meet oscar

No, he's not mine.  But he is the lastest release from Architectmade (whom I've blogged about here and here).  And I want him.  Badly.

This morning's check of my inbox featured a nice little note from the peeps over at Architectmade with this press release.  Can't wait to bring home an Oscar myself.

Oscar the Dog – Refined Detail With a Twist


Noone does Danish modern design mixed with playfulness and heart better than Hans Bølling, the creator of the bestselling Duck and the Duckling. Following their success, Architectmade is introducing another gem of design history – Oscar the dog. With his adorable looks, complex design and flexible mobility, who could resist?


Dog people, Cat people


The world is divided between cat lovers and dog lovers, most pet owners would hold. Regardless of which animal one prefers, one aspect of owning a pet holds true – people derive incomparable joy from tending their animal companions and spending time with them.


As an avid animal lover, Hans Bølling designed Oscar’s specifically detailed and technically refined body, on which nothing was left to chance.


Sit! Crawl! Beg!


Morten T. Jensen, the CEO of Architectmade comments “Oscar completely embodies fun and playfulness of real life animals, while showing that at the same time modern design can also be fun, playful, soulful and can retain the highest level of craftsmanship”.


Oscar’s body can be arranged so that he does everything a normal dog would. He can sit, crawl, beg or even sulk in the corner if you have been away from him for too long. His mobility and the ability to express various emotions, combined with the natural warmth of his wooden material and the intricate nature of his design come together to present an inimitable design classic, which makes you look twice.


Familiar, yet Sophisticated


A little temperamental, but always good-humored and loyal, Oscar embodies the comforting, familiar and relatable warmth of our favorite pets to whom we love returning over and over, while he also possesses the uncompromising quality of simple, yet sophisticated modern design.


Oscar was designed in 1953 and is made out of beech wood, while his ears and tail are made out of leather.


Oscar is introduced by Architectmade, where we believe in intelligent, everyday art devised and designed by the finest Danish architects. Architectmade presents a unique collection of icons of modern design. You can find your nearest retailer of Danish timeless design at architectmade.com.


For further information please contact Misha Juklova at, phone: (909) 581 9024, e-mail: misha@architectmade.com

iron chef | fisher & paykel style

Last week I was invited by Goemans Appliance to participate in an Iron Chef Challenge in the beautiful working showroom of Fisher & Paykel.  12 designers were split into 2 teams to whip up an appetizer, main dish and dessert using a list of ingredients and the secret ingredient, curry, which had to be in every dish.  Supervised by a professional chef, we set out the menus ourselves and chops, seared, sauteed and plated some pretty creative dishes, meanwhile getting to test drive some pretty phenominal appliances.  Fisher & Paykel, from New Zealand, manufactures an extensive range of high end kitchen appliances, which in my opinion not only function extremely well, they seem to blend an industrial/commercial look with sleek finishes - their oven & range doors are amazing!  I have installed their fridges in clients homes in the past, but became the biggest marketer of their dishwasher drawers, after experiencing the absolute quiet blish of 6 operating at one time.  And not only was the event fun and informative, my team won!  My sister and I whipped up a fabulous app of scallops with a pineapple/pepper/cilantro/lime/curry salsa which blew the judges away, and my friend Anna represented her firm by whipping up a chocolate chili curry mousse that had everyone swooning.    Yum!  Thanks for a great evening.

dressler brothers

Some gorgeous wood furniture from Canadian designers Jason and Lars Dressler, otherwise known as Brothers Dressler.   Twin brothers, these two not only have an organic and fluid approach to furniture design with beautiful woods and lines, but are involved on a social and environmental level as well.  To find out more on their pieces and what they're up to head over to BrothersDressler.com.

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sweden's nobis hotel

Spotted in this month's Azure, this hotel designed by award-winning Swedish design studio Claesson Koivisto Rune is an oasis in grey wool and wood.  A blend of classic details and modern finishes, the Nobis Hotel only makes me want to my Swedish roots and home country even more.  And the round poufs and collection of paper lanterns is absolutely gorgeous.

suspended dish rack

I love both the look and practicality of this stainless steel and wood suspended dishrack from Kevin Low.   Positioned directly over the sink - this is absolutely ingenious.

design fights back

Krista over at Hopeless Chest sent me a little note last week letting me know about a wonderful event for a worthy cause.  On April 2nd, in an effort to raise money for the Canadian Cancer Society, 33 designers will converge on the Sheraton Grand Ballroom here in Toronto, designing a table and dining experience for 8 guests at his/her table.  Tickets are on sale now, it is a great opportunity to support a great cause and  it's sure to be a fabulous event. You can find out more at www.designfightsback.ca.

ids11 highlights

I spent the weekend [a very long & tiring weekend!] working at IDS11 promoting a Mod256, a project that I'm very passionate about.  For the first time in years I decided to forego the Gala party and actually only managed to see the show in bits and pieces during breaks and when my sore feet would allow me to get around.  It was a successful weekend for Mod256 and also for several other vendors and exhibitors at the show, many of them listed here in my highlights.

Studio North has always been my favourite feature of the show and this year's selection of artists and fabricators did not disappoint.

Jean Willoughby, who I profiled back in December had a very successful show, I've seen her concrete cabinet popping up on blogs all over the interweb - Congrats Jean!

I fell in love with this chair from Edmonton's Bram Sawatzky.  Love the shape, the charcoal grey wool and the bold red frame.

I'm always looking for modern and industrial alternatives to many things on the market, and liked this spin on wine storage from Vinox Concept.

This chair from BC's Shawn Place Handcrafted Furniture is on the top of my current wishlist.   Gorgeous, sculptural and simple. 

Map pillows from Atelier 688 - a must have.

Elte's Second Life Rugs also did well at the show and my favourite new rug from them - the Union Jack [Love, love, love!] You may recall my 2011 Trends recap from Lynda Reeves that she presented at Elte that included these rugs and my pick for the best fixture of the year - this wood barrel shade [also LOVE].

The show's main exhibit, Sibling Rivalry was a great success.  My favourite room, both with respect to design and awareness,  hands down, was by twin brothers Jason and Lars Dressler, who's work and philosophies explore the many ways to salvage and upcycle with a decidely responsible approach to design.  The exterior shell was constructed from salvaged windows and featured a huge barrel dome [stunning!].  The interior was full of rich woods, interested shapes and a muted palette.  The mix of rustic shapes and materials had a  modern and relaxed feel and I was ready to move right in. 

This exhibit by commutehome.com was beautiful.

I loved the organic shape of this hanging garden seat from Earth Inc.

And lastly, a great display from Avenue Road, exhibiting their STOCKED items.  Not only is their furniture gorgeous - have you seen their new showroom - a modernist's dream.