OBJ STUDIO at shopAGO: A New Chapter for Design, Art, and Community at the AGO

At OBJ STUDIO, we believe objects can hold more than function.

A vase, a planter, or a tray can become part of a room’s rhythm. It can create pause. It can bring form, material, and place into daily life. This belief has guided our work from the beginning, and it is one of the reasons we are proud to share that selected OBJ STUDIO objects are available in person at shopAGO, the museum shop at the Art Gallery of Ontario.

Visitors to shopAGO can discover selected OBJ STUDIO vases, planters, and trays, designed in Toronto and produced in small batches using plant-based PLA. For us, this placement carries meaning. The AGO is not only one of Toronto’s major cultural landmarks; it is a place where art, architecture, design, and public life meet.

Now, shopAGO is preparing for a new chapter.

This summer, the AGO will begin reimagining its retail experience through a renewed Shop and Café, supported by the RBC Foundation Community Spaces Grant program. The new space will bring together art prints, books, Indigenous-designed products, and new opportunities for community connection. Construction is set to begin in late June 2026, with reopening planned for November 2026.

For OBJ STUDIO, this transformation reflects something we value deeply: the idea that design should be experienced, shared, and connected to people.

A Museum Shop as a Cultural Space

Museum shops have changed.

They are no longer only places to buy a souvenir at the end of a visit. At their best, they extend the cultural experience of the museum. They introduce visitors to artists, designers, publishers, makers, and objects that carry stories beyond the gallery walls.

shopAGO has long played that role at the Art Gallery of Ontario. It brings together books, prints, design objects, gifts, and works connected to the creative life of the museum. With the coming renovation, shopAGO is moving even further toward becoming a place of gathering — a space where retail, café culture, art, and community can meet.

For a Toronto design studio like OBJ STUDIO, that context matters.

Our work is rooted in the relationship between form, material, and space. Each object begins as a digital design and becomes physical through 3D printing, built layer by layer with plant-based PLA. The result is a collection of modern home objects that reflects both new technology and a slower way of seeing.

To be part of shopAGO means our objects can be experienced in a setting where visitors are already thinking about art, architecture, and material culture.

OBJ STUDIO Objects at shopAGO

Selected OBJ STUDIO pieces are available to shop in person at shopAGO, including:

Vases designed for sculptural presence and floral arrangements
Planters for modern interiors and greenery
Trays for everyday objects, display, and quiet organization

Each piece is designed in Toronto and produced in small batches. Our process allows us to reduce excess production, work with intention, and create objects that feel connected to both contemporary design and responsible material use.

Seeing our work in person matters. Scale, form, weight, and surface presence are best understood through direct experience. At shopAGO, visitors can encounter OBJ STUDIO objects within the wider world of art books, prints, Indigenous-designed products, and museum-led design selections.

It creates a meaningful bridge between gallery experience and home life.

The AGO’s Ongoing Relationship Between Architecture and Community

The Art Gallery of Ontario has a long history of using architecture to shape how people gather around art.

The AGO’s major transformation, completed in 2008, expanded the building by 97,000 square feet and increased art-viewing space by 47 percent. The project also introduced public-facing spaces including shopAGO, FRANK restaurant, the AGO café, and other areas designed to support connection between visitors, art, and the city.

That history gives the 2026 shopAGO renovation greater significance. It is not only a retail update. It continues the AGO’s larger commitment to creating spaces where people can come together through culture.

The renewed Shop and Café will build on this legacy at a more intimate scale. It will offer a place to browse, sit, meet, read, discover, and bring part of the AGO experience home.

Why This Moment Matters to OBJ STUDIO

As a Toronto-based design studio, we see shopAGO as more than a retail partner.

We see it as part of the city’s cultural ecosystem. It connects visitors with Canadian design, local makers, art publications, Indigenous-designed products, and objects that speak to how people live with art beyond the museum.

For OBJ STUDIO, being available at shopAGO places our work within a meaningful conversation about the future of design. It connects our plant-based material approach with a wider public space dedicated to creativity, learning, and community.

This is the kind of environment where our objects belong: not as trend pieces, but as quiet, lasting forms that invite people to slow down and notice the space around them.

Visit shopAGO Before the Renovation

Before construction begins in late June 2026, visitors can still visit shopAGO in person and explore its current selection.

Those visiting the Art Gallery of Ontario can find selected OBJ STUDIO vases, planters, and trays at shopAGO. Whether you are visiting the museum for an exhibition, browsing for a gift, or looking for a modern object for your home, shopAGO offers a meaningful place to discover design in person.

We are honoured to be part of that experience.

As shopAGO prepares for its next chapter, we look forward to seeing how the renewed Shop and Café will create more space for art, design, books, Indigenous-designed products, and community connection in the heart of Toronto.

For OBJ STUDIO, this is more than a retail moment.

It is a shared belief in what objects, spaces, and cultural places can make possible.