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A celebration of designs by our friendly neighbors to the north.
By Paul Makovsky
March 2002
Canada exports more than just hockey players, comedians, and Celine Dion.
The snowmobile, the paint roller, and the electric cooking range are just
a few of the nation's design inventions. Canadian designers such as Bruce
Mau, Karim Rashid, and Frank Gehry may be household names in the U.S., but
Americans don't often recognize their origin.
Other Canadian designers currently making headlines include Greg Harrison--one
of hockey's best goaltender mask makers for 30 years. Each custom-built
fiberglass and stainless-steel mask takes him around 70 hours to create.
Thirty-two are on display at the Hockey Hall of Fame. On the software front,
Toronto-based Alias Wavefront has released PortfolioWall, a tool that enables
design teams working in different locations to collaborate on digital files
such as animations and 3-D models.
Offsite:
For Andrew Jones's Gym Chair by Keilhauer go to
www.keilhauer.com or call
(800) 724-5665. Nienkämper's leather-wrapped cabinets are available
at (800) 668-9318 or at
www.nienkamper.com. For Fig 1-50 Projects in
50 Weeks call Distributed Art Publishers Inc. (D.A.P.) at (800) 338-2665
or visit
www.artbook.com. Check out Industrial Storm's Garbo bench at
www.industrialstorm.com
or call (416) 955-9888. Call Bakery Group at (613) 521-3034. Details about
Alias Wavefront's Portfolio Wall can be found at
www.aliaswavefront.com
or call (800) 447-2542. Eventscape's interiors are online at
www.eventscape.net,
or call them at (416) 231-8855. For more about Commerce Design Montreal
visit
www.commercedesignmontreal.qc.ca. Find the transparent advertising
bus shelters by Kramer Design Associates at
www.kramer-design.com or call
(416) 921-1078, x. 31. To buy a custom-made goalie mask by Greg Harrison
call (905) 791-7337.
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Perhaps growing up in this kinder and gentler nation has instilled Canadian
designers with the public-mindedness that imbues works like Bakery Group's
lightweight, environmentally responsible Disaster Relief Shelter and the
new contextually sensitive transparent bus shelters designed by Kramer Design
Associates for Mediacom. Since 1995 the city of Montreal has promoted public
awareness of good design by awarding businesses for projects that improve
the quality of urban life. While trendy restaurants and boutiques are usually
among the winners, the Commerce Design Montreal awards have also included
companies that deal with the more pragmatic side of city living--dry cleaners,
health-food stores, and even a funeral parlor. The program is a good model
for other cities worldwide.
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