Mobilia chose Toronto’s Interior Design Show to reveal the winner of the inaugural Mobilia NEXT design contest, this tactile bench by Montreal designer Loïc Bard. “I designed this bench, both sensual and minimalist, by collaborating with a person who works with the blind,” explains Bard of his piece, which is carved from a single piece of wood. “The bench has no sharp edges or angles, its surfaces are curved and are inspired by the smoothness of bones, inspiring comfort.”
As the winning design, Bone Bench 014 will be produced by Moblia, hitting stores by the end of the year.
This leather and wood rocker caught eyes all over Toronto this past January when it was on show at Commerce Court, as part of the Toronto Design Offsite Festival, and in Object & Ideas’ Maker section booth at IDS. Featuring a looped frame – in ash, walnut or hard maple – and a casual sling seat, the chair’s curves were inspired by the Wye Marsh in southeastern Ontario. You can check the chair out against the backdrop of its namesake in April, when it’s on display as part of Wye Marsh’s Earth Day celebrations.
Toronto’s newest small-batch furniture makers officially launched this January, with a contemporary collection that includes this solid wood table accented with a solid brass and leather shelf. Endeavouring to offer pieces at a more accessible price point than typically associated with high-quality, handcrafted pieces, as well as to minimize environmental impact, Chris Charuk and Simon Ford use sustainably harvested wood, and participate in a program that sees a hardwood tree planted for each product sold. And though you may expect that the table’s name comes from its leather shelf, the material is in fact a byproduct of the beef industry.
The Parkdale bench, from Mischa Couvrette’s brand Hollis & Morris, becomes a more versatile piece with the addition of a removable fabric-wrapped cushion, belted into place with a pair of simple leather straps. A companion piece to the Parkdale chairs and console table, the bench is available in four- and six-foot versions, in solid white oak or walnut and cold-rolled steel.
This or That Studio founder Henry Lin designed this subtly unusual chair to be admired from all angles. He devised a series of distinctive forms, first in solid wood – including rounded, offset legs and a not-quite-circular, not-quite-square back – and then topped them with a complementary back and seat, upholstered in tactile wool.
Montreal light-makers Lambert & Fils recently introduced us to their hometown pals, wood furniture makers Kastella. We love the way this console table stands on its on two feet, with just a little help from the wall. Sold in local favourites white oak or walnut, it’s also available with a brass-framed grommet for cable management, instantly turning the shallow surface into an impromtu desk.