Art and travel have been constants throughout John Doherty’s life.
For this week’s edition of People of Collingwood we 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 St. 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.
I’m doing a book signing on Sept. 21 at 3 p.m. at the library. People can come and buy the book there.
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.
For our feature People of Collingwood, we speak with interesting people who are either from or are contributing to the Collingwood community in some way, letting them tell their own stories in their own words. This feature runs on CollingwoodToday every weekend. If you’d like to nominate or suggest someone to be featured in People of Collingwood, email [email protected].
