Do Design 2011 is an embracing initiative which celebrates a diversity of contemporary designers and their approaches by bringing their works to our street. The Trinity Bellwoods Business Improvement Area presents Do Design works in a variety of venues along our stretch of downtown Toronto. Do Design intends to highlight the diversity of our streetscape and community and is a reminder of the value of creative initiatives and the resonance of design in our daily lives.

Dundas Street West (between Bathurst and Grace Street) becomes a "gallery", with design projects displayed in storefronts, walk-ups, windows, cafe's, galleries, bars, restaurants, boutiques, showrooms and even a lumber yard! We are pleased to announce 28 participating venues this year, showcasing the works of the contemporary designers listed below.

Do Design is a free four day event. Visitors are invited to drop in at any of the venues during their regular hours of business from 27th January to 30th January. In addition, a number of the design works are presented in shop windows and may be viewed after hours.

Opening Reception: Saturday 29th January, 3pm to 8pm

Location: Dundas Street West (between Bathurst and Grace Street)
Dates: Thursday 27th January to Sunday 30th January, 2011
Admission: Free

Download map of exhibitors and venues here.

Contact Marie Collier at [email protected] for further information.

Amy Keeler is a Toronto based product and furniture designer. Having a background in Industrial design and recent graduate of the Sheridan College, Crafts and Design Furniture program, Amy is focused on beginning her career producing quality minded small scale production items. Enjoying the nature and process of design, through her work Amy aspires to create interesting objects with a functional purpose.

Bettie Cott is a young design student currently enrolled in the Craft and Design Furniture program at Sheridan College. She began as a wood carver, later moving into furniture and product design. She has received the Halton Furniture Maker's Society Award for her first-year work and a merit award in this year's Ontario Wood Works Competition. An avid supporter of local design and the importance of sustainable living; Bettie's inspirations range from geometric forms, both natural and analytical, to fusing diverse materials in unique ways. Her enthusiasm for new techniques and materials has stimulated novel possibilities in her approach to design.

Bev Hisey began working with fibre through fashion and hand manipulated textile, later shifting her focus to home decor. Her work is characterized by fresh patterns and colour palettes, with a focus on detail and construction. She designs collections of cushions, carpets and wall hangings. Bev involves herself with fair trade (Rug Mark certified) in the making of her hand tufted carpets and floor cushions.

Donna Griffith is a Toronto based photographer specializing in home decor, food and lifestyle imagery. Having studied at York University and graduating with a BFA in Visual Arts she now works from her east end studio in the editorial and book publishing industry.

Ten of Toronto's top industrial, graphic, textile and product designers grapple with the concept of 'CAPACITY' - how it applies to who we are and what we do - in a multidisciplinary design exhibition. Participants: Maiwenn Castellan, Joy Charbonneau, Michelle Ivankovic, Arounna Khounnoraj, Erin McCutcheon, Katherine Morley, Nathalie Nahas, Ayla Newhouse, Ange-line Tetrault, and Kirsten White

Chris Vanderwal is a carpenter and furniture design student at Sheridan College. He is currently renovating houses in Toronto and designing objects for the home.

Educated in industrial arts at the Ontario College of Art and Design (now OCADU), Christine Lieu possesses a love of the whimsical and believes that the field of design presents ideal opportunities for exploring new possibilities. As an individual who loves to surround herself with crafts and who experiments with materials; she hopes that her own curiosity and sense of discovery will guide her towards solutions that foster valuable experiences and fresh perspective.

With an education in biology, wood-working and furniture design, Connie has maintained a studio in Toronto since 1996. She has designed commissioned and speculative furniture pieces as well as produced residential and commercial millwork. Working primarily in domestic woods often utilizing curved lamination techniques; her pieces are characterized by simple, minimalist form combined with strong sculptural elements.

Dieter Janssen received a fellowship award for his Master's degree in Architecture from Princeton University in 1999 and a Bachelor of Architecture with honours from the University of Toronto in 1996. Currently dedicated to his own practice, Dieter has collaborated with artists Philip Beesley, Ben Rubin, Alex Schweder and Judith Turner, and exhibited work at Printed Matter, Moss, Museum of Modern Art's permanent collection and Henry Urbach Architecture in New York, the American Academy in Rome (with Alex Schweder), the 2002 Venice Biennale (with Nordenson & Diller Scofidio + Renfro), the P/M Gallery (Buildings That Spin) and MADE's Radiant Dark exhibitions.

Ruth Spitzer is trained as shoemaker and obtained a master degree in Design with a focus on Product Design from University for Design and Art (HfG) in Offenbach am Main, Germany in 1999. She moved to Toronto in 2002 where she met Sarah Dorkenwald and the two formed a design partnership. Their work explores the fluid borders between art and design and within that, the disciplines of graphic and product design.

Dylan McKinnon was the winner of the RADOstar Young Design Award for Best Student Product at the 2010 Interior Design Show in Toronto and the 2010 William and Mary Corcoran Craft Award given by the Ontario Arts Foundation. Based in Toronto, Dylan McKinnon Furniture Design produces speculative and commission based design works. The intent is to create objects that participate in the way in which furniture and design inherently shape the spaces we occupy and in turn shape our lives.

Grant Heaps has always loved fabric. This love has led him to his full time job as the Assistant Wardrobe Coordinator for The National Ballet of Canada. It has also led to a large collection of scrap textile and a great desire to cut up these scraps and put them back together.

Ian Milne is an industrial designer for hire. What started as a hobby, making clocks and jewelry, quickly evolved into a design practice with a commission for a sign at the Rushton. "Making shiny new things with expensive machines is pretty cool, but nothing pleases me more than finding a salvaged piece, cleaning it up and re-using it. Many clients insist on my use of this skill - they don't want new resources wasted - they prefer me to find a vintage or scrap solution."

Ian van den berg design is a multi disciplinary industrial design firm based in Toronto. Ian's design studio creates fresh products, contemporary furniture and engaging environments for commercial and residential spaces.

Jason Wheeler, originally from Toronto, spent a brief period of time as a model builder. His focus on detail resulted in multiple international awards. This experience led him to work as a metal fabricator, building high end hot rods and custom cars. Influenced by industrial design and pulling from his multiple material working capabilities, allows him to explore endless possibilities in design. Now located in Oshawa, Wheeler's Studio formed in 2009 with a main focus of thoughtfully hand crafted furniture.

Jean Willoughby is an award-winning furniture and product designer based in Toronto, Ontario. Her designs are driven to be purposeful, practical and functional. She employs an aesthetic strategy that is classic, showcasing strong lines and a timeless neutrality. A graduate from Humber College Industrial Design program, and the Furniture Design program at Sheridan College, Jean continues to examine and deliver project solutions for a diverse range of material and product design challenges.

Jeremy Hatch is a Vancouver based artist who constructs large scale porcelain sculptures and also creates a line of porcelain products under the name Ricochet. He has received several research/production/travel grants and attended residencies at the Takumi Studios in Japan, the European Ceramic Work Centre in the Netherlands, Watershed Centre for the Ceramic Arts and the Archie Bray Foundation.

Jill Allan lives on Vancouver Island, Canada. In 1999 she graduated with distinction from the Alberta College of Art and Design earning a BFA with a major in Glass. Her work is included in the collections of the Canadian Craft Museum, Vancouver, the Corning Museum of Glass, Corning N.Y., and the Alberta College of Art and Design, Calgary. Jill received the BC Creative Achievement Award in 2007. Her work is quiet, based in the craft tradition of vessel making, but not exclusively functional. She is influenced by Scandinavian designs, particularly those of Finland's iittala.

With roots in Toronto and Vancouver, Joel has maintained a furniture studio practice for 27 years that is supported by residential and institutional commissions. Joel is a past board member of the Ontario Crafts Council and the Lakeshore Village Artist Co-op. He is currently the head of installation at the Textile Museum of Canada.

Katherine Morley is a Toronto-based Industrial Designer, working primarily in textiles and ceramics. Using design as a tool for discussion, Katherine strives to create objects that honour content above aesthetics, and self-awareness above mass-consumerism. A graduate of the Ontario College for Art and Design, she is a member of the multi-disciplinary collectives Joe & Josephine and Lemon. She has exhibited in shows across Canada and curates design exhibits in the city.

Lubo Brezina came to a passion for furniture design upon completing his architectural degree and gaining experience as a builder and craftsman. The emphasis remains on craftsmanship and quality throughout his work. He strives to convey a sense of structure, detail of joinery, an essence of materials and a simple aesthetic that deals with proportion and mass.

Lucy Roussel maintains a studio in Toronto's West end. A former resident and instructor of the Living Arts Centre in Mississauga, she is a graduate of the Hot Glass Forming program at Sheridan College of Craft and Design. Lucy is currently on the faculty of the glass department at Sheridan College.

There is a thriving culture of craftsmanship and creative labour which lives here. MADE At Home gathers the designs of thirty three individuals forming twenty six design studios and collaborations which highlight this culture. MADE At Home, in its rather ordinary apartment setting on Dundas Street West, delves into the sensibilities and understanding of home among designers who all live and make in Canada. It speaks to the values attached to the idea of home and is reflected in our choice of functional objects for the home.

Melanie has been in the interior design and furniture making industry for over 7 years. Having graduated from the Alberta College of Art in 1995 with a degree in painting and applied skills in textiles, woodworking, and printmaking Mazzie Design was a natural evolution of her eclectic expertise. A fine arts background has provided Melanie with the vital tools to create spaces and furniture with an innovative twist while addressing practical solutions for storage and utility. It is evident that her main objective is to create something that is out of the ordinary.

Orest investigates light and shadow as a sculptural medium and strives to express material environments in their simplest form. His interest lies in the transformation of space by light and the manner in which light creates optical illusions; projects after images and alters perception.

Born in Bulgaria, a metal worker by trade, Peter Petrov arrived in Toronto in 2004 after six years in Cape Town, South Africa. After working on airplanes for many years he decided to learn more about solid wood and its properties by working in a friend's shop, after which he began a custom furniture business. His inspiration is drawn from nature, where he believes every answer can be found. He continues to build parts for model airplanes in his spare time.

Is brother and sister duo, Thien and My Ta Trung. They launched Periphere as an expression of their personal vision for furniture. They manufacture all of their designs one piece at a time in Montreal. Each piece is produced by hand by skilled craftsmen.

Designer, Tamira Sawatzky is an architect and artist working in Toronto. After working for 10 years for the award-winning firm MacLennan Jaunkalns Miller designing community centres, Tamira left to establish Public Studio, a collaborative art and architecture practice.

ROLLOUT is a boutique, creative firm built on a foundation of collaborative innovation and personalized design. Our bespoke surface design and products, including our specialty line of digitally printed eco-conscious wallpaper, have been showcased in trend setting custom residential and commercial interiors across the globe.

Eighteen students working in groups of three, were assigned the task of creating objects suitable for small batch production. Each group collaborated and brought to strong resolution new functional design objects. Student Participants:Joe Bauman/ Gill Benzion/ Dane Broe/ Jeffery Burt/ Chris Charuk/ Bettie Cott/ Mark Finnigan/ Kamal Fox/Laura Langford/ Roxanne Loncar/ Kyle Peters/ Tom Rojcik/ Richard Ruminski/ Franky Sanche/ Maxx Schroter/ Chris Vanderwal/ Steven Wilson/ Aviv Zimerman

Three inspired siblings combine their talents, feelings and energies bringing together the group known as the Next Level Art Collective. The Next Level Art Collective has since grown. Now the group consists of a number emerging and prolific fine artists, from all walks of life, creating abstract art TOGETHER. However the spirit of the abstract art remains: collaboration and exploration.