One last look at 2008, here's the first of four posts inspired by the shows we attended in '08.

It's coming up in a few weeks and we're going to be there... Toronto celebrates design over several days every February when various parts of the city heat up against the winter cold. IDS, the Interior Design Show, hosts an array of international as well as Canadian designers; the Gladstone Hotel features an entire second floor of site specific installations by Canadian artists and designers; and MADE has started curating Radiant Dark, an exhibition devoted to work from all over the country. We take a look back at Toronto Design 08 where the mix of textures and good old-fashioned common sense were spiced with wit and warmth. See our top 10 Toronto picks after the jump.

+ interiordesignshow.com
+ madedesign.com
+ gladstonehotel.com

Castor's fishing hut was chock full of their design classics, including this light fixture that sums up a great ethic. A picture is worth a thousand words ... or light bulbs.



Chet Domanski's Energy Bracelet, made from production tubing that draws oil from the ground, is another sign of the times.



A treasure chest FULL of delicate ceramics from Pascale Girardin appealed to eyes and hands.



Loyal Loot's Log Bowls are rough bark on the outside and smooth and shiny on the inside - it's the mix of contrast and colour that gets us every time.



We, the Consumed was a "conversation between consumption and the consumed" by Peter Wehrspann and Pietro Gagliano. Mottos included "i am responsible," "i am homegrown," "i have no logo," "i am not garbage," and "i am reborn" - concepts that apply as much to the consumer as the consumed.



The Golden Fawn wallpaper from Rollout was our first introduction to a rich line of custom and artist-designed papers.



Quality craftsmanship is inherent in any work by the Brothers Dressler. It was hard not to fall in love with the Last series of shelving, all based on found lasts from a Northern Ontario fishing camp.



Ola Rahatka's Trudeau Dolls are very funny, especially when in a grouping of 3 or 4. Hug an icon.



We followed Tania Sanhueza's mushrooms from Come Up to My Room at the Gladstone Hotel to this fabulous installation at Magic Pony.



Dennis Lin's Come Up to My Room installation was all about materials: wood, concrete and metal. Although his lathe-turned wooden sculptures were spectacular, the wall of concrete numbers from 1 to 5 held its own.