INTRODUCING: AFT KITCHEN & BAR

Many years of conversation and imagining have been made manifest in our great friend Paul Campbell's Riverside restaurant/bar Aft (686 Queen St East, Toronto). Paul's vision is to create a welcoming space where friends and neighbours can gather without pretense to enjoy quality food and drink at great value. Its been our pleasure collaborating with him on the visual aspects. 

Emphasizing their expertise in the smoker and a touch of sous vide, Aft's chef Christian Butcher and pitmaster Lawrence La Pianta cook up delicious nightly specials including authentic Texas BBQ. Go for the good food and great people, you won't be disappointed.

More details and photography will be coming soon, in the meantime here are some notes on the space...

The cozy room is occupied by reused banquets and two-seaters made out of single Toronto sugar maple slab that can be combined for larger groups. Dining tables are warmly lit with pendant lamps using glass fixtures originally used in the diner that occupied the space 60 years ago. The 18 ft bar is topped with a whole live-edge slab of a sugar maple tree from Toronto Island and clad with a striped scrap wood pattern emphasizing the natural colours of the wood.

Above the bar block lights spell out A-F-T in binary code with their alternating bulb shapes. The back bar shelving is comprised of repurposed furniture elements dividing the shelves made of clear pine from a church organ in the Beaches. Holding up the impressive bourbon collection are shelves from salvaged white oak from a barn in Kentucky.

Congratulations to Paul and his Aft team, we couldn't be happier to see this come together.

Read early press and see more photos:
Toronto Life
Post City
BlogTO

Aft Kitchen & Bar
686 Queen Street East, Toronto
aftbar.com, @aft_bar
647 346 1541

What's happening this week

TORONTO DESIGN OFFSITE FESTIVAL JANUARY 21-27

Visit our Ash Out of Quarantine - Tumbling Ash, New Growth 
exhibit at the Junction's art supply store, gallery and creative centre ARTiculations (2928 Dundas St W) and its companion installation in the window of The Beau & Bauble (just a few blocks west at 3092 Dundas St W).

Design week is off to a good start thanks to the Junction Kick off Weekend and all those who came to check out the exhibits. Our installation will up until February 17 and represents our continued exploration and experimentation with ash wood and our effort to build awareness about the devastating effect the invasive emerald ash borer beetle will have as Toronto loses nearly a million ash trees to infestation. Fragments of our city's missing canopy will continue to be salvaged to create different ideas and objects to inspire creativity and consciousness.

While you're in the area drop by our Open House at the woodshop, Wednesday - Sunday 1-5pm (Friday til 8pm) @ 225 Sterling Rd, Unit 16. 2013 marks our tenth anniversary and we're welcoming visitors to our studio to check out one-of-a-kind pieces, early prototypes and works-in-progress along with numerous items for sale. And while you're in the neighbourhood, grab a coffee and support the not-for-profit creative writing centre, Story Planet at the Intergalactic Travel Authority (1165 Bloor St. W) or some amazing food at Ortolan (1211 Bloor St. W).

We're participating in Do Design with some work on display at Creatures Collective on Dundas. And come check out the 10th anniversary of Gladstone's Come Up To MY Room.  Information about all the exhibitions going on this week can be found at are at Toronto Design Offsite.

The Ontario Arts Council has helped over past year in development for our open house show. Thanks to everyone who has helped us in putting the Tumbling Ash, New Growth exhibit together:

The Brothers Dressler Workshop crew: Orion, Ryan, Julia, Rico, Kirsten, Tiffany, Issac & Michael.

Jenny Luong for her wonderful handdrawn lettering, burned by hand for the sign.

Tyler at We Care Tree Care

Christine at Progressive Tree Service

Aaron at Toronto Tree Removal

Bryce at Maple Hill Tree Services

Heather & Miki at Articulations

This project originated with a grant from the Toronto Arts Council.

TORONTO DESIGN OFFSITE FESTIVAL | January 19-27 2013

Our Another Time, Another Airport bench, originally produced for the Intergalactic Travel Authority, will be on display at Creatures Collective at 822 Dundas West as part of DoDesign2013.

And the cart we made for The Stop's Night Market this summer will get some use for slinging drinks at this year's Come Up To My Room + Love Design Party event at the Gladstone Hotel.

Toronto Design Offsite is your resource for all the events happening around the Interior Design Show, visit their site for exhibition details and download their handy iPhone app. When you visit the IDS spend some time exploring Prototype and Studio North and look for beautiful new work by our friends Heidi Earnshaw and Jonathan Sabine.

The festival is a great opportunity to be inspired, interact with Toronto's flourishing design community and support hundreds of talented artists and tireless workers. Take advantage and see as much as you can, and whatever you do don't miss By the Dozen: Part II of Local Call - Junction Neighbours at the Telephone Booth Gallery featuring one of our very favourite painters and dear friend Linda Martinello. As well as Capacity, the annual contemporary design exhibition featuring theme-specific work of Canadian women including our friends and shop-mates Connie Chisolm and Heidi Earnshaw.

Speaking of inspiring shows we urge you to check out The Happy Show at the DX until March 3. Stefan Sagmeister's exploration of happiness is an immensely thought-provoking and joyous immersive experience.

BROTHERS DRESSLER LAB + WORKSHOP OPEN HOUSE

January 23-27, 1-5pm
225 Sterling Road, Unit 16

Celebrating ten years of creating responsibly produced furniture, lighting, objects and environments, we will be welcoming visitors to our Toronto studio. In addition to seeing one-of-a-kind pieces, early prototypes and works-in-progress, guests will get to have a look at some of our new design ideas.

This is an opportunity to experience our work in many of the stages along the spectrum from concept to final piece and glimpse the order and creative chaos of our unique process.

Lululemon Yorkdale Grand Opening This Weekend

Over 35,000 blocks made from 20+ species of tree, with the help of 30 people and one beaver, our additions to a new 2500 sqft Lululemon Space are about to be unveiled as part of the Grand Opening for the 145,000 square foot expansion at Yorkdale Shopping Centre in Toronto. Its been one of our most challenging and gratifying projects to date.

The front facade and entrance is a mosaic crafted from 35,788 wooden blocks made from a variety of woods salvaged from the collected history of the Brothers Dressler workshop. Inspired by our photograph of a fallen leaf, the palette is comprised of all the natural colours of these woods pixelated into the image. This mosaic embodies the history of these woods from tree to beam to stave to lumber and everything in between. An historic mixture that spans years and even centuries. The trimmed ends of solid wood tables, staves of a 16 foot diameter barrel, portions of an old Toronto school, shipping pallets, submerged beams and off cuts from countless other furniture pieces come together in their true colours to begin another chapter of their story.

The facade and entrance is a mosaic crafted from 35,788 wooden blocks each 2 inches square.

Behind the cash desk hangs our exploration of the relationship between natural growth, our bodies and the calm nature of trees. Re-created out of misplaced limbs and sections of found trees, an uprooted tree is divided into the 7 chakras of the body and breathes calmly with embedded LEDs glowing through cast glass sections of bark. Each breath deepening our relationship to the trees.

Detail of lighting art piece for Lululemon interior. Big thanks to Orion Arger for casting the glass and Patrick Dinnen at Medialab for integrating the LEDs.

To replenish those precious fluids we created a water station out of veneer mill ends of a walnut tree with Arne Jacobson's timeless faucet design pouring from a crevice into a white corian sink.

At the far end of the store hangs a new light fixture resplendent with SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS crystals and melding the steam bent workmanship of our workshop with the incredible tenacity of the beaver who cleaned up the found sticks to eat the bark but could not build his dam as we intercepted them floating in Lake Manitouwabing.

The grand opening is this Friday, November 16. As the busy holiday shopping season begins we hope our additions to the retail environment add a moment of reflection rather than consumption.

Look for more images to follow soon.

Harbourfront Visual Arts Fall Exhibitions 2012

The fall season of exhibitions at the Harbourfront Centre kicks off this Friday September 28 with a public opening reception from 6-10pm. There are eight exciting new exhibitions including Nouvelle Vague, recognizing current pioneers and risk-takers in the new French domestic landscape, and we have contributed Tumbling Ash, a first step in our Ash Out of Quarantine series promoting the use of ash and raising awareness about the nearly million ash trees Toronto will lose over the next five years to the the emerald ash borer beetle. A cascade of branching limbs tumble down the wall cradling budding fruit of hand-blown globes softly lit with LEDs; this modular system of assembled parts can continually evolve and expand along with our awareness of the materials and resources that surround us and their limited nature.

The fall exhibitions run until December 23.

Introducing: The Intergalactic Travel Authority

As you may know we've been working on a project with local non-profit Story Planet, designing and building the unconventional interior of their new writing-centre in Bloordale. The space gives kids and youth the opportunity to hang out and learn from some of Canada’s finest writers, artists and digital storymakers and is inspired by Dave Eggers' 826 National program. The front terminal houses the Black Hole Coffee bar offering travellers high octane fuel. There is also a gift and book store to make sure you have everything for your journey including planetary samples. The design of the Intergalactic Travel Authority was conceived as a transportation hub for a misplaced martian, 1165 who landed on earth accidentally on his way to Mars in 2000 and has been trying to get home ever since, in the meantime he's had to make do with materials at his disposal and has managed to assemble a pretty interstellar space in which to get to know his earthling friends. (The decor was where we came in.)

Housed in our neighbourhood at 1165 Bloor Street West the space is defined by the large white arches which flank the sides of the terminal. The space is a work in progress and includes the coffee bar, book and gift store along with airport style seating down the middle and an interstellar portal at the back leading to Story Planet. All of the interior was made out of reclaimed materials including elements taken out of the credit union that formerly occupied the space.

Story Planet "offers free workshops to support children and youth (ages 6-18) in becoming creative and effective communicators.  By combining creative writing projects with art, we approach writing and reading with excitement.  For many kids who struggle with writing, having a visually creative side to the work enables them to launch their imaginations and get their words flowing. Once writing is fun, it is far less daunting. Often a few small successes are all a child needs to boost their confidence and understand the importance of strong communication skills. From there, the future looks brighter." Inspiring isn't it?

They're currently raising funds to offer free after-school writing support to kids living in the Bloordale neighbourhood, lend your support here.

We're longtime fans of Dave Eggers' writing and McSweeneys, see him tell the whole story about 826′s inspiration, early beginnings, and ensuing momentum in his TED Talk. It’s projects like this that make us proud of what we do and newly energized about the endless possibilities ahead of us.

More photos and information about the individual pieces we produced for the ITA will be coming soon, in the meantime stop by 1165 Bloor Street West, have an out-of-this-world coffee, check out their wares and chat with some wonderful people making dreams come true.

AGH Design Annex - Opening this weekend

We're pleased to be part of a brand new retail store focused on contemporary design soon to be opened as part of The Art Gallery of Hamilton. Housed in a 19th-century commercial building with exposed brick, hardwood floors, a pressed tin ceiling and large windows, the Design Annex will be anchored by a storefront dedicated to design and carrying unique creations from Canadian artisans. "The Design Annex is a creativity lab where experimental exhibitions are mounted and intimate performances staged, complemented by an exciting home and office Art and Design Store and versatile venue rental space."

The grand opening is this coming weekend so if you're in the area pop by. Saturday + Sunday, July 7 + 8, 10 am - 5 pm 118 James Street North, Hamilton

 

 

Food Drink Happiness

Last Wednesday night The Stop transformed the iconic Honest Ed’s laneway into a lively expanse riddled with delectable morsels and grinning faces. High temps and a long entrance line seemed to have no dampening effect on the enthusiastic masses; from the get-go there was a palpable sense of giddiness and food-happiness bonding. The Stop's Night Market organizers and volunteers truly did a great job pulling the event together and top chefs from some our city's most excellent restaurants held up their end of the bargain and then some. Lines moved quickly and bellies were filled. Our fellow designers and architects impressed with their food carts too, all were creative and striking displays, many of which have been donated to The Stop for future use and auction. We couldn't have been happier to have Hawker Bar's son-in-law eggs on ours - unforgettably delicious.

Here are some photos that scarcely do it justice...

A disparate group of salvaged elements were reconfigured to create the cart we contributed.

A bed frame taken from the dumpster next to our studio became the frame to which two defunct bike frames from the local scrap yard were attached. Handles from a long departed wheelbarrow were attached to the bikes along with scrap wood to create the base. The top was made from elm taken down next to the Dufferin Grove combined with repurposed hard maple. The old movie screen shade cover is held aloft with reused store fixtures combined with douglas fir, salvaged from a factory less than a kilometre from our shop.

The cart in progress:

Read and see more on the Night Market from: Maclean's

BlogTO

The Grid

PostCity

Toronto Life

The Stop's Night Market - JUNE 20

On June 20, 2012 The Stop Community Food Centre will transform the Honest Ed's laneway and parking lot into a bustling Night Market. It will be a teeming mash-up of stellar local food and drink, presented on creatively constituted food carts designed by a host of local designers (including Brothers Dressler).

This is going to be an amazing event, tickets go on sale May 28 and will go quickly, get some.

"The Stop Community Food Centre strives to increase access to healthy food in a manner that maintains dignity, builds health and community and challenges inequality."

MOTO chez Domison

Come out to see a great collection of design from Toronto and MontrealOpening night is Thursday at 7:00pm at Domison Montreal, 4117 boul. St-Laurent au sud de Rachel.

[Photo: Domison MOTO présente: Pascale Girardin, Les Archivistes, National Design Collective, Craig Alun Smith, Brothers Dressler, Hey Day, Tomas Rojcik, TOMA, Caroline Trudeau]

As a companion show to the MOTO exhibition we participated in during Toronto Design Week, some of our pieces are off for Montreal for round two. A temporary installation presenting the works of cutting edge designers from Montreal and Toronto, it’s about creating a dialogue between these historically rivalrous design hubs, bringing the two distant creative platforms closer. Those of you in Montreal during design week festivities including Le Salon International du Design de Montreal should check out Domison for nightly entertainment and exhibits.

2012 Sustainable Design Awards This Friday

This Friday is the reception for the Sustainable Design Awards. Along with an esteemed list of fellow evaluators, Jason looks forward to being one of the judges for this competition promoting sustainable design to the students of OCAD university. Taking place at the Angell Gallery at Queen and Ossington in Toronto, the awards reception will be a celebration of the 2012 Sustainable Design Awards participants and winners. Registration is required and available here.

"The Sustainable Design Awards is an initiative conceived and led by students. Its mission is to inspire young designers to approach their projects through the lens of ecological sustainability and social consciousness. Students are invited to develop ideas that will create meaningful change through their designs. We will hear from our expert jurors regarding their judging process, the submissions, and the state of sustainable design. Please join us to cap off the 2012 Sustainable Design Awards."

"The Masters' Series: Wood" at the Ontario Craft Council Guild Shop

Since 1932, proceeds from The Guild Shop have supported individual craftspeople as well as the programs and activities of the Ontario Crafts Council. The OCC is commemorating the shop turning 80 with "The Masters' Series: Wood"; a collection of pieces from masters of wood craft, old and new. A few of our works will be in good company among other very interesting pieces by some of Ontario's talented craftspeople. The opening reception is Thursday April 19, 5-7pm and the shows runs until May 20. The Guild Shop is located at 118 Cumberland Street in Toronto's Yorkville.

"preoccupied" opening reception this sunday

“Pre-Occupied” is a pop up exhibition featuring work that deals with various themes of occupation. This exhibition explores how our pre-occupations are manifested in objects. The Opening Reception is this Sunday March 11th 3-5pm at 173 MacDonell Ave, Garden Garage.

The theme of the opening is "Occupy your Kitchen", based on the idea that everyone should occupy their kitchens, creating space for dialogue.

We're joining Kasia Czanota, Department of Unusual Certainties, Hugo Didier, Hey Day Design, Taliaferro Jones, Amanda McCavour, Sally McCubbin, Public Display of Affection (PDA), Liz Pead and Ruth Scheuing in exhibiting work exploring the act of making objects and issues of expression, communication, employment, community and production.

Exhibit hours: Weekends noon-6pm | Weekdays by appointment

info@preoccupied.ca or call 416.688.8681

in case you missed it...

Photo: Kevin Van Paassen/The Globe and Mail

Thanks to Monika Warzecha from The Globe and Mail for taking the time to talk to us for her article "West-end woodworkers find it hard to carve out studio space". It's an ongoing struggle for many local woodworkers to find space for their business near the downtown core, we're lucky to have our shop in the Junction Triangle and hopefully that doesn't change any time soon.

Check out the show Losing Parkdale, running until Feb. 26 at the Ontario Crafts Council on Queen; it's curated by our friend Joel Robson as a celebration of the talent of the many woodworkers who have worked in the area and recently been squeezed out.

Of course this is a shift that affects creative workers of many types who need large, reasonably priced work spaces and it would be a positive sign in our city's development if we could work to foster and retain that talent.

Thanks to Ellen Moorhouse at the Toronto Star for her appreciation of Studio North as a whole and for including us in her review of artisans focusing on using salvaged materials.

And we're flattered that the good people at The Grid count our work among "The 5 Most Amazing Things" they found at the Interior Design Show - check out the video clip.

Another great show at IDS12

On the southeast corner of Toronto’s Dufferin Grove there stood an elm tree which had succumbed to Dutch elm disease in 2010. This tree was destined to be firewood, or worse tossed in the city dump. We salvaged the tree and have thoughtfully repurposed some of the lumber into this collection to exhibit our take on a contemporary dining/socializing nook.

Thanks to DesignLines for the two love tags, have a look at the rest of their objects of affection here.

Thonet’s tangle chandelier with anatomies for extinct anomalies V arc base: Elements reclaimed from five of Michael Thonet’s No. 14 chair, ubiquitous in bistros the world over and found on the side of the road in Toronto, surround a single simple bulb to create this chandelier. The refined elm arc is anchored in the raw root of a fallen elm tree salvaged from the tree dump with repurposed sash weights as counter-balance.

branches sconce: A natural extension of our branches line, the sconce bears a subtle yet striking resemblance to its great uncle the branches chandelier. Affixed directly to the wall and made of elm, this piece can be custom-made from this standard small rendition to an entire wall crawling with branches.

cross III table: Playing with perception and balance six legs are crossed in a splay of angles. This tangle of straight raw steel and wood deceives the eye and can support a glass or wood top. Shown here with a reversible elm top accentuating the natural curves on the inside of the table, or it can be rotated for a raw and natural outside edge. The legs are blackened steel tube commingling with straight sections of elm.

orphanage – re-imagined Stam/Breuer chairs: We respect the aesthetic economy of these classic chairs we found discarded at the University of Toronto so our update has been done with a light touch; we simply reused the original leather seating as strapping to harness new elm slats. We’ve re-imagined seven of these chairs, originally made in Italy, and like most orphans they are looking for a home. Tubular chrome-plate steel form (original), reused leather (original), rivets and elm.

peg (the drama twins): These two pieces of black locust found in an abandoned lot a few streets from our shop surprised us with the personality they had hidden beneath their rings. When exhibited in Studio North at IDS12 people saw all sorts of faces in them; the drama twins, a seal, an otter, beaver, cat, mouse... Supported on one side by a peg leg, these stools or side tables stretch the potential of fallen stumps. Peg has a different view from every side and a mirror image top that accentuates the growth rings. Made with black locust and supported by a repurposed oak stool leg.

heart felt cage: Originally produced in 2004 with repurposed conveyor apron this bench is being rebuilt with salvaged wood and straps. Simple removable skeletal ribs support the belted wood. Shown in original beech conveyor apron with birch ribs.

cross II coffee table: Typically the outer edges of trees are discarded when producing lumber, we are using this lost slice facing up to show off the bark under a glass top. The joinery is also exposed and this custom table can also be built with smooth wood.

be steel your hearth: Thonet chairs sitting in a found steel fireplace surround and below an elm mantel.

FRIDAY: 10x10 TALKS @IDS & OPENING NIGHT AT PDA

Friday is TRADE DAY at the IDS and we'll be joining illustrious company at the KRUPS stage at 5pm for the 10x10 talks where veteran Studio North participants are invited to talk about our inspiration.

Opening reception for Public Displays of Affection for 40 Oaks is happening Friday from 6-10pm at the 40 Oaks Community Centre (40 Oak Street). Regular exhibition hours continue through the weekend 1-6pm daily.

This is your first opportunity to catch a glimpse of the 100+ pieces of sustainable, one-of-a-kind furniture, lighting and installations donated to this community in need. Ours is the burst light, an all new design extrapolated from our hoop light design.

40 Oaks is part of the Regent Park revitalization, North America's largest inner city redevelopment project.

Last Waltz on Cityline

There's something special about seeing our pieces go forth and stand on their own two feet (or in this case four) in the world. Needless to say we're happy to see our Last Waltz bench doing us proud on Cityline earlier this week. Watch the segment here (the focus on Studio North and investing in one-of-a-kind locally crafted work starts about 30 min in, in case you're pressed for time). Big thanks to Cityline and Julia Black from Chatelaine for including us.

The party: Opening night at the IDS this Thursday

Get your tickets

MOTO at Domison

Now that you're planning your Design Week rounds, make sure to work in a visit to MOTO at Domison. It's a temporary installation presenting the works of cutting edge designers from both cities in an effort to to bring the two distant creative platforms closer. Curated by My & Thien (of Periphere), it’s about creating a dialogue between these historically rivalrous two design hubs. We join a robust list of designers showing new, unseen or iconic work. So pop by Domison at 35 Jarvis and have a look. Get more details.