In December, we announced our inaugral window competition in celebration of our 10th year anniversary. We contacted a select number of retailers, art galleries and cafes to participate in the contest and we're so thrilled that many have risen to the challenge in celebration of design.   

Many of you may have seen the IDS magenta sticker around the city. Vote for your favourite and you may have the chance to win Opening Night tickets or Public Day tickets. While you are on the "Contest" page, be sure to enter our Shopping Spree Contest for an exclusive chance to win a gift certificate worth ,500 towards purchases made with our IDS Exhibitors.

For a closer look of any of these windows, please click on the thumbnails of the window you would like to view on the contest page. Be sure to check back on the window contest page often as we are getting pictures from other contestants.  

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It's a bit of a Catch-22 for emerging industrial designers. Without a portfolio of products under their belt it's almost impossible to put original designs into production because Canada's secondary industry is so miniscule. Still many designers don't sit around waiting for the phone to ring. Instead they develop new concepts from scratch, source the materials, sub-contract the manufacturing and thus nurture a new design from cradle to working prototype. It's a risky business since time and money is involved and there is no guarantee of success.

Every once in a while a clever designer hits a home run. Two years ago, Matthew Kroeker launched Splinter bench at IDS Prototype: New Ideas for the Home.  The wood seating system fits together like a jigsaw puzzle and was picked up by Jane Hamley Wells, a furniture manufacturer in Chicago.  Last month Interior Design awarded Splinter a merit award for best residential seating in 2007. Industrial designer Derek McLeod is another regular at IDS Prototype. Because of his talent and entrepreneurial spirit his clients include Speke/Klein and Seating Systems International. He's currently in negotiation with an Italian manufacturer to produce Sum, his elegant walnut chair, which he showed at Prototype 07.

Also fortunate is Natalie Kruch. Last year at IDS, she exhibited an adorable accent table wrapped in balloons as part of the University of Alberta display.  Umbra is now manufacturing the design and it's available at the company's new downtown Toronto store.

Next month, Prototype is celebrating its fifth anniversary at IDS. The juried competition/exhibition provides the opportunity for rising designers (and some fairly established ones too) to strut their stuff to the media, industry, and design savvy consumers. Highlights include: Nature's Dryer, a picturesque tree-shaped clothes dryer for the outdoors. Geoffrey Lilge, who famously co-founded Pure Design, which is now sadly defunct, is introducing his brand new Grand sling chair.  Patrick Turner and Andrea Pearson, better known as Thout, are exhibiting their playful Beanbench. Also not to be missed is Crawford Noble's Helmet table, made of Corian and, yes, a modified MK2 helmet. Come see these designs and more at the Prototype exhibit at IDS on February 21-24.Tom Dixon, Arne Quinze and Peter Huiberts of Frame magazine will judge the Best Prototype.

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If you live in downtown Toronto, you will have noticed that pictures of Sarah Richardson and the other participants of designLIVE has been seen on many major streetcar routes. We're starting to get into the final weeks before the show and it's getting very exciting! 

Click on IDSLive to watch the second installment of the behind-the-scenes of the coming together of this feature exhibit.

In the meantime, here is Sarah's answers to our Designer Profile questions.

What are the 5 things you can’t live without?

Weekend getaways, Chardonnay, Fancy shoes, Fresh flowers,  My husband and daughter

How did you get into design?

I started as a behind-the-scenes prop stylist for a TV show more than 10 years ago. I wasn't even looking for a job in the industry, but got a call out of the blue and started the next day at 7am. I have worked in TV and design ever since. It was like winning the career lottery.

Who or what inspires you?

Teamwork, creativity, innovation and originality

What “trends” are you loving or hating right now?

I'm not too keen on the trend of disposable design. I wish people would consider what they really like and then invest in pieces that will last instead of buying cheap chic that falls apart and ends up in landfill sites.

Are there any other designers that you would love to collaborate with? Who and why?

Thomas O'Brien. I love his work and our approach is in synch, but he designs with a more masculine edge while mine is more feminine. I think we could have some fun together.

If you were not a designer, what other profession would you most like to do?

When I was in grade 5 I wanted to be a graphic designer and when I was in high school I wanted to be a fashion designer. I can't imagine a career that wasn't focused on design.

What advice can you give to any designers out there wanting to start their own thing?

Know who you are and what you like. Be prepared to work hard to make a name for yourself, and don't expect to be an instant star. Nothing worth having in life comes without really working for it.

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We all know that the best parties always take place in the kitchen. 

In light of today’s multitude of kitchen options, it’s not at all surprising. Whether from Canada or across the pond; for the small or large budget; or for the traditionalist or modernist, the options are boggling…Italian kitchen manufacturer, Scavolini (distributed in Toronto by DEKLA) shows FLUX at IDS 08. Designed by Giugiaro Design, it combines straight and curved lines, unusual materials with a wide range of layouts.

Locally, Harvest House Craftsmen introduce handcrafted cabinetry created from reclaimed premium hardwood. (each custom built kitchen is crafted without cutting down a single tree!)…and at IDS 2008, they will debut an entirely new kitchen design in collaboration with interior designer, Brian Gluckstein.

Also committed to having minimal effect on the environment, Italian kitchen manufacturer, ValCucine (represented by DOM Showrooms)  repays its debt to nature in several ways including the founding of BIOFOREST, a rapidly growing organization whose programs include planting, education and environmental preservation; the use of recycled materials and farmed trees, replacing trees with twice the number needed to offset their production’s C02 emissions; and making kitchens that are easily recyclable after use.

IKEA showcases a complete kitchen solution, where everything coordinates, and is customizable. For the minimalist client on your list, Alberto Minotti’s influences of “mediterranean minimalism” and “essentialism” characterize the very clean and slick lines of Minotti Cucine, the epitome of modern, being launched in Canada by Casa-Cucine at IDS 08.

And of course, no kitchen is complete without appliances. GE Monogram shows new and on-trend stainless (non-smudgeable!) appliances in IDS 08’s GE MONOGRAM ICE LOUNGE, a cool and icy environment designed by hot emerging design firm, Croma Design (featured in OFFSPRING at IDS 07).

Visit IDS 08 for the ultimate kitchen party!

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To help celebrate our 10th year anniversary, we asked some of the world’s greatest design stars to design an 8 foot tall, original banner that will be hung across the Direct Energy Centre exhibit hall. These banners will be revealed for the first time at the IDS Opening Night Party. Limited-edition posters of each banner will be available for sale at the front entrance in support of Medecins Sans Frontiers/Doctors Without Borders.

There are 10 unique banners/posters designed by 10 designers: Marcel Wanders (Netherlands), Karim Rashid (Canada/USA), Christophe Pillet (France), Piero Lissoni (Italy), Fernando + Humberto Campana (Brazil), Yves Behar (Switzerland/USA), Arne Quinze (Belgium), Tom Dixon (England),  Julien de Smedt (Denmark) and Winka Dubbeldam (Netherlands/USA).

In addition, the Interior Design Show with the sponsorship support of Design Within Reach, will be selling IDS 08 reusable bags. All proceeds will also go to Medecins Sans Frontiers/Doctors Without Borders. Both items have limited quantity so be sure to come early to give to a worthy cause. 

On the exhibitor front, Palmyra Design, a small import company of both traditional and modern Moroccan lighting will also be helping a charitable cause of their own. On their last buying trip to Morocco, they discovered a studio operating solely by a cooperative of women, who specialize in hand painted tableware and classic mint tea glasses.

The same trip led to the discovery of a small orphanage started in 2003 by a Dutch woman. The orphanage, Fiers et Fortes, located in the Tameslouht village outside of Marrakech, is home to 30 children. Palmyra Design is supporting this orphanage by buying tableware from the cooperative and donating ALL profit to the orphanage. The tableware will be launched in North America at IDS 08.

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Seen on the pages of Australian Vogue Living and in showrooms around the world, South African Designer, Ronel Jordaan’s rock and scatter cushions and pebble carpets are whimsical but made out of sustainable felt, also have a warmth to them... Ronel, a textile designer for 28 years is primarily inspired by nature and her preferred medium is felt. Ronel has also trained a group of South African women in the art of felting, who produce the designs with her and have now started creating their own designs with her help...AfriCharisma brings Ronel Jordaan’s work to IDS for the first time.

Also new to IDS (and to Canada!) is the Colmio line of furniture by Finnish designer Päivi Mikola. The Colmio Chair was first designed in 2003 and since then has been shown in many international exhibitions and has won several design awards in Finland as well as Japan... ...living the “sustainable life”, retail designer Stephan Hagens launched EauTerre 3 months ago, a collection of "healthy" furniture all made locally from sustainable materials...he shows the collection for the first time at IDS 08

Speaking of which, Smith & Fong Plyboo launches at IDS 08. A laminated bamboo material made from 100% bamboo that can be used for flooring, paneling, and plywood... and made from grass (rather than a tree), it has a very complex root system and is constantly sending up new shoots so it doesn’t require replanting...used in LEED-certified buildings around the world, Plyboo is distributed in Toronto by Taproot who partner with Canadian Starchitects, KPMB (Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg) and Tron-X Corp to create a conceptual exhibit as part of the new Collaborations feature at IDS 08 where 4 teams of architects and designers each create 200 square feet made solely from one material...the other 3 teams include: Giannone Associates Architects / Structure Corp / Ciot  with Caesar Stone; Teeple Architects / Contours Countertops and Millwork / Willis with Dupont Corian; and Johnson Chou / Sound Solutons with fibreC ...see how far one material can go...

IDS 08 starts this week, limited tickets are still available for DECADEnce, IDS 08’s Opening Night Party and 10th Anniversary Celebration on Thursday February 21st . Tickets for the show during the consumer days can also be purchased online now.

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We've been very busy here at the Direct Energy Centre, setting up for what we think will be the best IDS show yet. Even though it's been 10 years, we're always amazed to see how an empty show floor is transformed in a mere three days into these amazing spaces.

This year, we've decided to share some of the action that goes behind the making of the show. You'll be able to find IDS and our exclusive "behind the scene" pictures in the next coming days on our Facebook Fan Page and the IDS Flickr Page.

See you at the show!

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We're down at the show office, in the midst of taking down the show. It is always a bittersweet process. It's been a whole year of planning, three and a half days of great design and energy. And then it's all over.

So far, we've had a tremendous response from our exhibitors, trade and public attendees. We leave you with some pictures from the show but as promised, we will update our Facebook and Flickr accounts in the days to come.

What's next? We start planning for 2009!

From all of us on the IDS team, thank you so much for attending the show.

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