner seemed to share my worry that people aren’t sufficiently aware of what happens to old electronics when they’re no longer functional. He explained that Samsung was involved in a survey of businesses with between five and 100 employees that looked at whether purchasers of IT equipment considered end-of-life issues for the products. The results were not encouraging. “It was very disappointing to us that many purchasers making a big decision to buy a system do not think what the heck will happen to it at the end of life,’ says Weiner.

But end users, he insists, are just one piece of the puzzle. “The user has to have some responsibility when they get rid of items, but manufacturers should be making it easier for them to do that,” he says.

To encourage consumers, Samsung has launched a program called Recycling Direct that allows people to drop off used electronics at 45 locations across Canada. From there, product goes to their recycling partner, Global Electric Electronic Processing (GEEP)  where plastics, glass and hazardous materials such as cathode ray tubes are removed and electronic components are taken apart and sorted. Plastics are recycled or converted into diesel fuel; and metals like copper and iron can be re-used.  

This program is expected to expand in 2011 to over 75 locations. Non-Samsung-branded electronics are taken, but a small fee is charged.

Weiner says this process is vastly preferable to having waste shipped overseas as scrap, where highly dangerous materials are sorted by poorly paid workers, many of whom are children.   

“Our promise to customers, whether they are business or consumer, is that no product will be sold off to third-word or hit a landfill or go back into the waste stream,” says Weiner.

While he’s enthusiastic about the recycling program, Weiner still thinks there could be more awareness of the issue of e-waste. Given the chance, he says, most people will choose to recycle. He point to the company’s experience at the Green Living Show .  “We had a program (under which) you could get in for free if you dropped off used electronics. The response was overwhelming; 10,000 people gained access by recycling,” he says.

Confidence that the company will do the right thing is one reason to buy from a major brand, says Weiner. “Most major manufacturers are now doing a recycling program,” he says. “For the most part, it’s the smaller vendors, where it’s some weird name you have never heard of and that’s often made in a third world country, where you need to be careful.  Their rules and regulations may not be the same as here — so you won’t be sure.”  

 

Tomorrow: Let’s talk about plastic bags. Seriously, folks.

 

 

Rise and shine -- or take the day off

 
I’ve said before that I really like the new Wake-up Light from Philips. And I especially love that you can download sounds to wake you up after the halogen light has simulated a rising sun. There are several soundscapes on the Philips site that you can drop on a USB stick.  I’d go for the ones entitled Morning at the Monastery or African Savannah. But, truth be told,  I think my fave is  Not Working Today. Ahhhhh…I like the sound of that.

Already sick of grey skies? Bury your head in a (beautiful) pillow.

 
 

There are few ways to lend polish to the look of a space more quickly than by adding well-designed, highly-detailed cushions. They bring texture, colour and a touch of luxe. At no time of year is that more important than right now, when cloudy skies and a missing-in-action sun cast a long and lonely grey shadow over our spaces. If you need a pillow intervention, check out The Voice of Style. There, you'll see gorgeous pillows (see pics above), made from beautiful fabrics and trims. Each one-of-kind pillow is designed by colour guru Jane Hall and meticulously sewn by her nimble-fingered assistant Valerie. As a special Christmas gift to Voice of Style customers, pillows are now being offered — for a limited time — on sale. Prices for pillows with feather inserts range between $100 and $175. Buy two, and you get 10 per cent off; three and you get 15 per cent off. Or go crazy and get four, and get a whopping 20 per cent off.  Just for good measure, those buying five (they look best in odd numbers, anyway), get 25 per cent off.