You probably already know Adrienne Butikofer’s name. She’s been grinding on the Toronto fashion circuit since 2003, and has become well-known for her pattern making and playful, colourful, and graphic designs.
The designer grew up in Winnipeg and had wanted to be a designer nearly all her life, so enrolled herself in fashion school and moved to Toronto.
She began to design and make a name for herself in the Toronto fashion industry, first with an indie line called Caninja then gaining popularity for her Skinny Sweats label in 2012. Many were drawn to Butikofer’s attention to detail and focus on finishings.
Instagram/@hey.okayok
For each line that she created, she included a piece of herself and hoped that retailers would become just as passionate about her designs.
During this time, this is when Butikofer laid out the blueprint for her current brand offering, OKAYOK sharing with StyleDemocracy, “the name comes from the feeling of ease and fun that is at the core of my work.” OKAYOK officially launched in 2017 and since has been a staple at Toronto’s One Of A Kind Show, and a top seller at Coal Miner’s Daughter and the Drake General Store.
Butikofer wanted to re-imagine everyday staples by evoking certain feelings in her customer base.
Etsy
She explains that while she is a fan of high fashion, “I am on Tumblr and Pinterest, and I have a library of vintage craft and sewing books that really inspire me as a maker.” It has found Butikofer designing a riff on the Canadian classic Northern Reflections logo, with the same sweatshirt silhouette ($150) or some beautiful tie-dye shirts, where she sews four older pieces together ($85) — just to name a few.
Other fan favourites such as a polka totes, have been sent to retailers all across Canada and the brands Cloud Sweatshirt. “I like my work to be relevant to what is happening in fashion, but also connected to my own perspective as an artist and designer.”
Since the brand has grown, Butikofer decided to recently expand by opening a brick and motar shop in the Junction Triangle, close to her home.
Instagram/@hey.okayok
She mentions that since becoming a mom to two daughters (in 2009 and 2011 respectively), she wanted to create something in the community where she lived and it would help make her work-life balance more manageable being closer to home, noting to StyleDemocracy, “We make the majority of our product offerings right upstairs from the shop – it’s hyper local and ideal for me as a hands-on designer.”
The new space, which they are calling the ‘work//shop’ in part because they work upstairs, and the shop is downstairs has breathed some fresh life into Butikofer.
In the future, she plans to host some tote workshops (likely in the fall) and is excited to launch the fall 2019 collection called ‘Handy Woman’. “We have a new colour palette, some new cuts, and we’re experimenting with mixed media printing.” Until then, Butikofer is excited to keep creating and making in her brand, new space.
OKAYOK
When I ask her to look back at her experience in the industry and what she would recommend to others, she notes “Try to get as much diverse experience as you can. There are so many areas to work in the fashion industry, it doesn’t begin and end with design.”
Featured Image: Instagram/@hey.okayok
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Big news! There is a huge new community coming in the space between Toronto’s Bloordale, High Park, Junction Triangle and Roncesvalles neighbourhoods. If anyone remembers, it’s where the Zellers used to be.
The Project is located on a 10-acre site at the southeast corner of Dundas and Bloor and is expected to be HUGE. Get ready for even more condos (because we don’t have enough already) and retail shops. We’re hoping for more green spaces and gardens!
Given the current state of the strip mall, these plans look immediately promising and are sure to be an upgrade. Currently, the retail centre is anchored by a Loblaws grocery, LCBO, Kal-Tire, and Coffee Time.
Image via Choice Properties
Given the excellent transit options here, there’s also a desire to offer a significant amount of office space to go alongside with retail and residential buildings. Right now, the plan suggests that this community will have approximately 2,600 purpose built residential units ranging from 1-3 bedrooms, a portion of which will be dedicated to affordable housing.
Image via Choice Properties
More than 650,000 square feet of office and retail space will be spread across the site as well, making room for an expected 3,500 jobs and a variety of shops and services. Everything you could possibly need is going to be in one spot – LCBO, Shoppers Drug Mart, Loblaws and plenty of small businesses (which haven’t been named yet.) Sounds like smart thinking to me!
Image via Choice Properties
“New renderings illustrate proposed pedestrian connections to the TTC, Go Train and UP Express, as well as green space elements including a pear tree grove, a cherry blossom bowl, and terraced winter gardens.”
If you want to learn more about the project, there is an open house at 2280 Dundas Street West on Saturday, April 21st.
Featured Image: Choice Properties
Source: Blogto.com
What do you think about the new neighbourhood? Let us know in the comments!
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