Rubber shelving and an origami-infused update to the Adirondack Chair feature in this roundup of furniture and lighting by emerging Canadian industrial designers.
Last month, Dezeen travelled to frigid Toronto during the city’s informal design week, oriented around the IDS trade fair and city-wide design showcase DesignTO.
Designers from eastern Canada, mostly locals as well as makers from the design powerhouse that is Montreal, exhibited works across town.
Most of the products we’ve collated below were featured either in the Studio North independent designer exhibition at IDS or in a show put on by Montreal collective Ensemble.
The selection represents a range of projects from ergonomic industrial design to experimental furniture and work that relies on craft traditions. Read on for eight furniture and lighting designs by emerging Canadian designers in 2025.
Cake Light by Found
At Ensemble, Montreal-based studio Found showed a powder-coated aluminium overhead light created for domestic use.
It has a simple form, long and with fanned edges that showcase its hardware, and emits a soft light from its acrylic lens. It comes in a variety of colours and lengths.
Eco-Brut Low Stool by David Laurin
This stool by David Laurin is the Ontario designer’s first attempt at what he calls an “eco-brutalist visual language”, combining the geometric structures of brutalism with renewable materials.
The stool has a structure made of white ash, complemented by a seat and a charming suspended shelf bound with two-toned Danish cord.
Next-Generation Adirondack Chair by Ori
Japanese-Canadian designer Shinya Kominami of furniture brand Ori presented the most recent interaction of his take on the classic Adirondack Chair, infused with elements of Japanese origami.
Made with HDPE plastic and steel fasteners, the chair was designed for outdoor use. It is a sleek, modern intervention to the iconic form with materials sourced locally, according to the studio.
Rounded Edges Side Tables by Lesorr
Also at Ensemble, experimental Montreal designer David Raymond’s studio Lesorr showcased the newest addition to his Rounded Edges collection, building on a chair released two years ago.
Made of unfinished brushed aluminium, it represents single units of the massive metal bookshelf that is part of the collection.
The Drafter by Simon Petepiece
Montreal artist Simon Petepiece exhibited a design object resembling a table conceived of as an “imagined architectural structure inspired by the concept of a scale model” as part of the To Hold exhibition at the headquarters of legendary Canadian design studio Yabu Pushelberg.
It features steel studs, often used for framing in architecture, twisted and bent into elegant forms, topped by a module of drywall.
Céline Chair by Small Medium Large Studio and Séjour Studio
Montreal’s Small Medium Large Studio and Séjour Studio collaborated to show a prototype chair at Ensemble, made of seven pieces of upholstered metal folded together.
According to the studio, the chair was meant to be sturdy and balanced while having a light footprint, creating an exercise in “geometric deconstruction and accumulation”.
Rubber Library by Atelier Fomenta
Also at Ensemble, design studio Fomenta explored the potential of rubber in domestic environments, attempting to give a “second life” to the industrial material.
The Rubber Library is a flexible shelf that can stand or lie flat and was handmade in the studio’s Montreal base using techniques often found in garment production.
Rooted Lamp by Alisha Sturino and Brett Paulin
A collaboration between interior designer Sturino of local Studio Otty and craftsman Brett Paulin, the Rooted Lamp features a sculptural base made with spalted maple.
On top of the base is a gridded lamp shade made from walnut wood that diffuses the soft light from the vertically oriented lens.
DesignTO 2025 took place at various locations around Toronto from 24 January to 2 February. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.
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