When Melanie Egan invited me to speak today, I accepted with pleasure.  And while my interactions with Jean may not have been as frequent as many of yours, I feel that she was a good friend and close colleague.

On my last trip to Toronto, I was talking with Melanie about today, and wondering about what I would say.  I thought that I might start by saying “I remember the first time that I met Jean Johnson.”  But the reality is: I don’t remember our first meeting.  Somehow, Jean Johnson seems to have always been there.

When I was working at what was then the Burlington Cultural Centre, I was taken to the Design Department Store in Village by the Grange—managed by Jean.  There I found—what we would now call—a perfectly curated selection of functional objects ready for purchase.  I returned there frequently—buying items for my own use as well as for others.  As with Jean herself, the Design Department Store was ahead of its time.

I remember being with Jean when she helped jury Ontario Craft 89.  The Ontario Crafts Council had recently moved into 35 McCaul Street, but construction was not yet completed (it was summertime, and the air conditioning wasn’t operational yet).  We spent several warm days reviewing the hundreds of entries.  Jean had positive things to say about almost everything, and she could identify the makers of most of the submissions—even if was supposed to be a “blind” jurying.  However, Jean was also not going to include anything in the final selection that was below par—no matter how much she liked the maker.  Jean set high standards—both for herself and others.
Jean’s omnipresence wasn’t limited to crafts and design.  In the early 1990s, my friend Robert Brown and I frequently attended performances by the Canadian Opera Company at, what was then, O’Keefe Centre.  During the intermissions, Robert and I would stroll through the lobby, under that amazing York Wilson mural, and chat with people one or both of us knew.  I remember the evening that I introduced Robert to Jean.  After our brief conversation, Robert turned to me and exclaimed: “What an amazing woman—and such great glasses!” Jean was a woman of style.

I felt Jean’s presence outside of the country as well as here in Canada.  A few years ago, I was attending a conference at the British Museum, and had asked Tanya Harrod if we could get together for lunch.  Instead, she invited me around to her house.  When I arrived, I was surprised to find Glenn Adamson sitting waiting in the living room; a bit latter, Alison Briton joined us.  What united these three craft “heavyweights” that night was that they all asked after Jean. Jean Johnson epitomized craft in Canada to people around the world.
I was in London again on the day of Jean’s funeral so, unfortunately, I was unable to attend.  That morning, I got up early for my run and, in honour of Jean, decided that I would run through Bloomsbury.  I made certain that I ran along Red Lion Square, where William Morris first tried his hand at furniture design and making.  If I couldn’t be at her funeral, I knew that Jean’s presence would be there—near the presence of her beloved William Morris.

Yes, Jean was in Bloomsbury that morning with me; Jean was always, in fact, everywhere.  I will miss her.

Alan C. Elder
Curator, Craft and Design
Canadian Museum of History

 – shared by Alan on the occasion of “A Tribute to Jean”
 July 22nd, 2014 – Lakeside Terrace, Bill Boyle Artport, Harbourfront Centre