styleNorth

I was lucky enough to start my Interior Design Show whirlwind yesterday morning with talks by top New York designer Amy Lau and 1stdibs.com founder Michael Bruno. Between the two speakers, Lau kindly signed copies of her lavish new book, Expressive Modern, and Bruno was one of the fans in line with yours truly to get his copy autographed. Lau was utterly magnanimous: we chatted as she signed my copy and asked for recommendations of things to see and do while she was in Toronto. I steered her to the Gardiner Museum of ceramics, which I was pretty sure she’d love.

Bruno was also friendly, not to mention impossibly handsome, as he posed for a picture and we shared a few words. Yes, I was starstruck at IDS.

Toronto’s Interior Design Show (IDS 12) kicks off this morning with a slate of design heavy hitters and a media preview in advance of this evening’s big opening night party ($60 and worth every penny!). Tomorrow is trade day, then the doors open to the public on Saturday and Sunday ($22). This truly is my favorite event of the year and I’m palpably excited to see what’s new and what’s next in interiors, something IDS is incredibly good at presenting. As always, I’ll be paying special attention to the Studio North and Prototype exhibits where Canadian talent and cutting edge designers face the industry and the public in search of customers and critique. Above are pieces from Studio North participants Nomo Creations, Tahir Mahood and Tyler Mackenzie Craft & Design; below are Prototypes from Anna Buechin (Moonlight Shade) and Derek Mcleoud (Sumo Lounge).

My coverage of this event tends to be fairly exhaustive but this year I’m traveling out of town on Friday so I won’t have time for the in-depth blogging of years past. I will, however, be up before the birds tomorrow to deliver a report prior to taking my leave. If you’re in the Toronto area, my strong advice is that you book at least half a day this weekend to wander the enormous exhibition halls of the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. You will not be disappointed; I never am.

Online vintage furniture sellers are popping up like dandelions in spring. The explosion of hunter/collector TV shows like American Pickers has spawned a thousand cyber cottage industries populated by Goodwill junkies who think they can make a go of it online. I wish them all good luck but I suspect many of them will wind up with basements full of junk and a server bill to boot.

I predict a happier ending for Susan Elliott of Tribute Decor, however. Susan has a few things going in her favour — she’s an auction addict who learned the ropes as a kid tagging along with her parents and she has a pretty good eye. She follows the blogs so she stays abreast of what’s on trend and she has an intuitive sense of what will sell IF she can get it for the right price, thus allowing her some margin while still passing decent deals onto her customers.

See the mahogany art deco chest above? Susan sold it for just $395, which I happen to think is a steal for a piece of this quality. In fact, I liked it so much I purchased it for my latest decorating client who will use it as a tallboy clothes dresser. The gorgeous mahogany bar, below, just went up on Susan’s site priced at $495.

The clean-lined mid-century coffee and side table set, below is also still available for $285 for the set.

Susan’s real secret weapon is her location — she’s based in Kingston, Ontario, almost equidistant from three of Canada’s biggest markets — Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto. She’ll deliver for a nominal fee ($95 to Toronto) and unlike Craigslist, she’ll take the goods back if you’re not completely satisfied. “I want my customers to be happy and to recommend me to their friends and family,” she says.

“I’m careful at the auctions to really look things over,” she tells me, “and I make an effort to photograph and explain anything that’s not quite perfect so my customers understand exactly what they’ll be getting.”

Unlike some dealers, Susan isn’t bound to a particular style or era; on her site right now you’ll find Sheraton, Shaker, art deco, industrial, mid-century modern, even post-modern like the Knoll Handkerchief chairs below ($600 the pair). Susan isn’t greedy and knows that to make a living she has to keep the stock turning over, which means you should probably sign up for Tribute‘s email alert or check the site frequently — there are a lot of “sold” tags on her merch so best to see it when it’s fresh.

Like many sellers, Susan’s collecting habit was getting out of hand and her husband started joking that a TV crew was going to show up and feature them on an episode of Hoarders. Hence the launch of Tribute last May. So far things are going well and posts like this one are bound to help spread the word. That great looking blanket box/TV stand below is priced at $175, but it probably won’t last long.

Given that CB2‘s first Canadian store is housed in a former party palace it was fitting that the company blew the roof off last night with a major opening bash featuring DJs, drinks, local design celebs and a happy crush of pretty young things. Crate & Barrel’s younger sister showed off her colourful, hip style with a media preview followed by an invitational for local taste-makers.

The most popular observation I heard was about how much colour was on the floor. Atomic orange, kelly green, electric blue, triumph red, canary yellow — CB2 turns up the volume on saturated hues that dovetail perfectly with its young, urban demographic.

The other big surprise for many was how truly affordable most of the offerings are. A few of my favorite things include the juicy green Luck side table ($229), the Twine floor lamp ($229) and the industrial Victory pendant light ($179).

I’m crazy about the mustard velvet cushion on the Two Tone Club Chair ($899) and I’ll definitely be using my staff discount to buy one of the Liquid yellow bowls ($54.95), below right. Staff discount? Yes, yours truly is a part-time sales associate at CB2, part of my strategy for offsetting the pain of a potential labour disruption at my day job.

CB2 proudly surfs decor trends, frequently changing up its product line to stay in the curl of what’s current. But the company is also extremely savvy about providing supremely affordable housewares.

If candles are your thing then 651 Queen West is the only address you need to know.

To celebrate the opening of its first international store, CB2 is pulling out all the promotional stops including awarding gift cards ($10 off any $50 purchase) to the first 1,500 patrons in the store each day — a daily $500 spending spree is also among the welcome prizes during the shop’s first 40 days. So drop in and say hi and definitely tell my bosses I gave you the best customer service ever!

It’s been awhile since a shop window screamed out to be featured in Window Dressing but the current display at Toronto’s Hardware Interiors (760 Queen Street East, 416.462.3099) has editorial written all over it. Symmetry, scale, surprise, this window by shop owners Murray Duncan and Jordan Tabachnik has it all.

The fierce, head-turning mask at the centre of the vignette is from a private collection being sold on consignment. It’s not the sort of thing Hardware usually deals in but the shop’s clientele is apparently eating it up. The Congolese Kuba Royal Mask in the window is priced at $950, the figure eight lamps are $385 each and the salvaged-wood display console is $2,100, the baskets are $40 each.

Inside, the shop is currently having a table sale, that is a sale on its stock of custom designed tables utilizing steel and salvaged timber. Price reductions range from 30 – 50 per cent: the stacked coffee tables, below left, are reduced from $995 to $450 each and the handsome side table, below right, is marked down to $250 from $350.

And as usual, Hardware has some awesome lamps on the floor, the black chrome piece in the foreground below ($275) just might end up in my next decorating project because it neatly references a Craigslist item I have my eye on.

If dark and dramatic is where your style compass is pointing, make sure it leads you to Hardware Interiors.