Posted on February 4, 2009 by Nina Boccia
Categories: Product design, Art, Events
Toronto's Interior Design Show has inspired a thriving offsite scene. Now in its sixth incarnation, the Gladstone Hotel’s Come Up To My Room is the wildly alternative sister to IDS09, where local and international talents each overhaul one of the 11 second floor hotel rooms as an exhibition space. The results are almost always memorable and the overall enthusiasm for this design expo is intoxicatingly upbeat. Another event worth seeing while you're far west on Queen: In The Red, a cheeky riff on recession-related themes by hot Toronto design firm Thout
This year, founding curators Pamila Matharu and Christina Zeidler have passed the torch to a new curatorial collective of four design fanatics comprised of Katherine Morley (Joe & Josephine co-founder), Caroline Shaheed (managing editor at Cheekmagazine.com), Jeremy Vandermeij (interior designer by degree, multidisciplinarian by choice) and Deborah Wang (who has worked under the wing of KPMB Architects).
In addition to the edgy and outlandish room installations and 13 public space projects, the troupe has called on five artists (including Studio Junction and Jeremy Hatch) to participate in a panel discussion exploring the “existence” of the designer and the possible dangers of Social Darwinism to the design environment. While these seasoned designers reminisce and debate, students from the University of Waterloo’s architecture school showcase their chair designs.
A CUTMR favourite, the prolific design team of Motherbrand – Todd Falkowsky, Michael Erdmann and John Ryan– are back. The team will debut Penny Smash, a new Souvenir Shop project that puts a spin on the souvenir penny press and features original smashed penny designs by Douglas Coupland, Marian Bantjes, Burton Kramer and Paul Butler. Throughout the weekend the duo invites guests to smash a penny for $2.01, buy a Coupland original or collect them all (Some proceeds will go to Sketch, a local art studio for Toronto’s street youth).
With admission to CUTMR costing a mere $8, the Queen West strip is a hot spot this weekend for penny-pinchers. On Friday night, architecture and product design firm Thout is embracing Wall Street’s foul-ups with In the Red, a timely themed (and free!) exhibition of nine new pieces using low-cost materials. “It’s an opportunity to come down a couple notches from the kind if stuff we see at Milan,” says founder Patrick Turner, referencing the swift changes to a more practical existence.
Deserting the white-walled gallery standard, Thout is splashing the walls, ceilings and floors with debt-inspired red (accompanying furniture and accents will be black and white). New pieces will include the solid Club chair (as shown) built from white ash spruce and a chandelier designed from 80 flicker bulbs designed to light up all at different times. The Scribble lamp, Azure’s favourite, is included as well as a revisited version of another Thout classic, the Holeystump.
Contrary to the inspiration of their In The Red piece, there has been a slew of orders from New York for Thout designs in the last two weeks. Expect to twist and Thout with a hundred or more ddesign revelers this Friday night.
Come Up To My Room runs February 5 to February 8 at the Gladstone Hotel. For more on participating artists and Saturday’s LoveDesign party check out the CUTMR blog.
Thout’s In the Red runs February 6 to February 28 at 1140 Queen St. W.