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AZURE Talks: Taking Canadian Design to the World Stage

MSDS is designing uber-minimalist furniture for Muuto and Normann Copenhagen. Abraham Chan is curating the ultimate condo experience at The Oosten in New York. Lukas Peet has created an internationally in-demand lighting company. And Jamie Wolfond is a consistent favourite during New York Design Week. Why is Canada so hot right now?

Moderated by Azure’s Elizabeth Pagliacolo and taking place at IDS Toronto on January 18, 2019 at 8:30 am, the panel will uncover what the four studios are working on now, how they’ve built a vision for expanding their design brand and relationships globally, and how they’ve landed exposure and commissions beyond Canada. Besides what to do when the big break happens, designers seeking international work will hear how to manage setbacks and over-hopeful expectations. Register here to secure your spot now.

This AZURE Talk qualifies for 1 CEU from IDCEC and 1 Structured Learning Hour from the OAA.

 

Jonathan Sabine and Jessica Nakanishi, MSDS

It’s rare for a Canadian designer to be collaborating with the likes of Muuto and Normann Copenhagen. But Jonathan Sabine and Jessica Nakanishi of Toronto studio MSDS have been honing their clean-lined, Scandi-inflected aesthetic for many years in both product design and custom-crafted interiors – including Shopify’s Toronto headquarters and the restaurants Hello123 and Flùr. And the duo has been hard at work making connections with Nordic brands with which they feel an affinity.

They began meeting with Scandinavian firms during their frequent trips to the Stockholm Furniture and Light Fair – proof of the enduring relevance of showing one’s work at international fairs. Lately, they have released furniture for Muuto (the Halves side table), accessories for Normann Copenhagen (the Hoop wall hooks, above), and lighting for Woud (the Study Light). The collaborations are a perfect match up, thanks to MSDS’s attention to detail, refinement and utility.

 

Abraham Chan, Abraham Chan Design Office

Abraham Chan, Abraham Chan Design Office

We first met Abraham Chan after he completed the Vancouver home of furniture showroom Avenue Road, a resplendent interior in a former print factory. Chan buttressed the wooden pillars in illuminated metal arches to celebrate the building’s old bones while making a stunningly modern statement. The Toronto-based interior designer has also been working on projects abroad, including the penthouse styling for The Oosten in New York (below) and the Pedder shops in Hong Kong and Singapore.

 

Jamie Wolfond, Good Thing

Jamie Wolfond has brought to life many vibrant designs – both his own and those of talents from around the world. As the founder of the Good Thing label, he’s launched Soap by British super-minimalist Jasper Morrison, the Shutter Lamp by French designer Ferréol Babin, the G3 Vessel collection by Japan’s Shinya Yoshida, and the 6063 Stool by fellow Canadians (and Azure Talks panelists) MSDS. And he’s given these inventive products – new takes on essential tools for living – an international spotlight by exhibiting at NYCxDesign and retailing at MoMA and Urban Outfitters, amongst others. An accomplished designer in his own right, Wolfond showed off his Wandering Planter (below) – a plant pot set on wheels so that it can be easily moved around – at the Furnishing Utopia collective showcase during May’s NYCxDesign.

 

Lukas Peet, ANDlight

As a graduate of Design Academy Eindhoven, Vancouver’s Lukas Peet has enjoyed an enduring relationship with the European design scene. And it continues through his dedicated approach to exhibiting his work at the biggest design shows. This year alone, Peet was in Milan, showing off Vine (one of our favourite products of 2018) and other pieces by ANDlight, the company he founded with Caine Heintzman and Matt Davis; at Dutch Design Week, where he showed new work and appeared alongside his father, the goldsmith and jeweller Rudi Peet, and his brother Oskar Peet and Sophie Mensen of OS and OOS (this is one very talented family); and at Maison et Objet, where he was invited back as the winner of the show’s 2014 Emerging Designer Award. It suffices to say that Peet has an international outlook, and that his meticulously designed lighting and accessories, which include new launches like the Pivot lamp (below) and the Scent Tray, are in high demand.

 

Tickets: Free with the price of IDS admission (breakfast included)
Register here and secure your spot now!
This AZURE Talk qualifies for 1 CEU from IDCEC and 1 Structured Learning Hour from the OAA.

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