The Collected Home: How to live with the best of design

Whether to surround yourself with objects that capture your personal taste, or to invest in blue chip pieces, the design market can rival the art world in offering opportunities to build an idiosyncratic collection. Bonne Choice’s Carlo Colacci, designer Clarisa Llaneza, Absolutely Fabrics founder Kaelen Haworth and The Globe and Mail style and art contributor Odessa Paloma Parker discuss how to assemble a cache of housewares that capture your sense of style, and share their take on the contemporary pieces destined to be future icons.

Speakers

Carlo Colacci has become a trusted source in meeting the needs of notable designers, architects, and developers throughout Canada. Carlo's unrelenting interest in design has allowed him to develop a keen eye and a thoughtful approach. Having nurtured a strong network through his regular attendance of design expositions, antique fairs, and his involvement founding and developing the Drake General Store, Carlo is equipped with a strong foundation steeped in quality service.

He founded Bonne Choice, a design dealer and showroom based in Toronto, specializing in the procurement of vintage, rare and contemporary furniture and objects in 2023. Bonne Choice sources vintage homewares globally while working with emerging designers to provide a curated landscape of design today.

Clarisa Llaneza is an internationally recognized designer renowned for her expertise in high-end residential design. Emphasizing visual storytelling, her studio draws inspiration from esteemed figures such as Le Corbusier for his devotion, Tadao Andō for a reverence for natural materials, John Pawson for his play on light, Peter Zumthor for timeless modesty, and Axel Vervoordt for austere design principles.

With a background in Architectural Lighting, Clarisa demonstrates a keen sensitivity to the interplay of light and surfaces, showcasing a discerning eye for structural nuances. Enriched by collaborative experiences with artists and designers from diverse backgrounds, her designs are characterized by deliberate intentionality, contributing to the overall narrative of architectural coherence and favoring an “art de vivre".

Each project undergoes meticulous development, informed by extensive research into texture, composition, colour, ambiance, context, and historical significance. Guided by an enduring curiosity about human-environment interaction, Clarisa Llaneza Studio exhibits a nuanced understanding of spatial dynamics, an appreciation for organic forms, and a profound respect for materiality, prioritizing meticulous attention to detail to achieve refined harmony, distinguishing her work in both the local and international design spheres.

Kaelen Haworth is a Torontonian professionally grown in New York with over a decade of experience in Creative Direction, Content Creation, Styling, Merchandising, Production and Design. After moving home to Toronto with her family in 2020, she made the switch from design to curation and opened Absolutely Fabrics in September of 2023. AF is a place of discovery - carrying brands that have little Brick and Mortar exposure in the market, marquee brands with strong client following, and archival vintage hand-sourced from Paris. 

Odessa Paloma Parker is a writer, editor, stylist, educator, public speaker and content strategist based in Toronto. She is the Art Editor at The Globe and Mail Style Magazine, and a fashion/art columnist at OMG Blog. In 2022, she founded the culturally focused platform Opaloma, which has become a go-to resource for art appreciators interested in what’s new and notable in both local and international galleries and cultural institutions, restaurants and retail scenes.

Throughout her career – which has included masthead roles as Fashion News Director at FASHION Magazine and Fashion Editor at The Globe and Mail – Odessa has interviewed some of the most beloved and exciting names in style and the arts. Her journalistic expertise has been acknowledged by a National Magazine Award nomination, and her styling has contributed to NMA award-winning photo shoots. She has served on the nominating committee for the British Fashion Awards for several years and provided commentary for outlets including the CBC’s The Current and CTV News.

Odessa also goes by the moniker DJ Weird Dad, playing gigs including the Manolo Blahnik: The Art of Shoes exhibition opening party at Bata Shoe Museum, private client events for Chanel, and the opening party for the David Bowie Is…. exhibition at the Art Gallery of Ontario.