The 8th annual Interior Design Show West – or IDSwest (Western Canada’s annual premiere residential design exhibition) is on the immediate horizon, set to attract over 28,000 design geeks, decorators, architects, and consumers over three days (September 27th to 30th) next week at the Vancouver Convention Centre West. This year the celebrated, much anticipated show will feature 350 exhibitors together with their products and services. The x-factor that makes it so attractive? Everything is vetted by the organizers for quality. No brooms. No mops. There’s always an incredible range of things to check out, but we’ve zoomed in on the five that we’re especially looking forward to…

Opening Night

Vancouver Fashion Week is once again tasked kicking off IDSwest with three fashion shows (7pm, 8pm, 9pm) on opening night (aka the design party of the year). On the catwalk will be new looks by designers from London, Paris and Vancouver (). We’ll also be able to get our first glimpse of the Bocci Bar (see below). Score your ticket here.

The Bocci Bar

We’re stoked to see the much-hinted at (but still secret) 2,000 square foot “Bocci Bar” by Inform featuring an installation from Bocci creative director Omer Arbel. We’re told that it will be centrally located on the IDSwest floor, which is to say magnetic and hard to miss. Arbel, you might recall, did the stunning ceiling installation at the recently opened Tacofino on East Hastings (seen above). If it’s remotely like that and writ large…wow!

Piero Lissoni | Viva Italia

World-renowned Italian architect and product designer Piero Lissoni is not only doing a 1,200 square foot, custom-designed installation with brand partners Porro and Living Divani and Vancouver retail partner, Livingspace, he’s also one of the Azure Trade Talks presenters at the GE Cafe Trade Day (Sept. 28th, 5pm).

For nearly 30 years Piero Lissoni and his company Lissoni Associati have collaborated with many of the world’s most prestigious international companies and have designed everything from a yacht for Luciano Benetton to the Ferrari Club House at the Fiorano Race Track, the showrooms and corporate identity for Elie Tahari, hotels from Amsterdam to Jerusalem, and collections for Kartell, Boffi and Glas Italia.

It’s Lissoni’s first time to Vancouver, and he’ll be talking about his approach to design and what inspires him.

Studio North

Feel the house-pride well up inside you at Studio North, our favourite slice of IDSwest showcasing locally-made, independent, world class design from well known aesthetes and not a few up and comers. We’re excited to see what Dina Gonzalez Mascaro has in store, and to check out all the limited edition custom pieces and furniture by Ella + Elliot, Luprints, Matthieu LeBlanc, Shibang, Ox + Monkey (seen above), Mario Sabljak, among others.

Future Masters Vol.3

The taste-makers at Artsy Dartsy curated this year’s crop of talent for Vol. 3 of Future Masters, a collection from rising stars spanning the ceramic, furniture and industrial design disciplines. Look out for Amirhessam Mohtasebi’s House of Sand and Fog, Darcy Greiner’s Basalt Alt Tableware, Calen Knauf’s Flight Lamp, and Andreas Eiken’s Rain Chair. For more details, check out futrmstr.co.

Of course there’s a lot more to see and do at IDSwest, and we’ll be seeing you there!