The Wilfrid

Not even a year ago Nancy and François had purchased a 175 year old farmhouse complete with 4 acres of land and a couple of barns with the vision of transforming the former dairy farm into a stylish, country getaway from the city. Situated in Prince Edward County (beaches! vineyards!) within weekend escape distance from Montreal and Toronto, The Wilfrid Boutique Farmhouse was open for its first season this spring.  Feeling particularly adult I decided to book a treat yo' self weekend and savour the country flavour.

Nancy and François really outdid themselves with the renovation of the farmhouse.  Opening up and streamlining the space for large common areas and creating three awesome guest rooms (oh and the shower!!) while maintaining the cozy county feel incited many ohhs and ahhs from me.  From the reclaimed sliding barn doors (from uh...their barn!) that leads to the crisp ensuite bathroom, to the pulleys holding the light fixtures, the attention to detail was apparent everywhere.  

After cocktails we strolled down the road to Long Dog Vinyard and Winery for some wine tasting and met the lovely owners James and Victoria.  We learned that James was involved in IMAX movie-making and that they would soon be rolling out the last IMAX movie to be shot on film.  Nooooooo! Say it ain't so!!!!  I get it, film is dead and dying and all that.  But I was secretly holding on to the idea that this crazy 70mm format would survive the transition.  Appreciating our film-nerdiness James gifted us with a couple of frames of this glorious medium.

After our last delicious and filling breakfast, we poked around the barns, played around a really old looking tractor and paid the hens a visit to gather some eggs before heading back down the 401.

During our weekend we toted around a Fuji Instax camera that is provided by the Wilfrid for guests to document their stay with the condition that we leave one image behind; creating a photographic guestbook at the farmhouse.

le pop up smart design

After a hiatus last year, the Smart Design Mart is back in a smaller pop-up version of its former self. Merchandised in a more boutique feel, the multiple brains behind the operation mixed up many of the local designers and artisans on displays of vintage pieces of furniture (also for sale!)

Pictured above: Lettering and design work from Council for Design cozying with pillows from Assembly Home Goods.

Wood cutting boards and guitar hooks from Mitz Takahashi with more Council for Design quoting the Smiths.

Ceramic tableware and jewelry by YYY Collection.

Wood lamp and ladder by Loic Bard.

And those kooky bowling pins by Tyson Bodnarchuk.

and obvs so much more,

Full list and details here until the 13th of December.

Atelier b

On a rainy Montreal evening, designers Anne-Marie Laflamme and Catherine Métivier rolled out the new identity for their ethical women and menswear label atelier b.
Design and identity work was by Nouvelle Administration with photographs by LM Chabot.
Merriment, wine and design equals good times.

Robocut x Printemps Numérique

Recently I was asked to document a two-day Rube Goldberg machine making-a-thon at Robocut Studios, a multidisciplinary one-stop-make-it-all shop.  From conception to digital fabrication, to CNC milling, to laser cutting, 3D printing, prototyping and electronics, Robocut covers the gamut of design needs.  To show off these skills in a kooky and fun way, the studio participated in Printemps Numérique, a three-month long initiative to unite and showcase Montréal's digital creatives.  A group of participants (with and without previous experience) signed up to conceptualize, design and realize a Rube Goldberg machine using electronics and good old mechanics.
A text message was sent to the omnipresent Cloud asking "Hey girl, would you like a gin and tonic?" triggered a circuit and began the chain reaction which resulted in the mixing of the aforementioned drink. Success!

Environmental Graphics

A couple of weeks ago I was contacted by a teacher at Quebec High School in Quebec City with a proposed project for their arts wing that was in desperate need of a makeover.
Ready for the "before" images?
The murals on the walls were created by students over ten years ago when the school had thought the whole wing would be demolished.  So the kids se sont lâchés loose or let loose as we say in proper Quebecois français.
Brace yourself.

The school was ready to breathe some fresh air into the space and have it be of interest on its own while being able to support the students' art work when it would be displayed on the walls.  Gallons and gallons of primer and paint were laid down to bid adieu to the chaotic artwork and then we stepped in.
"We" was myself and talented friend, artist and make-up sfx guru Mark Unterberger- who has recently launched himself into the world of industrial and graphic design, so naturally I thought he'd be down with this gig.

With lots of tape, a couple of gallons of a taupey/warm grey and a handful of very enthusiastic students we said goodbye to Tinkerbell and laid down simple graphics to create a calm and open new space for the art wing.

Two of the dedicated students getting into the details.

Object Art

I checked out the multi-disciplinary show Objects Are larger Than They Appear at un un huit un galerie/Off The Hook Gallery to take in some sculptures, installations and a painting or two.  The above work by Sam Ries beckoned me, with its minimalist study of scale, texture and material.  The large ball was about three feet tall, and despite all my years of gallery-going and knowing one does not "touch the art", all I really wanted to do was drape myself on it.

Judith & Charles FW15

Many moons ago, I got to know the French label Teenflo as a fashion assistant for their look books and campaigns for the Canadian market. The founders who brought Teenflo across the Atlantic embarked onto their own design adventure transitioning to their namesake made-in-Canada contemporary brand: Judith & Charles.  Clean lines, impeccable tailoring, and a magical shift dress that somehow looks good on anybody are some of the characteristics of this refined line.

The airy and light space of Galerie Samuel Lallouz provided a crisp setting to Judith & Charles' FW15 preview that was fresh and familiar at the same time.  A wall lined with Ralph Gibson's black and white photography was a perfect backdrop for that very covetable jumpsuit which cycles through the collection in different incarnations every few seasons.

A little internet sleuthing led me to find that the gallery had been designed by Architem Architectes who were also responsible for the design of an early Teenflo locale and Judith & Charles' retail space in Vancouver.  I emailed my PR contact at the company asking her if she had known of the connection, but it was indeed a coincidence.
It was just meant to be.

Esquire.com x Ford x WRG

I'm super pleased to share some collages that I contributed to Esquire.com x Ford spring style advertorial that was produced by WRG Magazine.  The themes focused on performance, tech and design for menswear trends.  It's been a loooooong time since I had done any digital collages (at least five years!!) and it felt so familiar, fun, and obsessive. Digital collage-for me-utilizes such a different work flow and approach than more traditional paper and glue collage. One has way less anxiety!  I have commitment phobia! Glue issues as well-maybe...  So this revisit to digital has been very liberating in a way. I am ready for more!

Check out the editorial here: Spring Forward With Style

charcoal

I was in the San Francisco bay area for a couple of weeks and all I have to show for it is a bunch of charcoal.
Ah, but this is not just any charcoal, behold Binchotan charcoal!  This white charcoal (even though it looks black) is of Japanese origin and boasts not only low temperature cooking heat while burning, but purifying properties which have made Binchotan a desirable material in a whole slew of products.  This brings back memories of treating food poisoning/mystery stomach bugs with charcoal tablets in Thailand-awesome!
Here's what came home with me:

1. Binchotan toothbrush by Morihata
Morihata makes a range of Binchotan based products and I picked up their toothbrush. Ok, I'm a charcoal newbie and this toothbrush is promising to refresh and revitalize my mouth-even before the toothpaste hits the charcoal blended bristles.  Very exciting.

2.  Binchotan charcoal sticks by black + blum
I'm going to use these to purify and filter my tap water into delicious, free urban nectar, but these sticks can also be used to deodorize rooms/shoes, has cooking uses, and when its lifespan is over the charcoal can be used as fertilizer.

3. Deitanseki Soap (clay and charcoal facial cleansing bar from Nippon Kodo
The woman who rang up my purchase raved about this soap transforming her skin (which was pretty awesome by the way).  The packaging lists "carbon powder" and not Binchotan as the charcoal ingredient, if there's a difference, I would not be able to identify that just yet.  Wait til I get my hands on some Binchotan soap...

Bonus SF shopping thoughts:

photo: Miansai

This bracelet: The Miansai screw cuff.  I spotted it, tried it on and fell in love the first day in SF meandering the Mission District.  I catalogued it in my brain and kept wandering.  The next day, while strolling only a handful of blocks on Hayes street in Hayes Valley, I kept seeing the identical selections of Miansai jewelry over and over in the various shops I would pop into!  To be fair, I spotted recurrences of similar selections of Giles & Brother, Erica Weiner, and Catbird but no joke-on the same side of the SAME BLOCK lo and behold THREE shops carried similar selections of Miansai.  Their sales rep had a field day in Hayes Valley!

Now that I got that off my chest, I can say that the retail experience in SF was pretty awesome. Great conceptual stores, good merchandising, and definitely more focused on "lifestyle" shopping.  Get your apparel, your personal care products, a bowl for your cereal and a book for the road.  Be done with it.