TO DO Tours: Geary Avenue
TO DO Tours offer festival attendees the unique opportunity to explore creative spaces not often open to the public. This year, we focus Geary Avenue to see how this former industrial neighbourhood is transforming into a hub for artists and designers.
Take a walk with us to the studios of five stand-out artists and designers including MADE Design, Watson Soule, Janet MacPherson, GUILD eyewear and PARTISANS.
MADE Design
Made Design is a design product company operated by Shaun Moore. Made works to build a valuable resource of modern Canadian design where handmade works and small production pieces by industrial designers, craftsmen, architects, designers and artists are given equal focus. The unique array of furniture, lighting, ceramic, glass, textile and home accessories reflect original ideas and thoughtful design with an emphasis on quality and usability.
Watson Soule
Watson Soule is a creative collaboration between artist Janna Watson and designer Nico Soule producing visually expressive floor pieces. Each rug is original and hand tufted from 100 natural fibres in their downtown Toronto studio. Watson Soule represents the collaborative spirit of bold exuberance and artisan craftsmanship. Balancing an artistic approach with the sensibility of contemporary design, Watson Soule creates beautiful objects that contextualize physical space through dimensions of colour and abstract forms.
Janet MacPherson
Janet Macpherson earned her BA in Philosophy from York University, and studied ceramics at Sheridan College. She holds an MFA with a focus on ceramics from The Ohio State University. Macpherson has received research and project grants from The Canada Council for the Arts, was named the winner of the 2013 Winifred Shantz Award for Ceramics, and was nominated for the RBC Emerging Artist Peoples Choice Award in 2012. She was an Artist-in-Residence at Harbourfront Centre from 2011 to 2014 and recently completed an international residency at Zentrum fur Keramik in Berlin, Germany. Macpherson has shown her work extensively in Canada and the United States. She lives and works in Toronto.
GUILD eyewear
GUILD eyewear believes in the value and beauty of handmade things. We make custom, unique eyewear for those who care about ethically-made, elegant and one-of-a-kind objects.
Each pair is designed by local artists and is milled, tumbled, polished and assembled by hand in our studio in Torontos west end. We use only the highest quality materials for our frame. We make every pair with love and attention and stand by the quality of our eyewear.
PARTISANS
PARTISANS is an architecture and design firm held together by a collection of individuals with the drive to make our world a better place. Founded in 2012 by Pooya Baktash and Alex Josephson, PARTISANS notable projects include Grotto Sauna in Georgian Bay and Bar Raval in Toronto, which have earned them numerous accolades, including OAA Best Emerging Practice and AIA International Honor Award.
