{giveaway} Sarah Richardson fan decks signed by Sarah + Tommy

Hot on the heels of the fantastic/exhausting/inspiring IDS I have a super-duper fun giveaway for ya! Yep, you have the chance to win one of three Sarah Richardson Designer Palette by Para Paints fan decks personally signed for you by both Sarah and Tommy. Not only that, one grand prize winner will walk away with a gift certificate for enough Para Paint in Sarah's scrummy colours to re-paint a whole room - 1 gallon of ceiling paint, 1 gallon of primer and 2 gallons of eggshell. The other two winners will receive a gift certificate for a gallon of Para Paint in one of Sarah's tints (which comes in 75 lovely shades, available across Canada at Lowe's and select retailers), plus all three winners will receive the addition of a little fun extra swag from SR's hit shows on HGTV. Sweet indeed!

Here are all the deets:

To enter for a chance* follow these easy steps -

Prizes: One grand prize that includes a Sarah Richardson Designer Palette fan deck personally signed by Sarah and Tommy, a Para Paint gift certificate for 1 gallon of ceiling paint, 1 gallon of primer and 2 gallons of eggshell (redeemable at Para's dealer locations), and assorted other items. Two other winners will receive Sarah Richardson Designer Palette fan decks personally signed by Sarah and Tommy, a gift certificate for a gallon of paint (redeemable at Para's dealer locations) and assorted other items. 

1. Leave a comment below the contest blog post (please include your email where asked) explaining why you'd like to win, before Tuesday Feb 8th, 2011, at 12pm EST. 

2. One grand prize winner and two other winners will be chosen by a random number generator and will be announced by email and as an update to this post on the morning of Wednesday Feb 9th, 2011, at 9am EST. Good Luck! 

*NO PURCHASE NECESSARY  Void where prohibited. Odds depend on number of applicants who participate. Participants may enter the contest by following the steps mentioned above by Tuesday Feb 8th, 2011, at 12pm EST. Applicants must be of the age of majority in his/her province or territory of residence or older at the time of entry to participate and win. Contest open to Canadian residents, excluding residents of Quebec. Contest winner will be announced on ArrenWilliams.com, contacted via blog post comments, and must correctly answer a skill-testing question to win a prize. 

Sign that Panton!

So tonight is the big Opening Night fun-fest for the IDS, and one of the funnest (is that a word?) parts of the evening is the unveiling of all of the customized white Panton chairs that will be auctioned off in support of Casey House. You'll see twenty of the modern classic chairs re-interpreted by everyone from Anwar Mekhayech, Matt Davis and Allen Chan of The Design Agency (get a sneak peek at their chair here) to Sarah Richardson and Tommy Smythe. Sarah, Tommy and their intrepid team have been lugging their Panton chair all over the place asking just about everyone in the design community to lend their support and sign it. Take a close look tonight and you'll see the signatures of folks like Miles Redd, Glenn and George of Yabu Pushelberg, Kirk Pickersgill and Stephen Wong of Greta Constantine, plus - as you can see from the caught-in-the-act snaps below - Tommy, Samantha Pynn and Suzanne Dimma. That is one well travelled chair! For more deets on the auction click here.

Oh, and keep your eyes peeled - I'm working on a fun Sarah Richardson giveaway for next week!

Lath and plaster and carpets

While this weekend is going to be bananas, it's also definitely gonna be fun. One thing that I'll for sure be doing on Saturday is checking out all the hot design openings for Do West Design that'll be happening along Dundas West between Bathurst and Grace. One must-see for me will be the collaboration between a couple o' friends of mine, Bev Hisey and Donna Griffith, that'll be happening at R.A.D. 899 Dundas West. Bev has been going through a major home reno and was so inspired by the lath and plaster discovererd during the demolition that not only did Donna capture it on film (take a look at some of the gorgeous pics here), Bev also created carpets with the same look and feel. Click here to get a Do West Design postcard and map.

There's tons more happening in the city for the IDS and the Toronto International Design Festival so I'd suggest a little pre-planning is in order. You can download a TIDF guide and discount passport here, and for more info on off-site design shenanigans (with parties, exhibits, lectures and maps) you can download a Toronto Design Offsite app for your iPhone here.

The gig is up

I got to meet Davide Tonizzo last year while I was hosting a Pecha Kucha Toronto design talk down at Harbourfront. Davide was super nice, especially since I totally mashed up his name while running through his bio. Now, with the Interior Design Show about to crash land in Toronto this weekend, Davide got in touch about his latest work, a multi-functional piece called Gig which'll be debuting at the show. It looks like a perfect solution for a small space, and is designed to easily flip from seating to lounging to sleeping. Oh, and his stop-go animation music video (that's DT playing) is extra fun as well.

And, in case you're planning on being at the IDS on Professional Trade Day this coming Friday, be sure to catch another Pecha Kucha Toronto talk happening at 5pm, with the likes of photographer George Whiteside, artist Bruno Billio and architect Brigitte Shim.

IDS Design Weekend with Arren Williams {giveaway}

Well this should be fun! The lovely folks at the Interior Design Show have organized a fantabulous prize for the much anticipated IDS11 happening Jan 27-30. Yep, you've got the chance to win an IDS Design Weekend with Arren Williams (errr, yes, that's me!). Along with 2 tix to the Opening Night shindig, you'll get 2 tix to my Arren Williams Up Close & Personal Talk (presented by Graham & Brown and Crown Wallpaper & Fabrics) which also include entry to the show, and 2 swanky nights at the InterContinental Toronto Centre hotel!

Here are all the deets:

To enter for a chance* to win an IDS Design Weekend with Arren Williams (2 IDS Opening Night Tickets, 2 tickets to the Arren Williams Up Close & Personal Talk, and 2 nights stay at the InterContinental Toronto Centre), follow these easy steps: 

1. Leave a comment below the contest blog post (please include your email where asked) explaining why you'd like to win, before Monday Jan 24th at 12pm EST. 

2. The winner will be chosen by a random number generator and will be announced by email and as an update to this post on the morning of Tuesday Jan 25th at 9am EST. Good Luck! 

NOTE: The prize does not include transportation.

*NO PURCHASE NECESSARY.  Void where prohibited.  Odds depend on number of applicants who participate.  Retail value of prize $518.00. Participants may enter the contest by following the steps mentioned above by Monday Jan 24th, 12pm Eastern time.  Applicants must be of the age of majority in his/her province or territory of residence or older at the time of entry to participate and win. Contest open to Canadian residents, excluding residents of Quebec. Contest winner will be announced on ArrenWilliams.com, contacted via blog post comments, and must correctly answer a skill-testing question to win a prize.  Contestants may send a self-addressed stamped envelope to 10 Alcorn Avenue, Suite 100 Toronto, ON  M4V 3A9 to enter for a chance to win.  Rules are available upon request. MMPI Privacy Policy.