UPPER 751

This was our second year hosting an exhibition at UPPER 751 for the Toronto Design Offsite Festival.

The Toronto Design Offsite Festival is an annual, week-long festival that celebrates the unique diversity of Canada’s energetic design scene, showcasing unexpected prototypes, immersive installations, and unique programming. The festival has been running for 5 years and has rapidly grown to include nearly 70 exhibitions and installations in 2015.

We were privileged to host some very talented local artists, designers and craftspeople who impressed not only us, but also all attendees with their creativity and skills. The exhibition included work by Bernice Lum, Chloe Gastinel-Cauvin, CTON, DB Johnson, Dudeman, GIGIDEPT, Paterson Composites, Steve Wallin and Parkdale Trading Company.

At the beginning of the festival, we were ecstatic to get a mention from Designlines http://designlinesmagazine.com/design-week-guide-2015/and Notable.ca http://notable.ca/toronto/yp-life/7-Design-Events-in-Toronto-You-Shouldnt-Miss/ as must-see shows.

The show opened on January 22 with a reception that had a packed house and rave reviews from our guests. The next day was very exciting as 2 of the pieces in our show were given Designlines Loves awards. These awards are given by the magazine editors to 100 of their favourite pieces in the festival.

Editor Tory Healy awarded the first to Paterson Composite’s Dick O’Kane chair. This Bahaus-inspired, carbon fibre chair was named after the deadliest submarine Captain in WW2 and weighed in at barely 3 pounds. http://designlinesmagazine.com/designlines-loves-2015-pt-8/.

David Dick-Agnew gave the second award to Steve Wallin’s Nathan sofa. Steve made this sofa using a solid hickory frame and full-grain Italian leather. This was his first sofa and although he plans on keeping it, custom orders are available in a variety of sizes and finishes. http://designlinesmagazine.com/designlines-loves-2015-pt-9/.

Parkdale Trading Company had their TODO debut with their La Canadiana chair. Rodrigo came across the vintage frame in a state of disrepair but saw its potential and we decided to restore it to its former beauty. We sanded and refinished the wood and polished it with Board Butter. We installed new foam for the seat and back and filled the arm cushions with down. We then upholstered the back with a piece of a vintage wool HBC blanket. The chair is as comfortable as it is beautiful and was also a hit at the show.

Overall the weekend was a great success and we were proud to show such great work by such awesome local talent. We're already looking forward to participating again in 2016!

Here are some pictures of the exhibition.

Parkdale Trading Company is a joint venture established in 2013 by the creative minds of Kiran Thind & Rodrigo Andrade. They’re also the duo behind UPPER 751, hosting and curating exhibitions, pop-up sales and other events since 2012. Working under the motto “Local First,” PTC combines their talents along with other artists, designers and craftspeople to create high quality, hand-made goods with an end goal of becoming a neighbourhood department store.

Wherever possible, PTC uses locally sourced goods and services to create their work and are committed to strengthening community by supporting local businesses.  

Parkdale Trading Company sells and commissions art, furniture, home decor, antiques and collectibles. PTC offers custom upholstery services for both residential and commercial projects along with furniture restoration. Parkdale Trading Company can also assist with your interior design, decoration and styling needs.

For TODO 2015, they’ll be showing a unique, post-modern Italian chair that they reupholstered and refinished in high quality leather and distinctive hardware.

Connect with Parkdale Trading Company online here:

www.parkdaletradingcompany.com https://www.facebook.com/ParkdaleTradingCompany Twitter: @ParkdaleTradeCo Instagram: @parkdaletradeco Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/parkdaletradeco/

We at UPPER 751 are very happy that DUDEMAN will be joining us again for our TODO show!

Last year he wowed us with his 'Winter Piece,' a gorgeous 5' square, multi-media piece depicting three figure skaters on a wood panel. The crisp black outlines of the skaters popped against a twinkling background layered with circles and squiggles of various shades of blue, silver flake and finished with a glossy coat of epoxy resin. It was a sad day when he returned to pick it up, us as we'd grown quite attached to it, especially Kiran as it reminded her of her figure skating days.

We also loved the job he did with the GreatBeard tank. We gave him one of their blank white 'Dirty Marauder' tanks to decorate and he returned it to us covered in bright colours and his signature skulls. He's also added his skulls to the walls at UPPER 751.

With a rich history as a graphic designer and an extreme sense of colour strength, the artwork of DUDEMAN has grown into a powerhouse of visual stimuli mixing it up, incorporating years of sought after style and artistic professionalism.

While based in Toronto, DUDEMAN's work appears internationally, from the Berlin Wall, Costa Rica and LA. He's done work for clients such as Holt Renfrew, Nike, Hermès and Chanel, repeatedly seen gracing the walls of tattoo parlours to high end fashion boutiques.

To see more of DUDEMAN's vibrantly colourful creations, please check out www.dudeman.ca.