Art and travel have been constants throughout John Doherty’s life.
Village Media spoke with Doherty, 75, artist, environment advocate and retired window dresser.
Q: Where did you grow up?
A: I grew up in east Toronto, in The Beaches area. I went to high school on the border of Scarborough and Toronto.
After that, I didn’t want to go to university because I didn’t have the right credits, so I decided I would do some travelling.
I travelled for six months with my brother around Europe. We hitchhiked around, went to every museum, gallery and church.
I came back to Toronto with a new wardrobe, looking for a job in menswear sales.
In those days, it was quite easy to get a job. I applied for three positions at high-end stores in Toronto, and was accepted at two. A week later, the third one called me, too.
Q: Did you always know you had an interest in fashion?
A: Yes I did, but what I was into was art and travelling.
I worked with one company called Studio 267, which was a high-end boutique on Yonge Street for two years, but I didn’t think I wanted to do that for the rest of my life. They wanted me to do two jobs: display and selling.
I happened to be there at the right time. The owner had a dispute with the display person at the time, and there was a vacancy. They came to me because I had done some preliminary work with the displays.
The window was empty.
I worked until 7 p.m. that night putting a window together with six different displays. They told me I was hired and that’s what I’d be doing from then on.
That’s what I’ve been doing since.
I started in 1969 and retired three years ago when the pandemic hit.
I worked at Studio 267 for two years, and then travelled again for a year and a half in Europe, going to every country I could. I bought a car there and just travelled around.
When I came back, I continued freelancing as a window dresser. I did windows for a lot of Toronto stores, but I also did artwork and set-ups for things like conventions, large companies and advertising agencies.
I worked for Gucci, Max Mara and Marina Rinaldi and others on a contract basis. I worked five days a week plus for my 50-year career. Some of them retired when I did because I had been working for them for 20 years or more. It was an interesting thing because I was also constantly being challenged to try new things.
Through all this, I got married and had two children. I moved to Mississauga.
When the pandemic hit, I said that was it. The city was changing and traffic was horrendous.
I moved to Collingwood three years ago.
Q: What makes a good window?
A: Consider the time of year. You always want to do something that’s different. All my displays are different. None are standard. I was changing windows every two to three weeks on a rotation.
I had a small warehouse where I kept a lot of props, and I made most of them because I didn’t want standard ones.
I started doing art in the 1990s as props, but then I found I was selling them through the windows.
Q: What brought you to Collingwood?
A: My brother and sister-in-law had been living in Collingwood previously for a few years, and I was always visiting.
I came up regularly for the Elvis festival events, skiing and the hiking trails. That’s what drew me to Collingwood to buy. I couldn’t think of another place I’d rather live.
I would walk on the trails and people would say hi, or good morning. That doesn’t happen everywhere. People are so guarded.
In Collingwood, people are more relaxed and I found it was easy to make friends and get involved.
Q: How do you spend your time these days, now that you’re retired?
I play pool two or three times a week with the boys.
I was involved in environmental issues from the time I was 18. My wife and I would do clean-ups, we would go before council, and I worked on an environmental review for the expansion of the airport. It was fulfilling. I think we’re all responsible to make this a better world.
When I moved, in Mississauga they dedicated a tree to my wife and I for our efforts.
I have a second grandchild coming, and an eight-year old granddaughter. I want the world to be a better place for them.
When I moved to Collingwood, one of the first thing I saw – it might have been in CollingwoodToday – was an article about Mary Ellen Sheffield and Keep Collingwood Clean. I got involved in that. As a group, we presented before council recently.
There are things I can do here that I can’t do in a large town like Mississauga. I want to be able to do things that help right away. Being able to spend time and pick up a bag or two of garbage, I feel is very fulfilling and satisfying.
I have a studio in the basement of my house, and I have paintings at different stages. I have an exhibit open right now at the Collingwood Public Library.
I’ve probably painted over 150 different paintings, and I’ve sold a lot of them. I tend to paint nature. Sometimes I’ll donate paintings to non-profits to sell as a fundraiser.
I like skiing, but I fall carefully because I don’t want to get injured at this late stage.
Q: Can you tell me about your book?
A: My book is called 50 Years in a Window. It’s how I got involved in display and what I did. I made it as a coffee table book of pictures.
When the pandemic happened, I got a little antsy. I had so many photos of my work, and someone suggested I publish them. I had extra time then so I went through thousands of pictures and it took me a month just to group them into categories. It took about a year and a half. It includes my story about getting into display.
I’m self-taught and didn’t go to art school, although I took some courses in photography so I learned how to work with light. It can be challenging to find there are no limits, to do something different and better.
Q: Is there anything else you’d like people in Collingwood to know about you?
A: I’d like people to know that just because I’m from Mississauga and I’ve only been in Collingwood for three years; don’t judge me on where I’m from, but judge me based on what I do in the community.
Some people hold it against me that I’m not from Collingwood.
I’m all Collingwood. There’s a little bit of something here you can’t get anywhere else.
It’s where I want to be.
