October, 2010

Masanori Oji exhibition at Mjölk

October 14th, 2010

We’re having Masanori Oji’s first solo exhibition at our store next Thursday from 7:30 to 11:00pm. Oji is coming all the way from Tokyo, and we will be featuring his collection along with prototypes and products only available to the Japanese market.

We would love it if you came!

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Port Dover

October 12th, 2010

On Monday we drove out to my parent’s cottage on Lake Erie for Thanksgiving. The path leading up to the cottage is lined with very old trees, you can start to see the fall colors.

My parents bought the PH4/3 pendant light from us a while ago, and I installed it while I was visiting. It really looks amazing, now I just need to convince them on some new dining chairs.

Dover Dairy Bar. We always want to go to one of the local retro dairy bars but it’s either too early in the day or right before a big meal. One day, one day…

Whenever we’re in Dover my brother and I visit the Hobo Shop which is run by Fred Eaglesmith. It’s a pretty eclectic shop with lots of records, instruments, and even a small coffee shop. This year it was closed for the holiday.

Dover is for bikers.

An old depository box for Scotia Bank. A relic of when banks were really slick looking.

There are no chain burger joints in Dover, just the Arbor. It’s been around since 1919 and hasn’t changed all my life.

When I was a kid I would always get the “Swiss” Glow (aka Chocolate Glow). It tastes like a milkshake and you think it should be very thick but it’s actually really thin, but for some reason nothing like chocolate milk. It’s a sugary mystery.

Erie Beach (obviously in Helvetica).

We met up with Erin, the owner of Robber on Queen West since she was in town visiting her parents too.

Saddest looking good luck kitty ever.

This was one of the best Thanksgivings ever, the weather was warm and the sun was shining. I don’t know how Americans do the November Thanksgiving!

This is our neighbour’s cool 1950s cottage, it’s pretty RAD on the inside as well.

The weather took a turn for the worse when we left, it was a pretty entertaining drive between podcasts of DNTO and Vinyl Cafe paired with intense lightning that made Juli jump at the wheel (we could feel it in the car, it was that close).

We had so much to give thanks to this year. Hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving too!

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Sliding pocket doors in Tokyo

October 9th, 2010

You’ve probably remember this house being featured in Dwell a couple of years ago, but I don’t remember these sames shots being in the article. Maybe my memory is going. Anyways, this beautiful house in Tokyo is by architect couple Takaharu and Yui Tezuka.

The entire interior wall opens, extending the house visually and socially into the small garden. Their children’s favorite feature is the soccer goalpost (which doubles as clothesline).

Something I would love to incorporate into our home at some point in the future would be these cedar accordion style pocket doors. The article says that the family leaves the doors open almost all year round. It’s wonderful to be able to have such a connection to nature in a dense city, and I bet their wood burning stove keeps them nice and cozy in the winter.

A closeup of the panels.

Sigh.

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John Pawson’s home in Livingetc

October 4th, 2010

I’m sure a lot of you have picked up the newest issue of Livingetc and you were probably as surprised as I was to see John Pawson’s beautiful masterpiece of a home featured as the “House of the month”.

It’s a rare candid look into the Pawson’s home from a decorative point of view. Or lack there of. The Pawson’s really don’t like having too much “stuff”. Or what John Pawson lovingly refers to as “distractions”.

After 13 years the Pawson family proves that a minimalist lifestyle is very possible, and their home is just as warm and inviting as the rest of the interiors commonly featured in UK interior magazines.

It’s wonderful to see that all of the furniture he didn’t design himself is from Denmark!

via Living Etc

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Shop updates!

October 3rd, 2010

We really try to keep the store nice and tidy as not to distract our customer’s attention from our simple modern products. One neglected area has always been under our desk.

We commissioned Studio Junction to come back and design us an undermounted storage solution to hold our printer, bags, and tissue.

The newly installed box visually connects the point of sale area on top of the desk with the storage below. Tricking your eyes to believe the two pieces are actually one single unit.

Here’s a closer look at the unit itself. It floats off the ground to make it easier for cleaning underneath.

A collection of Japanese masking tapes.

An updated photo of the entry to the store. The white risers are currently featuring our “Sort of Coal” collection.

A beautiful new paper backpack designed by Naoto Fukasawa.

White and light wood on the “C shelf”.

Norwegian cheese tools, and Japanese handcrafts.

New Anchor blanket from Vik Prjonsdottir, Iceland.

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