Canadian made furniture in Toronto is having a real moment, and a handful of studios are leading it. MSDS Studio, Kate Duncan, hollis+morris, Coolican & Company, Stacklab, and Mjölk all design and build here, by hand or in small batches. This is who they are and what each one actually makes.
These are Toronto furniture makers with verifiable track records, not a directory of every workshop in the city. We’ve stuck to studios with named founders, dated histories, and work you can check yourself. Treat it as a shortlist for commissioning a piece, or simply as a map of who is building locally and building well.
MSDS Studio
MSDS Studio is the design-led name on this list. Founded in 2011 by Jessica Nakanishi and Jonathan Sabine, the studio works across product, furniture, and interiors, and it was named Azure Product Designers of the Year in 2017. If you want furniture that reads as considered industrial design, start here.
The credentials run deep. Sabine’s Opener, a wall-mounted bottle opener, sits in the permanent collection of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. That is a rare line on any Canadian studio’s résumé, and it signals the kind of precision MSDS brings to everything from a chair to a full interior.
MSDS is the studio to study when you care about design intent over decoration. See the work at msds-studio.ca.
Kate Duncan
Kate Duncan builds heirloom hardwood furniture meant to outlast its owners. She moved her studio to Toronto in 2019, and in 2017 she was named Western Living Designer of the Year. For solid-wood pieces built to be passed down rather than replaced, hers is the name to know.
Duncan’s reach goes beyond her own bench. She founded Address, the design tradeshow, which puts her at the centre of the Canadian maker community rather than just inside her own workshop. That dual role, builder and convenor, is part of why her name carries weight in local design circles.
The work favours warm hardwoods and clean joinery over trend. If you want a dining table or a credenza that ages well, browse kateduncan.ca and weigh it against your space.
hollis+morris
hollis+morris is where furniture meets lighting. Founded in 2014 by Mischa Couvrette, the Toronto studio designs and makes both, which is unusual: most makers pick one discipline and stay in it. If you’re outfitting a room and want pieces and light from a single voice, this is a logical first call.
Working across furniture and LED lighting gives the studio a coherence that’s hard to fake. A table and the lamp above it can share a material language and a level of finish, because the same hands shaped both. That continuity is the practical case for buying from a maker who does more than one thing well.
It’s a strong fit for designers assembling a complete scheme. Review the catalogue at hollisandmorris.com and judge the range yourself.
Coolican & Company
Coolican & Company is the small-batch solid-wood specialist on this list. Founded in 2014 by Peter Coolican, the Toronto studio builds furniture in limited runs rather than at factory scale. For buyers who want the honesty of solid wood without a one-off commission price, it occupies a useful middle ground.
Small-batch is the whole point. It means pieces get individual attention without the lead time and cost of a fully bespoke build, and it keeps the work in solid timber rather than veneer over board. That balance of craft and access is exactly what separates a maker like Coolican from a big-box brand.
It’s a sensible starting point for a first serious furniture purchase. See current pieces at coolicanandcompany.com.
Stacklab
Stacklab is the experimental edge of Toronto furniture. Founded in 2013 by Jeff Forrest, the studio works in collectible and systems design, and it built Stackabl, a platform for felt furniture made from manufacturing offcuts. The studio has shown at Design Miami and TEFAF, two of the most demanding design fairs in the world.
Stackabl is the idea worth understanding. It turns industrial waste, felt offcuts, into configurable seating, which makes each piece both made-to-order and materially circular. That’s a genuinely different proposition from a wood studio, and it’s why Stacklab reads as design research as much as a furniture line.
This is the name for collectors and designers chasing something singular. Explore the platform at stacklab.ca.
Mjölk in-house editions
Mjölk is the Junction shop with its own furniture editions. Founded in 2009 by John Baker and Juli Daoust, the gallery-store produces in-house pieces alongside its curated Scandinavian and Japanese stock, including a line designed by Thom Fougère. For furniture made through Toronto’s most respected design retailer, this is it.
The editions matter because of the company they keep. Mjölk has collaborated with designers including Thom Fougère and Luca Nichetto, so its in-house line is shaped by an editorial eye honed on the best of Scandinavian and Japanese work. The result is furniture filtered through a clear, consistent point of view.
You’ll find it at the shop at 2959 Dundas Street West, in the Junction, and online at mjolk.ca. It’s as much a design pilgrimage as a furniture stop.
Where else to find Canadian-made furniture in Toronto
Beyond the design studios, two long-standing Toronto names build Canadian-made furniture at scale. Woodcraft has made handmade solid-wood pieces from Canadian trees for 43 years, and The Chesterfield Shop builds custom leather and fabric sofas bench by bench. Both are worth knowing if you want local production with a wider catalogue.
Woodcraft’s pitch is straightforward: solid wood sourced from Canadian trees, made by hand, sold across the country. For a dining set or a bed frame you intend to keep for decades, that pedigree is the draw, and the 43-year track record backs it up.
The Chesterfield Shop is the place for a Canadian-made sofa built to your specification. Bench-built upholstery in leather or fabric, made in the GTA, sits at a sensible mid-range price. For broader shopping options, see our guide to furniture stores in Toronto and our map of Toronto’s design districts.
Why buying locally made furniture matters
Locally made furniture buys you three things big-box pieces rarely offer: real materials, a maker you can talk to, and longevity. Studios like Coolican & Company and Kate Duncan work in solid hardwood, not veneered board, and a solid-wood piece can be repaired and refinished for generations rather than thrown out.
There’s also the conversation. When the person who designed the piece is in the same city, you can commission a size that fits your space, ask about finishes, and understand exactly how it was built. That access is the quiet luxury of buying from a Toronto furniture maker rather than ordering a flat-pack box.
The verdict is simple. If budget allows, a single well-made local piece will outlast a room full of disposable ones, and it keeps the craft economy in the city alive. Start with the studio whose work matches your space, then have the conversation directly.
Frequently asked questions
What furniture is actually made in Toronto?
Several Toronto studios design and build furniture locally. MSDS Studio, founded in 2011, makes product and furniture; Kate Duncan builds heirloom hardwood pieces; hollis+morris makes furniture and lighting; and Coolican & Company works in small-batch solid wood. Stacklab builds collectible felt furniture, and Mjölk produces its own in-house editions.
Who makes heirloom solid-wood furniture in Toronto?
Kate Duncan is the best-known name for heirloom hardwood furniture, having moved her studio to Toronto in 2019 and won Western Living Designer of the Year in 2017. Coolican & Company also builds small-batch solid-wood pieces, and Woodcraft has made handmade solid-wood furniture from Canadian trees for 43 years.
Which Toronto furniture studio has won design awards?
MSDS Studio was named Azure Product Designers of the Year in 2017, and co-founder Jonathan Sabine has work in the permanent collection of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Kate Duncan won Western Living Designer of the Year in 2017. Stacklab has exhibited at Design Miami and TEFAF.
Where can I buy Canadian-made furniture in Toronto?
You can commission directly from studios like MSDS Studio, hollis+morris, and Coolican & Company, or shop in-house editions at Mjölk, 2959 Dundas Street West in the Junction. Woodcraft sells handmade solid-wood pieces, and The Chesterfield Shop builds custom Canadian-made sofas across the GTA.
