Down in Africa

I am leaving for the airport within the hour for my South African adventure. I won’t be posting for two weeks so bear with my absence and come by to check out all my photos when I return.

Jessica Claire Meets Design*Sponge

Grace of Design*Sponge is the closest thing to a rockstar  that the design blogosphere has, so I am nerdily posting the photo taken of us together at the IDS.

Besides scaring her with my enthusiasm, I have to say it was super cool meeting such a pioneer. She was so humble and literally had a little crowd of followers trailing her every move! Who knew there were so many Canadian design bloggers out there? Keep it up Grace!

Nice Day for A White Wedding

With Valentines Day in the near horizon, I figured I'd post shots of Toronto's famous white wedding boutique. Designed by Theresa Casey, it's a fresh and eclectic space that any bride or bridesmaid would be delighted to visit:

My Ultimate Valentines Day Desirables

I've been so busy with the IDS that I've barely given a thought to Valentines Day. It also doesn't help that I leave for my trip of a lifetime to Africa on Valentines evening (sorry dave!), so I'm posting my ultimate Valentines Day Desirables guide today in advance.

These items range from functional to gosh darn cute to amazingly over-priced, so just part with reality, try to ignore the sheer shmaltz factor of the day, and just enjoy smiling at all things heart shaped, pink and red:

 Heart Mixing Bowl Set, $32 and heart measuring spoons, $6

Jonathan Adler love jar, $55.00

 

John Derian Heart Shaped Dishes, $85 each

 

Tiffany's gold love charm and beaded chain, $590 CAD

 

"Love" Magazine Holder, $85.00

 

Maison de Vacances LOVE pillow

 

Michael Aram "Sona" Heart Bowls, $265

 

Hermes enamel bracelet in silver and palladium plated, $510.00

 

"To My Valentine" Keepsake Box filled with truffles by Beacon Hill Chocolates, $34

64th and queen and Castor

Alth0ugh not classified as interior design firms per say, 64th and Queen and Castor are the final two pieces in the 5x5 designer puzzle. I put them together because they are the most unconventional of the lot and their talents span quite the range.

First up is Castor, a quirky duo composed of stone carver Brian Richer and architecture student turned art director Kei Ng. With their varied backgrounds and savvy for the unexpected, Castor creates unusual pieces ranging from recycled tube light fixtures to unusually fashioned-credenzas. Most recently they have opened the communal table resto Odd Fellows on hipster queen street to much fanfare.

 

Last but not least there is 64th and Queen, a Toronto boutique firm spearheaded by ARIDO-award winning designer Clayton Budd and renowned production designer Callum Maclachlan. With their hipper than thou fusion of art and design plus retail and hospitality experience spiked with a heaping dose of digital, they are responsible for cutting-edge productions, set-designs and more.

Here are some amazing photos from their portfolio:

  

5x5: Taylor Hannah Architect

Taylor Hannah Architect, the most traditional of the design firms chosen for the 5X5,  is a full service firm that has worked on over 100 residential and commercial projects on Canada’s premier addresses.

Founder Dee Dee Hannah is an architect and interior designer, as well as a partner in Montclair Construction and Ellis Fine Cabinetry, a high-end millwork shop.  This multi-talented woman has a fabulous portfolio and has recently

launched a blog too!

Here are my favourite shots from the website:

I would be one lucky lady to have one of those bathrooms and dressing rooms!

Tomas Pearce Interior Design Consulting Inc.

One of the featured 5X5 at the IDS, Thomas Pearce is a design firm that is all about chic glamour. Principals Melandro Quilatan and Tania Richardson, formerly of Gluckstein, have left their mark on a variety of private homes, vacation retreats, model suites and more.

Here are some of my favourite shots from their portfolio:

 

IDS and Blogland

The Interior Design Show has always featured the newest technology in home and design so this year it's great that they're adding to their tech-saavy with a Saturday talk about the world of design blogging.

On Saturday at 4 pm on the main stage, Mark Challen of House & Home Media will be moderating a discussion on design trends as seen through the eyes of Grace Bonney of design*sponge, Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan of apartmenttherapy and Harry Wakefield of mocoloco.

I'm super excited to hear Grace speak in person as I completely admire her business acumen and trailblazing ways -- not to mention she helped grow my readership when I had just started the blog by posting my bedroom before-and-after.

Apartment Therapy is practically its own industry. After buying the paperback and finding it surprisingly new-agey I was a touch thrown off, but  I still stop by the site regularly for their small house tours and am excited to hear Maxwell speak. (not to mention Iwas very honoured when someone chose my bedroom as a roomark)

Check out the official IDS page for more information on other talks

5X5: 5 Designers, 5 Inspired Spaces

From production design and industrial design, to architecture and landscape design -- and of course gold old fashioned interior designer -- the group of design stars that were selected to have featured concept spaces at this year’s IDS are so wonderfully diverse… it’s going to be amazing to see what they come up with.

64th and Queen, Castor, Taylor Hannah Architect Inc., Tomas Pearce Interior Design Consulting Inc., and Earth inc. have been charged with creating inspiration spaces. Check out the video below to see what they are thinking:

I’m going to try and give a snapshot of each design firm chosen, so first up is Earth Inc. If you’re into green- these are your guys!

The four man principal team of Earth Inc star in the HGTV series Dirty Business. TV aside, their portfolio is beautiful and varied with landscaped spaces that range from modern zen to traditionally lush

  

Besides their pleasant portfolio, they have a great section on their website of past shows/events they have participated in. My favourite is their space for Canada Blooms in 2001:

It’s so rustic but has that whimsical fairytale quality that makes you think anything could happen while you’re walking through…    

I’m quite excited to see what they have in store for this year as a featured space!