Hi Indiegogo!
We are the Toronto Design Offsite Festival (TO DO), an annual week-long festival that promotes and celebrates innovative design and inspiring ideas in Toronto.
Click here to see updates on this campaign.
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We are a collaborative team of designers and thinkers in Toronto, producing the Toronto Design Offsite Festival with a strong desire to connect with like-minded people, create a unique platform to share ideas, and engage in dialogue about design, with a focus on emerging practices and new work … all within a city-wide celebration.
Last year alone, we had over 40 different public events and exhibitions, from design workshops to experimental installations and prototypes, and design parties and curated exhibitions. With the help of our dedicated team, this volunteer-run Festival, has grown organically and exponentially since our launch in 2011.
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Taking place in January, our Festival focuses on innovative and emerging work in industrial design, interior design, site-specific installations, architecture, and graphic design. This is an exciting opportunity for the public to come into direct contact with contemporary design in its diverse forms, for a new generation of designers to get inspired, and to meet local designers and makers, as well as designers from across Canada.
Through this campaign, we are telling you our story, and inviting ALL OF YOU to be a part of our community, and help strengthen and expand the Festival to continue to do what we do best, and to make this coming year the best week to date.
2013 Festival Stats
Number of participating show grew over 200% to 42 events, exhibitions, workshops and window installations at city-wide venues including the Ontario Crafts Council Gallery, Design Exchange, OCAD U Student Gallery, 6 events at the Gladstone Hotel including the 10th year of Come Up To My Room, and 10 events in the Junction neighbourhood.
2013 Web Stats
- Annual traffic increased 242% to 125,161 total pageviews
- Web traffic during the festival increased 260% to 40,295 pageviews
- Google organic searches increased 219% from the previous year
IF WE MEET OUR GOAL, WHERE DOES THE MONEY GO?
Ever since we started, with our dedicated team, we've proven that we can produce something with an amazing spirit and reach. Now that we are going into our 4th year, it's time to finally pay our staff and work on our year-round programming including public installations, talks, and workshops.
If we meet our goal, we will be able to boost our resources to produce the Festival for 1 year (including promotion of our growing number of shows, modest wages, design and printing of the annual guide, website and iPhone App, equipment, research materials, videography and documentation). In 2013, almost all of our exhibitions and events were free to attend, and there were nearly 300 participating designers.
Our goal is to place Toronto on the map, alongside other major city-based art and design festivals in the world, and that's why we need your help. We want to continue to create collaborative environments, and encourage cross-pollination among independent and emerging designers who otherwise may not have the chance to exhibit and promote their work.
AND WHAT IF WE RAISE MORE THAN OUR GOAL? AMAZING THINGS CAN HAPPEN.
If we go above and beyond our goal of $20,000, there's plenty of motivation to keep going! We have lots of ideas for awesome things we could do to make to the 2014 Festival the BEST WEEK TO DATE.
We want to bring designers from other cities to Toronto, and expand programming to include film screenings, open studios, student shows, and public installations.
EVERY DONATION COUNTS, AND WITH INDIEGOGO, YOU CAN DONATE ANY AMOUNT!
PERKS:
In the spirit of the Festival, we partnered with some very talented designers and thinkers to put together special thank you gifts that offer not only physical rewards, but also unique experiences to connect with like-minded people, to entice you to donate and participate in the making of the 2014 Festival. Here's a breakdown:
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D.I.Y. Object template #1 and #2 are exclusivley designed for this campaign by Miji Lee of imm Living. Miji Lee has created a DIY Object template of votives. These are no ordinary votives, they have an illustrated pattern and are a playful design that are stackable and changeable in their appearance. Use them without a tealight and they instantly become an art object for your desktop.
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A limited edition silk-screened tote bag: As part of this campaign, we partnered up with Toronto-based graphic designer, Jay Wall of STUDIO JAYWALL, to design this special tote bag just for you. The bag will be silk-screened in Toronto, and will be ready to ship to you by September 2013.
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Pop-up Food & Beverage Lab Visit: Spend an evening with food foresighters Irwin Adam Eydelnant and Jarlath Byrne Rodgers of i & j ideations to explore the intersection of food, design, and technology. Their agency focuses on the conceptualization and implementation of food futures, traditions, and insights drawing on their background in food, art, science, technology and simple fun. Adventurers interested in exploring the future of food and beverage will participate in a creative pop-up laboratory seeking to deconstruct common food experiences into unexpected formats. (Happening in Toronto, Canada only.)
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Bullet Candle by Fugitive Glue: Limited edition box of 7 magnificent hand-crafted, beeswax candles designed by FUGITIVE GLUE and made using a Lee Co. mold of .500 Smith & Wesson Magnum bullets (12.7 mm). 30 minute burn per round. Made in Canada.
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Hot Pop Factory small collectible: This exclusive 3D printed "T" and "O" is not just designed, it's actually generated with code! This little piece of digital art embodies the rapidly evolving marriage between technology and design. Fabricated with love from Hot Pop Factory's Toronto studio, this collectible can be hung on a wall, seated at your desk, or even strung on a necklace as bling!
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Play the Walk collector's package: a psychogeography map of West Queen West Triangle + 5 postcards + train-pressed Pennyzine + some edible plant seeds + surprise photo of the neighbourhood that forms a collection of items that tells the story of a neighbourhood in Toronto. This project recently won the 'Grow Op' Jury's choice award as a unique work that explores new dialogues about landscape, art, and the city.
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Salvaged wood candle holder: designed by Ian Devenney, carved out of logs originally used as gates in the Trent Canal lock system.
YYZ Pillow: A limited edition 20”x20”
YYZ
pillow designed and hand printed by
Nicole Tarasick exclusively for TO DO.
A feature article: Be a member of our TO DO family, and share your story with the world. Send us photos of your recent projects, or your studio space, your website, your daily inspirations, and we will feature you on our website.
Ninutik Maple Sugar Tasting and hands-on demo: Join Richard Brault, co-founder of Ninutik Maple Sugar, for a tasting and hands-on demonstration of maple sugar making. Learn about the various aspects of the maple harvest and how pure maple sap is transformed into syrup, butter, soft sugar wafers, cubes and granulated sugar. You'll taste light and dark syrups from Ontario and experience the influence of the terroir on flavour. During the tasting, Richard will transform syrup into pure granulated maple sugar for participants to take home.
Bookbinding workshop: In this private session you will learn how to make a book with Lisa MacDonald, graphic designer and bookbinder, at the ALSO Collective studio in Toronto. All the materials are generously provided by ALSO Collective.
Sponsor a designer: This is a unique opportunity to support a designer or collective, and give them free registration to our 2014 Festival. Your name will be recognized as a sponsor of their show, and you will receive a personal note from the designer.
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CNC workshop: A private CNC demonstration and talk with artist and designer Scott Eunson at his Toronto studio + one of his ‘Surface Forms’ objects for you to take home. 'Surface Forms' is a textural environment that evokes the scaling, fractal patterns seen throughout nature. Using refined and optimized pieces, developed over many iterations, a natural structural form emerges -- an organic minimalism. 'Surface Forms' was part of the 'Special Delivery' exhibition at IIDEX Canada 2012, which transformed 18-wheeler truck interiors into site-specific, immersive installations.
A unique object: One-off designer objects that are selected on a first come, first serve basis. (2 selections below plus more to come. See these in-person at our Countdown Party in Toronto on Monday, June 24 at the Gladstone Hotel.)
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Object 1: Table Lamp by Alissa Coe is a one-of-a-kind production sample of the Aluminum Table Lamp designed for Manufacturers + Designers Connect. Sparkling natural tumble finish with brushed stem. Light bulb included. Intended for bedside table or side table use. Made in the Toronto area by Ontario Foundry and Lighting Nelson and Garrett. Retails for $900 CAD.
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Object 2: By My Side designed by Lana Filippone is a one-of-a-kind wall piece made of porcelain, gold lustre, and vintage decals.
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Your name printed in our 2014 Festival guide: your name will be recognized on the printed 2014 Festival Guide as a contributor, and an opportunity to experience the best of the Festival through a guided tour led by two of our team members during January 20-26, 2014.
HELP US SPREAD THE WORD
Share this campaign with your friends. Our hashtags are #todo14 #fundtodo
Here's a sample tweet:
@todesignoffsite is going #indiegogo for the production of the 2014 Festival http://bit.ly/13f0N1n #fundtodo #todo14
Connect with us, and learn more about the Festival: Newsletter | Facebook | Twitter | Website
THANK YOU!! XOXO