Best of IDS, Day 2: A Mosaic, Pendulum & Polar Bear Table

The Eddy chair by Alain Gilles. It's the latest trend: the fixie bike, a vintage bicycle, which brings to mind a time when the streets were dirt roads and cyclists were heroes. Indeed, Eddy armchair is dedicated to a cycling legend. The shapes of Eddy draw their inspiration from the cycling world, but also from the minimal and elemental graphic design of the fixie. “If you think about it, many of the first prototypes in the history of design were made in cycling workshops”, explains Alain Gilles, “because that's where the masters of tubular metal manufacturing were, and they had the expertise required to make those objects with such essential style”.

Concord, Ontario-based Kroft calls HNGR a pop-up closet. Which is an accurate description: affable maker Dustin Kroft says the swing-like creation can be used to hang anything, anywhere. Want to hang pots off it? Be our guest. Your kitchen will be better off for it.

Artistic Mosaic by Ciot Studio. The tile company maintains a mosaic artistry service called Ciot Studio, under the direction of Maestro Igor Marziali, who is a Italian trained mosaicist. For Sud Forno, Ciot and Maziali realized a floor mosaic designed by Andrew di Rosa, of Toronto’s Small Project Studio. The interior design for Sud Forno is by Giannone Petricone Associates.

Bowl Table Lamp by EQ3. Not much to say about this lovely EQ3 light, except that because it is LED, the lamp isn’t too hot too touch and objects can be placed in the bowl even when it is illuminated. It would make a great dinner table centrepiece, as the lamp is also dimmable. And it retails for only $149.99! With a brass or black base.

W Studio’s custom artistic carpet. The studio’s well established custom carpets include some wild trompe l’oile effects, like this one of a subway tunnel. In photos you can hardly tell the wall-size image is made of tufted wool.

Vapora by Neptune. Have a small bathroom? The freestanding Vapora tub by Quebec-based Neptune comes in Petite as well as Grande. We love its range of colour options and soft, enveloping curves.

Polar Bear by Hollis + Morris. Bear with him: Just released by Hollis + Morris, the Toronto design studio headed by Mischa Couvrette, this playful marble-top coffee table with cylindrical wooden legs is meant to evoke a polar bear.

Tenet by Mosaique Surface. Designed for Montreal-based Mosaique Surface by Alain Courchesne, the handsomely overlapping Tenet pattern is part of the company’s new Wonderland collection of terrazzo flooring and was inspired by the clean lines and raw power of brutalism. Five other patterns round out the line.

I Balocchi faucets by Fantini. Created in 1978, discontinued in the 1990s and rereleased by Fantini in 2013, the colourful I Balocchi faucet line has been updated by its original designers (Davide Mercatili and Paolo Pedrizzetti) to include a greater array of available hues and more modern features like adjustable flow. Best of all, proceeds from all sales go to African infrastructure projects

Press by Philippe Malouin. Created from a single polished-steel tube, Philippe Malouin’s Press mirror was released just last year, but is already a classic. Tagged at the Canadian by Nature retrospective exhibit at IDS.

Beauti-Tone by Home Hardware Booth. We were pleasantly surprised to find this cozy A-frame in the middle of the trade show forest. The collaboration between the National Parks of Canada and HH’s home paint brand resulted in a line of nature-inspired colours. The paint swatches appeared on the cabin’s exterior in the form of roof tiles.

Bone Benches by Loïc Bard. We gravitated to the silky-smooth surfaces and organic curves on this pair of Bone Benches by emerging Montreal designer Loïc Bard, presented front-and-centre at the Mobilia booth.

Iso Table by Justin Bailey. Inspired by isometric drawing, Justin Bailey’s slanted wire and tile coffee table was one of the most original designs we saw. The designer uses bold, parallel lines to create a feeling of forward movement that would energize any interior.

Mile One by Lambert et Fils. We spotted these slender, maroon-coloured light rods in furniture retailer Klaus’ beautiful booth. One mile-long light rests on top of the other at a ninety-degree angle. It’s the elegant asymmetry that makes the new product shine.

Ontario Wood’s Clover Pavillion by architects and designers Denegri Bessai Studio features a series of plywood display cases that were a delight to explore. An item of furniture from a roster of local woodworkers was displayed Inside each structure. Bravo to Denegri Bessai for surprising us at every turn.