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An enormous number of Canadians were affected by Stefan Siwinski's furniture designs - especially those who flew through Pearson International Airport in Toronto.

He won the contract to equip the airport's departure and lounge areas with a series of classic chrome-and-black vinyl seats; today, you can see knock-offs everywhere. After half a century, the seats still looked fresh, elegant and functional, and they have outlived two airport terminals and survived the abuse dished out by millions of travellers.

Although the Pearson contract was the biggest of Stefan's career, the only real capital he wanted from it was prestige.

Prestige was important to him. He never married, nor had children. He lived with Krystyna Sadowska, an artist who made large tapestries.

Stefan never mentioned how much money he earned, only the praise he received. It was easy to think he never earned anything at all - his circumstances were always modest.

The clipping files he left behind were letters from officials praising his work. Whatever journalistic mentions he received were compiled as a list of newspapers that had published them, with no dates, and no quotes.

Stefan was born in Poland in 1918, and his life followed a path taken by many of his countrymen. At 22, he found himself in England, where he joined the First Canadian Army's Polish unit, and took part in the liberation of Europe. In 1952, he moved to Toronto and set up shop.

Good contracts followed - the Calgary International Airport, the Art Gallery of Ontario, McMaster University Medical Centre, the Granite Club, IBM Canada, several major Canadian banks and the Canadian embassy in Pakistan.

His later designs became whimsical. He created fantastic chairs for waiting rooms, with armrests like padded black flying saucers. It was no real surprise to his friends that the conservative corporate community, which he was courting, did not snap them up.

A dining table he designed typified this period - a single sheet of glass resting on four female mannequin legs.

Stefan was an intense worker who was designing furniture until the end. A cheerful fellow, he valued contacts and cultivated them. He saw himself as the last of a dying breed of great designers, on a level with Le Corbusier. His friend, Wim Vanderkooy, saw him more as Don Quixote, chasing his destiny without a thought to the rest of the world.

He died alone in his home, surrounded by piles of clutter, mountains of dreams and a giant tapestry by Krystyna.

Jack Kapica is Stefan's friend.

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