By now, everyone and his nutritionist has heard of the 100-mile diet, the phenomenon started in 2005 by an eco-conscious Vancouver couple who decided to eat and drink only what could be grown and produced within a 100-mile radius of their home.
But what about the like-minded movement in the world of home decor?
These days, a great bulk of our home furnishings are manufactured abroad, travel great distances to get to us and eat up a lot of resources in the process. So just as we shop at farmers markets and wear locally made T-shirts, a growing number of us are looking in our own neighbourhoods for sustainable yet chic alternatives.
And contrary to popular belief, it's not all recycled-record vases and too-clever-by-half craft kitsch.
Billing itself as “a true alternative to imports,” Perez Furniture established its own Montreal production facilities in 2003 to “better control the quality of its designs.” One of at least two dozen models, the sectional sofa shown here can be configured in countless ways. Bequia sofa, from $530 through www.perezfurniture.com.
Photogallery
Get set for 100-mile decorating.
“Consumers are becoming increasingly aware of the cost to the planet of transporting heavy things from a factory in the Far East or Europe to their North American homes,” says Graeme Spicer, director of retail strategy at DW + Partners Inc., a retail branding and design consultancy in Toronto.
“They also have more confidence that their purchases are being created in an environmentally friendly or at least environmentally neutral manner if they're made locally instead of in, say, China, which has a shaky environmental record at best.”
As it happens, many of this country's design firms were sourcing their materials and producing their products close to home long before Canadians started measuring their carbon footprints.
British Columbia's Brent Comber, for instance, has been crafting his rugged wood furniture out of fallen or reclaimed Vancouver-area timber since 1994, while Toronto-based Centrifuge Design's policy of working with suppliers and fabricators in the city and its environs is as old as the firm itself.
“Even when we started back in 2000, we were thinking about sourcing locally and keeping to a made-in-Canada strategy,” says Centrifuge designer Stephen Hugo-Seinader, whose products range from pepper mills to mailboxes.
A clear indication that the public has finally caught up with Canadian designers on this issue is the emergence of retailers – such as Made in Toronto and M in Vancouver – devoted to homegrown products.
Both shops founded their business models on the belief that enough customers would be interested in locally produced wares created by emerging Canadian designers or, in M's case, the store itself. (It produces a line of “sustainably forested” furniture called Wood by M.)
So far, the green idea is bringing in the real green.
Shortly after opening less than two years ago, “we quickly saw that a lot of people were looking for this kind of stuff and responding to it,” says Julie Nicholson, who co-owns Made with Shaun Moore.
More than mass-produced goods brought in from abroad, “it speaks to their experiences and means something to them,” she adds.
Spicer, who likens regional decor to bespoke tailoring and artisanal wares, says these often one-of-a-kind works are the new must-haves for design types.
“As boomers are getting older, they are questioning the cult of consumerism and what is truly of value,” he says. In this context, “a carefully curated collection of unusual pieces by lesser-known designers has as much appeal as a room full of Eames and Jacobsen.”
In addition to their emotional value, their new cachet and their eco-friendliness, 100-mile products offer another, more practical advantage: shorter wait times for deliveries. After all, a sofa made in Montreal is likely to reach you sooner than one shipped from Milan, as the companies that still manufacture furniture here in Canada are eager to point out.
Quebec-based Perez Furniture, for instance, pitches the clean-lined items it produces in its own Montreal facility as “a true alternative to imports.”
Toronto's Barrymore, which has been handcrafting sofas and chairs in the city since 1919, also trumpets its local cred.
Of course, products made in places such as China will always be cheaper than those made in Canada, where labour costs, Spicer says, can be up to 40 times higher.
Canadian-made furnishings do, however, tend to be better bargains than imported European designs, a more relevant comparison.
With Canadian products, “you're not dealing with export charges, freight costs, customs duties,” Moore says.
But saving money isn't what this trend is about. As we're all learning, there are some things you can't put a price on. Helping the environment is one, but there's something else, too.
“The trend toward purchasing locally designed and manufactured goods isn't likely to go away any time soon,” Spicer says. “As Canadians, we're more confident now. It's a source of pride to have Canadian designs in our homes these days.”
Going local in Vancouver
Opened last year in West Vancouver, M (www.m-smartdesign.com) produces its own eco-friendly furniture made from FSC-certified wood.
Molo Design's products – including room dividers, seating and glassware – can be purchased through www.molodesign.com, while Propellor Design's contemporary lighting and furniture is available through www.propellor.ca.
Renowned designer Brent Comber (www.brentcomber.com) has been creating his distinctive alder, cedar and maple furniture since the mid-1990s. He welcomes customers to his North Vancouver studio by appointment.
Gailan Ngan's ceramics can be purchased at stores such as Small/Medium/Large (www.sml-online.com) and Bombast (www.bombastfurniture.com). Visits to her East Georgia Street studio (www.gailanngan.com) can also be arranged by appointment.
Going local in Toronto
Run by Shaun Moore and Julie Nicholson, Made (www.madedesign.ca) focuses exclusively on Canadian products and carries the work of numerous local designers, including Tamara Rushlow, Calli Balles, the Brothers Dressler, Thout, Covello Reesor and Centrifuge Design.
EyeSpy in the city's east end (www.eyespygifts.com) also sells the work of Centrifuge, while Bergo Designs in the Distillery District (www.bergo.ca) stocks the Brothers Dressler.
More traditional chairs, sofas and ottomans are constructed locally by Barrymore (www.barrymorefurniture.com).
Cabinet (www.cabinetfurniture.ca) offers locally made modern furniture.
Going local in Montreal
Annie Michaud's glass-blowing studio is open to visitors by appointment. Visit www.anniemichaud.com for details.
Both Perez Furniture (www.perezfurniture.com) and Kastella (www.kastella.ca) operate elegant showrooms.
Periphere's work can be purchased directly through the designers, Thien and My Ta Trung, at www.periphere.com.
Pascale Girardin's designs are available through www.pascalegirardin.com, while Morin Tardif's can be bought through a number of retail sources (see www.morintardif.com for a full list).
In pictures: Backyard design
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