I’m really quite liking the new vases from Vancouver-based Fleet Objects.
images via Fleet Objects
I can’t believe it – White Cabana is two! (Well – two years and 6 days to be exact.)
by Dado Queiroz
I’d like to thank Johanne, Mackenzie, and Troy for being a top-notch team of contributors. And of course I’d like to thank all of our readers for dropping by on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis for a little dose of white inspiration!
We’re looking forward to another fabulous year of design blogging and we hope you will continue to join us!
Three months ago, my family and I lost someone very dear to us. My Zia Rose passed away after a 3 year fight with breast cancer and our worlds have forever been changed. While each of us celebrates her life each day, it is still very hard to come to terms with her death. Personally, I love looking at pictures and videos of her. Being with my uncle and cousins also makes me feel happy because I know she would want us to continue to laugh, sing, and gossip with one another as often as possible.
It must have been almost a year ago when I sat in my aunt and uncle’s kitchen and we talked about White Cabana. While Zia Rose cheered my efforts she also wondered why I hadn’t posted anything music related. Come on Jo, she said. I tried to tell her that, although I like listening to music, remembering song titles and lyrics and compiling play lists is not my forte. Before I could get another word in, she was spouting off a list of song titles with the word white in them. She was so excited and gave herself a pat on the back for coming up with such a genius post idea. She made us all laugh.
I meant to write this post soon after that visit but I never did. Today’s the day for music.
White Wedding – Billy Idol
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgFh4RHgn0A&w=480&h=360]
White Room – Cream
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGZeqwdWoeo&w=480&h=360]
A White Sportcoat – Marty Robbins
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nFNnTA48K0&w=480&h=360]
White Rabbit – Jefferson Airplane
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgth6ZM0GxE&w=480&h=360]
Nights in White Satin – Moody Blues
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qkw9zoIFPHw&w=480&h=360]
This post is dedicated to Zia Rose and Zio Nick.
Many thanks to my friend Joel who helped me compile this list of songs. I hope Zia Rose would approve. I know she would sing!
Ideas. Inspiration. Innovation. What more does one event need?
My experience at this year’s Interior Design Show began with The Party, continued with BlogPodium, and ended with a lot of photos and information about what’s new and exciting in the design world. Mix these elements up with designer talks, the Studio North exhibit, and a crowd full of beautiful people and it’s no wonder that I’m still on an IDS high.
Reports and reviews of cool design, innovative products, and designers’ takes on trends have been circulating around the web for a few days now and hopefully you’ve had time to read some of them. As for my recap? Well, here it is…all in white!
At the entrance to the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, event goers were greeted by Strip Tease, the collaborative effort of RAW and Mark Tholen. Not only were the hundreds of white felt strips interesting to look at, but they doubled as a projection screen. A white welcome…yes, please!
La Cl̫ture is a hold all for coats, hats, mail, umbrellas, and anything else you might want to drop off Рor pick up Рat the entrance to your home.
La clôture, $149.95, Six Point Un
It was wonderful to see Tahir Mahmood’s beautifully crafted pieces in person and I appreciate having the opportunity to chat with Tahir about his background, his design process, and his plans for future projects. While many of his designs are colourful, my eye was drawn to this wood and white spinner.
Spinner by Tahir Mahmood
Like almost everyone at IDS, I fell in love with the space designed by Italian architect and designer, as well as International Guest of Honour, Piero Lissoni. Ah – those books!
While many of us are now used to our stainless steel appliances, Jenn-Air is bringing back white and making it super sleek and simple.
I can always count on IKEA for injecting a dose of white into a space and this time was no different. The white kitchen (with black counters and back splash) was in classic IKEA style – storage galore, simple design, and repeated forms. I could really use a wall of cabinetry like the one below for my growing shoe collection.
The display at Eurolite was gorgeous overall but it was this white fixture’s layers and form that really caught my eye.
The Hansgrohe faucet is sleek and sophisticated. Gorgeous.
The texture on the chairs at the Andrew Richard Designs exhibit was just lovely.
patio chair at Andrew Richard Designs
The Magus Julius chair was transformed by a selection of designers for Cherish, an auction in support of the ONEXONE non-profit children’s foundation. I wonder who were the winners of these two white chairs.
Magis Julian chairs in white (right: with lights; left: textured)
And, of course, the people were great!
Troy Seidman, Mazen el-Abdallah, Suzanne Dimma at the How do you live? exhibit
So, there you have it. My recap in white. What are your thoughts? Did you attend IDS this year?
Photos by Jordana.
Canadian design bloggers have got it going on!
From their blogs, I already knew my blogger colleagues were a dynamic group of talented individuals. But meeting some of my blogger friends in person at two recent events – BlogPodium and the Canadian Design Bloggers Meetup – confirmed the fact that this community of bloggers is also friendly, supportive, stylish, and smart.
BlogPodium is the first and only Canadian conference series for design bloggers. I was delighted to attend the inaugural event at IDS2012 in Toronto. The founders, Jennifer Flores and Lindsay Stephenson, set the bar high and achieved success with this first event. They put together a wonderful panel of presenters – Margot Austin, Kimberley Seldon, Kate Moore, Jennifer Flores, and Leigh-Ann Allaire Perrault – who shared their opinions about blogs and the media. The talk was informative, engaging, and entertaining, and the crowd of design bloggers eagerly soaked up as much information as they could. I think it is safe to say that we all wished it would have lasted just a little bit longer!
Left to right: me; IDS Founder Shauna Levy; The Panel: Kimberley Seldon, Kate Moore, Margot Austin, Leigh-Ann Allaire Perrault, Jennifer Flores (photos by Jason Hudson)
The event was well-designed, well-orchestrated, and best of all, it was fun! Many thanks to Jennifer and Lindsay for organizing this event and for making us all feel so welcome. Many thanks to the presenters for their candid advice, their approachability, and for making us laugh. And of course, thank you to the many sponsors, including Delta Faucets and House & Home, for supporting our design blogger community!
***
As if BlogPodium wasn’t enough, I also had the pleasure of attending my second Canadian Design Bloggers Meetup at Brassaii in Toronto. Vitania and Daniella continue to amaze me with their dedication, their style, and their optimism. They designed a warm, welcoming, and entertaining evening of blogger fun. The meetup included talks by Cameron MacNeil and Lisa Murphy of House & Home, as well as Cassandra Lavalle of Coco+Kelley. Oh – and I must not forget the surprise speaker – Brian Gluckstein. It was great to hear the speakers’ different perspectives on the world of design blogging, the potential for collaborative opportunities, and what inspires them.
Clockwise: Cameron MacNeil, Lisa Murphy, Brian Gluckstein, Cassandra Lavalle (photos by Alessia Lamonaca)
The meetup also gave us bloggers a perfect opportunity to mingle with people who we’ve only known in the online world. For me, chatting with people whose blogs I enjoy was a real highlight of the event. So many people are doing such interesting things – hosting workshops, teaching classes, writing for magazines, designing products – the talents of this group of people is really inspiring!
Clockwise: Welcome to the meetup; Sponsor GlucksteinHome (photos by Alessia Lamonaca); Lindsay, Sharalee & me; me & Troy
Again – let me take this opportunity to thank Vitania and Daniella for organizing such a classy event, the speakers for sharing their experiences, the sponsors for their continued support, and to my fellow design bloggers for being such a cool group of people to hang out with online and in person!