I’m typing this on the bus because otherwise I’d never get it done. I spent at least 3 hours writing it on the bus, and now it’s written so enjoy! Plus there’s a bit of extra nonsense at the end. 
I was supposed to write up an entry over the weekend, but I figure I might as well compile the whole weekend into a nice jolly post.
This weekend was Portes Ouvertes Design Montreal and in two days, I managed to look at 15 design studios. I think that’s pretty impressive for two days. On Saturday, Vinny and I took the metro down to the Old Port and checked out the likes of Dynamo, Sid Lee, Orangetango and a few other studios. Saturday was such a beautiful day! We also bumped into a few of our fellow design classmates so it was nice to see a familiar friendly face.
Dynamo was the first place we checked out. They have a button maker where kids could make their own buttons. I ended up making one myself. I also secretly took pictures of their restroom because the decor is fabulous! The walls are covered in vintage matchbook covers and on top of the toilet, there were matches and little tea candles.
At Orangetango, they served macarons and made little posters of people in circus clothing for free. Unfortunately, I don’t think the girl who was working on the file really knew how to do things properly because I look quite pregnant in my photo. If only she rotated and enlarged my image! Other than that, it was a really fun experience and we got pretty sweet souvenirs for the day.
(vinny!)
This is the second time I’ve walked into Sid Lee, and once again it never fails to blow my mind. Their office is just so full, busy and colourful. I kept making mental notes of what I’d want in my dream studio space. Including blackboard walls and emergency beer on the shelves. We talked to a really sweet girl who told us about a few of the current accounts they are working on, and a little bit about how she ended up in Sid Lee. We also took a look at Sid Lee’s current boot camp where candidates were living and interacting in that space for about a week.
On the way to check out a few more studios, we passed by two dead birds and different places. So many poor dead birds in the Old Port…And also we also passed many angry-looking cyclists. You don’t want to get into their path. :s On Sunday, we went up to Mont Royal and checked out architecture firms and a few studios like Vast, Dept, Écorce, Atelier Big City. This time we went with a giant group of friends because they had a day off from work. Olia, Frank, Kerry and Omar joined Vinny and I this time.
Ecorce had people painting purple illustrations and cartoons on their walls, and gave out free stickers and postcards of their Cirque de Soleil posters. Someone wanted to take my photo with the posters to put on their Facebook page, I’ll look for it so I can show you 
I was particularly excited to see Atelier Big City because Howard Davies, one of the three people working there was one of my design professors at Concordia University. I went to say hello and asked him about the current projects they are doing, which is revamping the library in NDG and creating a new apartment.
By the end of the day, I was exhausted. Walking around all day in Montreal in heels can be a little tiring, ya know? But I’m glad I decided to do it. It’s a once in a year opportunity to see what the top designers are doing and to take a look in their creative workspace. It fuels my dream to work with these creative people!
On a totally random and creeper note: here’s a sneaky photo I took with my camera using the reflection of my ipod of the guy sleeping next to me on the bus :p
Should YOU be in my comic?
(
//contact me