APPRECIATION FOR HIGH-END DESIGN REMAINS ON OSSINGTON
Story & photos by Lia Parsley
On the ever-evolving Ossington strip, OneTwenty Modern sits neatly on the corner at Argyle Street. The bolder, big sister to Queen Street staple Quasi Modo, OneTwenty has been holding it down since 2008 on Toronto’s fastest gentrifying (two) city blocks.
Where Quasi Modo fulfills market needs for classic modern designs by the likes of Herman Miller, Knoll and Kartell, OneTwenty Modern imports largely upmarket Italian designs that aren’t readily being knocked-off by newer chain stores. Select lines from Quasi Modo have been carried over to create consistency and familiarity for the clientele; however, OneTwenty caters specifically to those designers, architects and home owners who are willing to take real design risks—perhaps a difficult undertaking considering Jason MacIsaac’s statement on the perils of “niche” design in the neighbourhood as he closed down Ossington gallery/boutique Ministry of the Interior earlier this month.
“I was really sad to hear that they closed,” says OneTwenty Modern’s Lara Himsl. “They were on Ossington before us, which made opening up a store here more promising. We’re sort of drowned by a sea of restaurants and bars so we’ve been hoping for more galleries and design stores to make Ossington more of a shopping destination during the day.”
And shop you can at OneTwenty Modern, as owner Martin Myers balances out European designs with Canadian-made clean lines. For safer shoppers, Bensen is a popular choice because of their homegrown, high quality reputation. Based out of Vancouver, Bensen offers sofas, beds and dining tables that are designed with founder Neil Bendtsen’s simple, Scandinavian sensibility.
Other standout items in the store include the Gray 69 sideboard in American Walnut with its splashy, etched mirror panels. On sale for $4056, it’s not an entry-level piece but a knockout nonetheless. For a more affordable piece of the OneTwenty pie, the ‘Giuseppina’ Chair by Dondoli and Pocci is design doable. At $335, this polycarbonate seat is a fresh take on the ‘Ghost’ style popularized by Philippe Starck many moons ago, and adds an instant statement to any room in need of a little boost.
Whatever your design persuasion, risk-taker or play-it-safer, OneTwenty Modern is a must-stop on the Ossington jaunt. If you’re not yet ready to pay for high-priced design, at the very least pop in for a quick appreciation for the street’s somewhat precarious retail community. Before you know it, a not-so ironic dive bar might be setting up shop where we once went to ogle the unique offerings at Ministry of the Interior.
There might not be a market in Toronto for gallery/boutique design destinations yet, but if Quasi Modo is any example, OneTwenty Modern will continue feeding high-design appetites for many years to come.
OneTwenty Modern, 120 Ossington Ave., Toronto.
