I am an Americano misto girl, simple but effective. I’ll get an iced coffee as a sweet treat on rare occasions. I love the date caramel latte from Nutbar. But my morning coffee has to be hot, even on the hottest day of the year.
What do you do for work?
I am the founder of In Corso Studio, a furniture showroom in Toronto specializing in celebrating and preserving 20th-century design. We focus on sourcing unique pieces, upholstery and restoration.
How do you usually dress for work?
I am a lover and consumer of fashion, but I find myself a repeat offender wearing the same clothes to work. I like to think of it in a ‘Jonathan Anderson’ kind of way; creative directors at most major fashion houses are notoriously in jeans and T-shirts. The truth is most of my job is messy, so the realistic choice has to be functional for the task at hand. This can be button-downs, knit sweaters, sneakers and trousers, all usually quite oversized. A lot of men’s wear influence, but I also love a skirt.
What is a tool or skill you didn’t expect you would need when you started this work?
It’s funny, everything related to restoration, imagery, and clientele came easily. But the most unexpected skills were operational. The accounting side of a vintage business is tricky. We have hundreds of SKU’s, subjective values, and our product comes from all over the place, usually purchased in cash. Most accountants and bookkeepers have a hard time wrapping their heads around it, so inevitably I had to learn. However, I’d advise any other creative who’s starting a business to do the same. Learn your accounting systems like the back of your hand. It’s your responsibility to understand it, no matter how mind-numbingly boring it is compared to the front end of your business.
What's something about quality or craftsmanship that you have come to believe through your work with In Corso studio?
Attribution doesn’t always equal quality. To build out our portfolio in the beginning, I focused heavily on the household names in design. Mostly to build a reputation for our business and define our position in the market. But feedback from our clients started to point towards trusting my own creative intuition, and sourcing purely based on what I find the most interesting. There are thousands of pieces of furniture that are handmade with an incredible amount of skill that aren’t on everyone’s radar. That being said, there are still many attributed pieces that have transcended their design period for a reason. As consumers of anything in life, it’s important to determine your own position within the relationship of quality, price and branding.
Is there a piece of furniture you regret letting go of? (Or, is there a piece currently in the showroom you're quietly hoping doesn't sell just yet?)
When I started, I had separation anxiety towards a lot of pieces. As the years go on, I usually have such a long list of pieces that I want to acquire. Once something sells, I am already thinking about 5 things that will take its place. We had a Percival Lafer MP41 sling chair that sold within an hour, I made sure to sit in it every day until delivery. Recently we had an Italian loveseat upholstered in this orange floral chenille that was truly out of this world. It will occupy space in my mind forever, but it also went to a great home.
What's the least glamorous part of your work?
I like to think we do a good job at making the world of In Corso appear beautiful, but 95% of our work is not glamorous. We spend most of our time meticulously cleaning furniture that has sat for decades in people’s homes. Spider webs, people’s forgotten belongings, crumbs in couches - it’s all part of our daily life. This is also part of our promise to our customers. We curate, clean and restore pieces so you can enjoy shopping vintage without having to worry about dirty upholstery, mold or any other major concern of buying second-hand.
When you’re not working, what do you like to do with your time?
Lately, work is a 7-day affair, but I approach that with so much gratitude. Having the privilege of loving what I do is something I don’t take lightly. I believe in phases of focus in life rather than traditional work-life balance. As a woman, it feels more natural to operate this way, knowing I’ll take my foot off the gas at some point.
We are closed on Sunday, and I’ll go to the antique market to source, or do some research at the reference library (my favourite place in Toronto). I love a Bar Isabel dinner with a Negroni and Basque cake. Lots of cooking, specifically the NYT Cooking app; I swear by it. You can find me waiting in the Bar Ape line most summer evenings.
This is hilarious as someone who doesn't have kids. Life got a bit too serious recently, and I convinced some friends to come to a playground and hit the swings. I can’t describe the serotonin it gave us. I am a big advocate for taking yourself less seriously.
Where/how do you gather inspiration?
Books! I started a Substack series called Print over Pinterest to share what inspires our practice. Being born in the late 90’s, merely a baby in the world of vintage and antiques, I realized our generational default of researching everything online is flawed. 90% of what existed before the internet hasn’t been digitized. So if you’re ever having a hard time attributing a piece of furniture, hit the books. Having a fashion design background, garment construction plays a huge role in my curation and upholstering projects. There is so much overlap between tailoring and furniture upholstery.
What's something that working with furniture has taught you?
Exercising creativity isn’t just for career creatives. Spending time developing your sense of taste will make you a better and more interesting person. I hear so many people who lean analytical/logical flatline when it comes to making a decision that requires their own creative agency. What do you like? What makes you feel something? What art speaks to you? Films? Music? No matter who you are and what you do, having a creative perspective will help strengthen every area of your life. That is a hill I’ll die on.
What's next for you, or for the studio, that you're excited about?
We are gearing up to expand into a bigger space. This space will mean focusing on more community events, collaborative work with bespoke furniture designers and artists, and fine-tuning our practice to be better. There is always room for improvement.
