Best of Design Week, Day 2: White Ash Woodwork and Tropical Plants

Throughout Toronto Design Week, we awarded the top 100 products (& other cool stuff) we spotted with our custom Designlines Loves tags, specially designed by Sali Tabacchi.

Below is the second batch of designs that caught our attention. Keep track of everything we tagged in our master list.

Shown above: The Toronto City Hall Rotunda, which is hosting IIDEX Woodshop.

Light yet strong, Devin Schaffner‘s elegant, easy-to-grip kitchen tools are made from an underutilized material: ash brought down by borer beetles.
Tagged by Tory Healy on Jan 18 at IIDEX Woodshop, at Toronto City Hall Rotunda, 100 Queen St W

This dapper end of bed storage bench by Jake Whillans pairs local white ash with another handsome material: vegetable tanned leather.
Tagged by Eric Mutrie on Jan 18 at IIDEX Woodshop, at Toronto City Hall Rotunda, 100 Queen St W

The MKSS (Modular Kitchen Storage System) by Six Point Un is part of Umbra‘s exhibition dedicated to small space-friendly prototypes. We were impressed by the setup’s versatility, and the elegant combination of warm industrial finishes.
Tagged by Eric Mutrie on Jan 18 at Umbra + TO DO Compact Living Product Exhibition, at Umbra Store, 165 John St

The horsehair brush on Vancouverite Char Kennedy‘s Pivot Broom rotates on a lockable axis at the end of the beech wood handle, allowing for various sweeping angles. Smart and stylish, you too will want to mount the reimagined essential – and its accoutrements – to the wall.
Tagged by Tory Healy on Jan 18 at Umbra + TO DO Compact Living Product Exhibition, at Umbra Store, 165 John St

We’re big fans of the genius wallflower that is Urbanworm Design‘s Leaning Loop. The slim, upright organizer (shown here in walnut) offers ample foyer functionality with modular hooks, shelf, mirror, magnet board and drip-dry shoe rack.
Tagged by Tory Healy on Jan 18 at Get in the Loop, at Urban Mode, 145 Tecumseth St

Organized by WantedDesign with Toronto Design Offsite, the Outside the Box exhibition showcases work by designers from 8 North American cities. We love the thoughtful combination of colours, textures and shapes in this Montreal-focused collection, curated by Zoë Mowat. Featured designers include mpgmb, Lambert & Fils, Arielle de Pinto, Mitz Takahashi, Ceramik B and Larose Guyon.
Tagged by Eric Mutrie on Jan 18 at Outside the Box – Montreal, at Stylegarage, 78 Ossington Ave

This collection of tabletop product by artisans in Los Angeles exemplifies a love for material, modern aesthetic and fun. Clockwise from top left: oak vessels by Scout Regalia; mini robot horses by Monroe Workshop; concrete vessel by Concrete Geometric; walnut shaving set by Kalon Studios; hand-forged hooks by Ramsey Conder; printed coasters by Post is Post; nesting coasters by 100xbetter; tray by Wolfum.
Tagged by Tory Healy on Jan 18 at Outside the Box – Los Angeles, at Stylegarage, 78 Ossington Ave

This year, the Toronto Design Offsite Festival headquarters is dedicated to designs that celebrate summer in the city. Ange-Line Tetrault’s fun plastic Faux Tropique sculptures delivered some very welcome beach vibes during our otherwise chilly trek across the city.
Tagged by Eric Mutrie on Jan 18 at Heat Wave, at Bosley Real Estate, 1108 Queen St W

Sunnies! We love the limited edition sunglasses by Opticianado X Philip Sparks. Vintage-inspired and hand made in San Francisco by one of the last remaining factories in North America using hand-polished Mazzucchelli acetate, the collection is available in a variety of colours and finishes.
Tagged by Tory Healy on Jan 18 at Heat Wave, at Bosley Real Estate, 1108 Queen St W

A collaboration by Caitlin Doherty and Vanessa Jackson, Villa Villa‘s Clinker Pots offer a sunny respite with their organic, emotive shapes. The colourful winterstone cement planters are arranged with exuberant fabric fronds on steel stems.
Tagged by Tory Healy on Jan 18 at Everlasting Wild, at The Grow Op, 222 Ossington Ave

Three cheers for the gear-driven, dancing chairs! Titled Pattern for Gartshore and Cowie, the mechanical art piece by woodworkers Carey Jernigan and Julia Campbell-Such pays tribute to Hamilton’s Gartshore-Cowie ironworks, which closed in 1904. The foundry had used wooden patterns to cast iron gears, pulleys, and parts for steam engines and other machines. The duo crafted their own gears in salute to the role woodworking – and the skill it required – played in manufacturing.
Tagged by Tory Healy on Jan 18 at Architects Luc Bouliane, 1259 Dundas St W