Janis KRAVIS

1935 - 2020

JANIS KRAVIS Beloved father, grandfather, and friend to many passed away peacefully surrounded by his three sons on July 16, 2020 in the ICU at North York General Hospital. Janis lived a full and remarkable life. He was born in Riga, Latvia on Oct 20, 1935. He and his family escaped from Latvia during the war by fleeing to Sweden in 1944 where he lived until his family sailed to Canada in May of 1950. Janis and his family moved to Toronto where he met the love of his life, Helga Braslis, and together they embarked on an amazing life together. Janis is survived by his three sons, Leif (Donna Ashley), Nils (Jennifer Howard) and Guntar (Blair Harley) his grandsons Anders (Michelle Base-Bursey) and Ashton, and his sister Gundega. Janis joins those already departed: his wife Helga and his parents Arvids Kravis and Laima Mednis. Janis was a visionary architect and designer. He was dedicated to integrating beauty, function and sustainability to bring joy and aesthetic while leaving the world a better place. Janis obtained a B. Arch. Degree from the University of Toronto in 1959. Notable projects included: Three Small Rooms (Windsor Arms Hotel), Four Seasons Hotel (Belleville), along with the Constellation Hotel (Toronto). In addition to designing the interiors for the Three Small Rooms, Janis also designed the furniture. His three-legged chair was included in the 2016 exhibition "True Nordic: How Scandinavia Influenced Design in Canada" at the Gardiner Museum in Toronto. Janis was also an entrepreneur, founding the Karelia retail chain in the 1960's. Karelia introduced Canada to Scandinavian and European designers - including Marimekko, Artek, Haimi, Muurame, Arabia and Iittala - by selling unique furniture, textiles, clothing, housewares and décor. https://www.karelia.ca/ The relationship between Janis, Helga and marimekko was a special one where they became close friends with marimekko's founder Armi Ratia and her son Ristomatti. Armi visited Canada for Janis' 40th birthday party at the family farm in Beaver Valley and they shared many fond memories. Some of the correspondence between them was included in the hugely popular exhibition "marimekko, with love" where all content was drawn from Janis' archive and first displayed at the Textile Museum of Canada in 2013. The show travelled in 2015 to The Art Gallery of Greater Victoria and in 2018 to the Nordic Museum in Seattle, Washington. More recently, Janis was proud to support his son Leif and his wife Donna in launching the Scandinavian-inspired Karelia Kitchen in Bloor West Village. Thanks to all who participated in the Gladstone Hotel party in 2019. Janis often said he felt that was a celebration of his life. In lieu of flowers, a donation can be made in his name to the North York General Hospital Foundation 416-756-6944. http://nyghfoundation.ca/ways-to-donate/in-honour-or-memory/ Janis' motto was to live life to the fullest and his passion was contagious to all those that met him or attended one of his many celebrations. Janis will be remembered as a visionary, entrepreneur, architect, designer, dancer, husband, father, grandfather and an original influencer - exposing so many to so much. He lived and loved by his own words: "SHARING IS!".