After yet another amazing lunch at Santouka–best ramen in Toronto, maybe because our inaugural ramen experience was in Sapporo, Hokkaido–we headed over to the Textile Museum to finally visit Marimekko, With Love (on until May 12, you still have time!).

There is plenty of historical eye candy for fans of the label, and an interesting joining together of artifacts from the local owners of Karelia, the Toronto shop that originally brought Marimekko (and many other Finnish brands) to Toronto back in the 1970s. We particularly enjoyed this portion of the show, since we are doing similar things with Japanese craft.

I just have a small sampling of what is in the show, as it’s best to visit if you can!

Fabric samples, fashion photography…

Vintage slideshows from both Marimekko and Karelia. The Karelia slideshow was of particular interest to us – it was so neat to see their exhibitions and parties. Is this what it will be like for us 30 years from now? All I know is they looked like they are having a good time, and so are we!

Personal letters and internal memos.

My two favourite pieces of clothing in the show (naturally).

Last Saturday we had many guests up to our cottage for the Kinfolk Toronto Dinner. This particular Kinfolk dinner was extra special because it involved an entire day of eating, chatting, preparing, swimming and relaxing. We started with coffee from La Merceria and delicious pastries from Stoney Lake Baking Co.,which provided a perfect opportunity to catch up with the Toronto crew and get to know the out of towners.

Post breakfast Emily and Melinda got to work in the kitchen. Baking cookies and mixing strawberry parfait for our dessert later, I give them full props for enduring the heat!

Post lunch it was time for another swim and then on to dinner prep. Nikaela and Thom prepare a delicious salad.

Baby party! Elodie and Eloise happily hung out on a quilt made by Sarra, and pillows printed with illustrations by Melinda Josie.

As the sun set, we sat down to our communal dinner.

 

Nikole Herriott‘s fresh Georgian Bay fish dish.

 

We can’t believe it’s time for the Interior Design Show already. Time sure does fly! After a really great dinner at Bannock (ok, to be honest we were trying to go to The Keg because we had a gift certificate but it was so rammed with after work suits, we headed over to try Bannock at The Bay, and it was well worth it!), we scored a prime parking spot at the convention centre, grabbed our passes and headed up to the Prototype section.

We immediately wanted to check out our friend Thom Fougere‘s new Tyndall Table, made of tyndall stone which is common in the Canadian prairies. Those organic lines are actually made by fossilized shrimp when the prairies were a tropical jungle.

On the left is Anthony Frank Keeler‘s Pivot Lamp. On the right is Anna Buechin‘s Moonlight Lampshade.

Dale’s Bench by Tomas Rojcik. The bowl acts as a catch-all when your taking off your shoes in the entrance to your home.

On the left is the Norb Rain Barrel by Nicholas Herling, complete with hand pump and spigot, and can do double duty as a bench in the garden. We’re also fans of Herling’s Tempus Fugit bedside table which we saw last year.

On the right is the ceramic Tiffin Lunch Kit by Lorea Sinclaire, which we couldn’t resist, as it reminds us of bento take away boxes.

Heading over to the Studio North section, we ran into friend of the store and recent graduate Tyler William MacKenzie. His concrete and wood shelf is simple, and would be a lovely backdrop to special little objects.

On the left, we can’t resist some Canadiana with Contact Voyaging Co.’s modern take on the paddle. We’d love to get the black and white cross version since it matches our business cards.

On the right, are Lori Harrison’s lovely soft toned Ward Occasional Table and pillows. You can by her work at MADE in Toronto.

Of course, it’s not IDS without a visit with Shawn Place.

I can’t believe he has the time to introduce 3 beautiful new works every year.

Mjölk was happy to oblige Williamson Chong Architects with helping them to furnish the booth they designed for Tiltco Fenestration.

The beautiful Mundo Lounge chair (it darkens every day…will be a lovely cognac brown one day) and some Eero Aarnio rocket stools and Alvar Aalto light.

Another highlight is the How Do You Live? shipping container special exhibition. Above is The Last Supper by Quadrangle Architects. The chairs represent the 12 design apostles.

Of course Mazen Studio‘s space caught our eye, with all its midcentury modern goodness (including a Børge Mogensen sofa).

We were blown away by neighborhood design studio MASON‘s entry Our Home and Native Land.

We loved the use of charred wood, the water feature that ran through the table top and into the garden, the neon sign and the colourful foods.

Above, landscape architects Earth Inc. have also used charred cedar in their display.

And that was just a small sampling of IDS12. This was certainly not a definitive list! We sadly ran out of time and completely missed the student work which has relocated to another floor. Regret! But we had a great time talking with friends new and old. We wish the best to all the participants!

I don’t think we’ve ever shown a tiny bit of our temporary apartment. Here’s a tiny peek while sharing an early Christmas present to ourselves.

We first saw Carly Waito‘s collection of mineral paintings at a group show at Narwhal Art Projects on Queen Street. Later in September she finished her first solo show called “Specimens”. Unfortunately it just wasn’t our time to purchase one of her works.

Just recently Carly made 2 new works, a smoky quartz and a watermelon tourmaline. There was something about smoky quartz that we really connected with… The strong contrast, the blacks and grays and the way the light was reflected in the painting. When the opportunity arose to get this piece we decided not to hesitate and risk the painting selling. Now it’s sitting above our dining table so we can look at it during each meal.

Also! Visit Narwhal’s new Junction location at 2988 Dundas Street West. POM POM has a great selection of small items (perfect for holiday gifts) by Alibi, Alicia Nauta, Andrea Glenn, Bad Day, CryWolf, Diana VanderMeulin, Douglas Brown, Eric Quebral, Elizabeth Knight, Erica Weiner, Fieldguided, Ginette Lapalme, Hunter and Cook, Jennie Suddick, Julie Moon, Kiel Meade, Laura Lombardi, Lara Vincent, Lazy Oaf, Maryanne Casasanta, Noel Middleton, Selena Wong, Shannon Gerard, Species by the Thousands, Tania Sanhueza, The Regional Assembly of Text, Touch the Dutch, Wool and the Gang, Yellow Owl and more magicians TBA.

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!