TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Travel and sustainability-first lifestyle brand Monos today announced the opening of its second retail location, allowing more guests to experience the high quality, award-winning and beautifully designed suitcases, bags and accessories in person. Following the opening of its flagship store in Vancouver last year, the newest storefront will be located on the vibrant Ossington Avenue of Toronto’s Little Portugal (111 Ossington Avenue Toronto, Ontario, M6J 2Z2).
“We are excited to weave ourselves into the dynamic tapestry of the Little Portugal community through our Ossington store. With our roots firmly planted in Canada, we are thrilled to share that this is just the beginning,” said Victor Tam, Co-Founder and CEO of Monos. “Come next year, we are set to take our immersive retail experiences to the global stage with eight new stores across the U.S., kick-starting with none other than New York City and Chicago.”
Monos Ossington draws inspiration from the ephemeral beauty of fleeting moments and invites guests to embark on a multi-sensory journey. Designed in collaboration with established interior and concept design studio Ste Marie, the store’s interior is influenced by a gentle surrealist interpretation of Portugal’s pousadas, evoking a dreamlike quality through its soft, sweeping forms and carefully curated material palette.
At the heart of the room, flanked by monoliths of split-faced cottonwood limestone, a singular olive tree stands against a dramatic light feature of illuminated, stretched fabric. Extending from behind the tree and rising up into the ceiling, the backdrop bathes the space in a soft, diffuse, and transcendent glow. Artful plinths formed of honed Turkish Rainbow Onyx give way to a delicate water flow, an ode to the inextricable connection between humanity and the natural world. Softly encased wall niches, adorned with subtle Italian Onice Avorio Striato stone, showcase Monos’ curated collection of products.
"At Monos, we pride ourselves on connecting humanity with the simplicity of nature through our design ethos. Our collaboration with Ste Marie to transform the Ossington store into an immersive space is truly special,” says Hubert Chan, Chief Creative Officer and Co-Founder at Monos.
“We know memory, experience and design influences how we feel in a space,” adds Craig Stanghetta, Principal Creative Director at Ste Marie. “With this in mind, we set out to tell the Monos story of awe and craft a world that celebrates the moments of discovery that travel brings."
For the Ossington store’s opening weekend, guests will be treated to special refreshments in collaboration with its neighbours at Nutbar and an exclusive in-store limited edition gift with purchase for early customers. The store will also feature a custom installation created in partnership with local floral and plant installation designer, Lauren Wilson of Timberlost, and South Korean, Toronto based interdisciplinary artist Dahae Song; a portal that invites the viewer to cross the threshold and step into a realm where the boundaries between the physical and the metaphysical blur. This installation is an extension of Song’s ongoing travel photography series Becoming One, intended to capture evidence that people have not lost the intrinsic connection to nature. Through this collaboration, Monos has created a space that encapsulates its ethos of mindful travel, a recognition that the most profound journeys are often those that lead us inward.
For more information on Monos and its assortment of products, please visit https://monos.com/.
About Monos
Monos is a Canadian travel and lifestyle brand offering high-quality, beautifully designed suitcases, bags, and accessories, and inspiring people to travel in a mindful and present way – to embrace the journey as much as the destination. Thoughtfully designed in Canada with meticulous attention to detail, each Monos suitcase uses only the finest quality parts and materials sourced from around the world. Monos believes that in today’s throwaway society of mass consumption, more people are yearning for fewer but better things. With a ‘less but better’ design approach, Monos is on a mission to unite thoughtful simplicity with exceptional quality in its collection of premium travel goods. For more information, please visit monos.com.
About Ste Marie
Ste Marie, an established interior and concept design studio, offers glimpses into possible worlds. From meticulously crafted retail and immersive restaurants and bars to boutique hotels and community-shaping large-scale mixed-use projects, Ste Marie approaches their work with the same thoughtful distillation, transcending boundaries of time and boldly challenging the status quo. Known for their proprietary approach to developing immersive concepts rich in narrative and founded in authenticity, With work dotted throughout urban centres including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, Austin, Mexico, Vancouver, and Toronto, Ste Marie has established itself as a leader in guest experience and hospitality-inspired design.
