Nelda Rodger, co-founder and Editorial Director of Toronto-based AZURE Media team, passed on January 4, 2023 after a long illness.
Over the past 38 years, Nelda poured her passion into Azure, which also meant nurturing the local design community, embracing the international design world and bringing them together on one unparalleled platform. In the pre-Internet age, and before design blogs, Pinterest and Instagram — and long before “design” itself was as much a known quantity in Canada as it is today — she championed the possibilities of design, of showing the innovative work of both established and emerging talents, and of doing it all with an intellectual vigour and an ambitious visual style.
“Magazine rivalry aside, Nelda’s passion for design and architecture played a huge part in advancing Canadian design,” says Martin Spreer, Senior Publisher of Canadian Interiors magazine. “Having worked together for many years, I know her excitement and curiosity for all things beautiful made her a mentor to many, including myself. Her contributions to the design industry will always be remembered and all of us at Canadian Interiors would like to express our sincerest sympathy to Sergio, Francesco, Matteo and the family. Godspeed Nelda.”