Well we were a little late getting David Chang’s Lucky Peach magazine, our friend Gord first told us about the issue, and ever since we’ve been trying to get our paws on a copy.

The first issue was of particular interest because it’s the “Ramen” issue, something we’ve grown addicted to since our trip to Hokkaido. The Momofuku book was loaned to us by Kai, a friend of the shop. He always comes in and talks about his experiences in Japan and abroad and thought we’d appreciate the story telling in the cookbook.

On that note we have some news! We’re going to making another trip to Japan during the 2nd week of September. We’re going to be traveling around Kanazawa, Kyoto, and a couple days in Tokyo. After planning this trip and reading all about ramen we thought we’d have lunch at Kenzo, arguably the best ramen in Toronto!

We both ordered the miso ramen. We ask to get some additional garlic paste and spice to get it a bit closer to Asahikawa ramen, our white whale of ramen. The place is bustling with Japanese students at lunch but we got a table, and it didn’t take long to get our order of gyoza and ramen.

Besides the social aspects of traveling, our favorite thing is always food so we’re excited to try new places and share them all with you. Hopefully we’ll have some great workshop tours as well.

Last Friday we visited Dundas St West to see “Do Dundas”. The neighborhood banded together for a fringe installation which featured design works in 29 local shops, restaurants, and cafes between Markham and Grace.

We stopped at Bookhou to see the show “Capacity.”

Maker Sofa by Michelle Ivankovic

A green velvet sofa made from exercise balls was quite striking.

Hydrological Map of Canada by Joy Charbonneau

Nest by Kirsten White

The Universe Will Not Be Typeset by Ayla Newhouse

Now I know my ABC’s by Nathalie Nahas (left)

LIAM mailbox by Maiwenn Castellan (right)

Lodestar by Erin McCutcheon

Detachment Series (capacity) by Arounna Khiunnoraj

I heart U Lamp by Ange-line Tetrault

Aster* Bowls by Kirsten White

The next place we stopped by was MADE for “MADE AT HOME”, an exhibition of new Canadian design, located in the apartment right above the MADE shop.

Your first instinct is to head into the bright kitchen. The table is by Dylan McKinnon, chairs by Anneke Van Bommel and Cameron Maclean, and Felt objects by Felt Studio (Kathryn Walter).

Bottle light by Brothers Dressler

Stack of Plates (lamp) by Annie Tung & Brad Turner

The Hunter get captured by the Game by Grant Heaps & John Webster

The next room was the living room with a sofa by 608 design, coffee table by Jason Wheeler, Chandelier by Periphere, and Gemstone rug by Bev Hisey.

These Felt ottomans are design by Yvonne Ip.

The office space has a table console by AHDI,  upholstered stool by Melanie Zanker & Angie To, pendant light by Shana Anderson, and Sky Condition blinds by Angela Iarocci.

Walnut plywood Tamitik (chair) by Connie Chisholm Studio

The last room is the bedroom with a large wall hung carpet called “Habitat” by Katherine Morley.

Kerry Croghan designed the bed cover and cushions, and the light sculpture is by Elsworthy Wang.

I would definitely recommend seeing these two exhibitions in person if you have the time (Capacity is on until February 6th and Made at Home is on until February 12th). There are a lot of great designs that you really need to see in person to really appreciate.

We stopped for a bite at Porchetta & Co.

I had the Porchetta sandwich with truffle sauce and a side of rapini.

The sandwich was delicious with a perfect blend of crunchy skin and ample meat. The rapini was the perfect side with onions, garlic and a little bit of chili flakes.

Juli had the same thing as me, except she opted for mushrooms and mozzarella instead of truffle sauce.

The last stop of the day was the Harbourfront Centre to see an installation by Studio Junction. SJ was asked to address Mid Block residences.

The structure is made from birch plywood, and features back lit walls made from folded paper. A pixelated effect occurs when people are in the light box.

The entrance is a small little opening leading you to a sitting bench.

The diffused light comes from the top of the structure and gets distributed throughout of the interior. Peter says, no pictures please!

I can’t believe this is the third year we have covered IDS! There is a lot to see so we decided to focus on prototypes, up and coming student work, and other notable Canadian artists that stood out among the many booths.

One of the main attractions for us are the Prototypes, which presents works not currently in production by independent designers. The disappointing thing we’ve found over the last two years is that it’s not displayed with the same care as it was when the show was at the CNE Direct Energy Centre. I mean, there was no buzz, the objects were practically on top of each other and there was nary a designer around (besides our pals Vik & Fougere). Also, without the designers around to provide context, and not many artist statements, many products didn’t show as well as they should have. That said, there were some great items on display!

Here’s the list of the prototype exhibitors:

Bench Rack - Vik & Fougere

A beautiful solution for the home entry. This piece went on to win the prototype competition. Congrats!

Have a seat ver 4.1 Lounger, by Bram Sawatzky

Hub chair, by Evan Bare

Pallet Chair, by Cooler Solutions Inc.

This chair stopped us in our tracks, the execution was phenomenal, it is hard to believe this chair was all made from discarded shipping pallets!

We also noticed the business card holder came from our store!

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