Friday is TRADE DAY at the IDS and we’ll be joining illustrious company at the KRUPS stage at 5pm for the 10×10 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.

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.

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.

Thanks to Nancy Tong at The Grid and to Vicky Sanderson at The Star for their appreciation of our Cross III table in their previews of the 10th anniversary of Studio North at IDS12. We’ll be showing an all new elaboration on the design (among others) when the show opens next week. And it’s nice to see the handsome company we’ll be keeping at the show.

Has it really been a year since IDS11? Seems so as the Brothers Dressler woodshop is abuzz with preparation for Toronto Design Week 2012.

We’ll have an exhibit as part of Studio North‘s 10th anniversary at the Interior Design Show. It will be a chance to see a brand new dining table based on our Cross III design coupled with a set of re-imagined Mart Stam chairs, an addition to our orphanage series.  Hanging over the table is a one-off chandelier incorporating reclaimed chair elements supported by an arc and we’ll be introducing Peg and the Branches Sconce. The lion’s share of the material used in these pieces came from a lofty elm taken down in Toronto’s west end.

We’ll also be speaking as part of a 10×10 talk where veteran Studio North participants are invited to talk about our inspiration Friday January 27 at 5pm.

Toronto Design Week is packed with excellent opportunities to delight your eyes and stimulate your minds. Be sure to get out and support local and international design in our city next week.

Toronto Design Offsite (TO DO) is a festival of events and exhibitions happening during Toronto design week: January 23-29, 2012. A quick look at the schedule reinforces there’s no shortage of inspiring design to check out. We’ll be taking part in the DoDesign, Domison, PechaKucha Public Displays of Affection for 40 Oaks and MADE’s Radiant Dark – The Devil is the Details exhibitions. More details on those in the coming days…

You can keep TODO’s handy listing and map on your person by downloading the TODO iPhone app.

For all you jewellery loving ladies, and the rest of us who love you, may we present our expanded collection of Cut Ups Jewellery.

You may have seen our Cut Ups line before, it’s about reuse; infusing cast-off materials with new life. Creating simple and unique pieces from material that most would consider waste. Ranging from household objects, toys and jewellery to lighting and furniture, Cut Ups are diverse yet share a common origin: the waste bin from our Toronto studio.

This jewellery has been created from found woods, bark and leftover lap joints. Each piece is one of a kind and handcrafted with care. All hardware and fittings are sterling silver.

Available directly from the Brothers Dressler studio and the following local shops: The Beau & Bauble, Frock, Made and  Miracle Thieves.

Have a closer look at the new line here:

For more Cut Ups see Mesh Pendant, Mesh Lamp, Mesh Screen, Meshman, Hang Ups, Creatures and Cutlets.

Thanks to Pursuit Magazine’s Valerie Iancovich for chatting with us about the YMCA table project and the evolution of our business. Read about the connection between the YMCA table and our alma mater, the University of Toronto, where we earned our engineering degrees and played varsity basketball many moons ago…

… or at least in Hong Kong based magazine MR. Its fun to see the playful Last Place among other lively company in this spread. Many thanks to Joyce for seeking us out.

We enjoyed chatting with Paige Magarrey about our passion for reclaiming discarded material and the beauty of wood. The Toronto Standard has become a provocative and inspiring voice in our city, if you don’t know it already check it out.