Canadian Designs Gallery

by Various

Boxfire, Castor Canadensis

Comments (4 comments)

todd falkowsky: Hi Guys,

One hiccup...the Cancon Chair is by Terence Cooke.

Thanks for the nod and looking forward to seeing more of this content in the mag.

Best,

February 12, 2008 12:45 EST

peter b: Cant find slide show of Canadian designers work online Thanks Peter Bunnett February 19, 2008 05:54 EST

peter b: Please forward me dirictly the online Gallerry of Canadian designers work Thanks Peterb vnation@mazinaw.on.ca February 19, 2008 05:57 EST

dave reford: Dear Walrus,

As an occasional lumberjack, I read with great interest Tim McKeough’s piece on Lumberjack Chic. I’m Dave Reford, one of the last remaining (beef) farmers in the North Aylmer sector of Gatineau, QC. My farm is located on the ancient beaches of the Champlain Sea. Beavers have shaped the surrounding drainage basin for many successive generations. While farming has occupied much of my time in recent years, I have also created art, sculpture and music since returning to the farm in 1991. Nature and daily immersion into its elements are what fuel my creations. In 1994, Charlie and James Brooks and I began sonic experiments in my farmhouse. These primal and improvised musical musings laid the foundation for what we christened Castor. I was shocked to read in McKeough’s article that the principals of Castor Design did not fully explain the origins of their name. Brian Richer was a house guest at my farm in the summer of 2003. He had come to visit with his girlfriend and attend the Ottawa Blues Fest, at which I performed with another of my musical groups. He spent a couple of days here, checking out some of my sculptural pieces, listening to music, taking pictures of my cattle, and hanging out while my Castor band mates and I jammed. At the time, he mentioned to me how great “Castor” is as a name. Yes, to that I would agree, and the Brooks brothers and I have used the name Castor since 1994 to promote both our music and shared aesthetic. Castor (the music) shows tend to be about raw, visceral performance, incorporating improvised heavy psych jams with photographic slides of ephemeral natural happenings projected in the background. Castor, for us, embodies a creature that goes against the flow. It does what it does by necessity, by instinct. It is nice that Castor Design is enjoying success in the design world of Toronto. It would be even nicer if they respected the spirit of their namesake and mentioned how they came to be inspired to choose it.

Sincerely,
Dave Reford
February 20, 2008 09:54 EST

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