SUITE 505
A Nomad's Hideaway
Text by Alex Newman                              Photos by Douglas Spencer
​Welcome to Suite 505.

For more than forty years, I have travelled throughout North and South America, Africa, Europe, Asia and Australia -- to every continent with the exception of Antarctica.

Besides taking photos and videos, I returned with a wide variety of travel artifacts.

My one bedroom apartment in Toronto is now stuffed with ​​
​fabrics, shoes, headgear, masks, carvings, baskets, bowls, hats, and bags from around the world.

To paraphrase Alex Newman, many of these things are the artistic expressions of other people's lives...my unique way of stretching out the journey.

Feel free to wander about my hideaway and share in the pleasure these artifacts bring to me and my friends.

Douglas Spencer
Toronto, Ontario
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​​The corridor of Doug Spencer's ordinary North York apartment building is long and narrow with dark green carpet and a row of identical doors.

​It's the very picture of drabness and temptingly anticlimactic to what lies in wait behind the door of suite 505.
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Just inside the door it's dark and shadowy.
Entrance to the Apartment
Embroidered Dress, India
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Mask, Kalimantan, Indonesia
Carving, Papua New Guinea
Fertility Mask, West Africa
Wedding Garment, Mongolia
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The back of a display case covered in a Moroccan carpet, creates a passageweay to the rest of the apartment.
Moroccan Carpet
Toraja Beads, Sulawesi, Indonesia
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Mask, Indonesia
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Grass Skirt, Central African Republic
Monkey Skull Necklace, Nagaland, India
Acupuncture Figure, China
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The case is filled with a colossal array of travel artifacts: shoes, headgear and masks, carvings, baskets, bowls, hats, bags.
Japanese Mask, Indian Goddess, Huli Warrior
Miao Children's Hat and Shoes, Yunnan, China
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Tattoo Kit, Sarawak, Malaysia
Cabinet of Natural Curiosities
Jawbone, Papua New Guinea
Polar Bear Skull, Labrador, Canada
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Dragon Puppet, India
Crocodile Skull, Ghana
Ifugao Headdress, Philippines
Ancestral Skull, Papua New Guinea
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Pressing past the case, and through a doorway Spencer fashioned himself, you enter a living room that explodes with light and exuberant colour.
Mask, Ghana
Dogon Hat, Mali
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Bwa Sun Mask, West Africa
Cloak, Uzbekistan
Baby Carrier, Vietnam

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Silk Blouse, China
Baby Carrier, Vietnam
Monkey Skull Hat, Philippines
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Monkey Skull Knife, Philippines
Indian Embroidery
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Brilliant green, red, yellow and orange Kente cloths from Ghana adorn every inch of wall.
Green - vegetation, planting, harvesting, growth, spiritual renewal
Red - political and spiritual moods; bloodshed; sacrificial rites and death
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Yellow - preciousness, royalty, wealth, fertility, beauty
Gold - royalty, wealth, high status, glory, spiritual purity
Black - maturation, intensified spiritual energy
Grey - healing and cleansing rituals, associated with ash
Blue - peacefulness, harmony and love
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Maroon - the colour of mother earth, associated with healing
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Layered over those are dresses from China, India and Vietnam, plus headdresses, masks, puppets, shields and colour photos.
Miao Dress, China
Rabari Dress, India
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Black Hmong Dress, Vietnam
Kalimantan Shield, Indonesia
Headdress, Indonesia
Colour Photos
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Evening the ceiling is covered wtih vibrant textiles -- a camel cover from India, plus a crossbow Spencer purchased from Pygmy people in Africa, hats, arrows, spears, shields and even a zebra skin.
Camel Cover, India
Dogon Mask, Mali
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Indian Quilt
Arrow, Brazil
Ger Crown, Mongolia
Zebra Skin, East Africa
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Arranged here and there -- one side tables, on the fridge, in the bathroom -- are native Indian mukluks, small framed appliqued blanketsfrom the Panamanian Kuna people, a Burmese offering bowl, a leather bag from the Tuareg people of Saharan Africa, a wedding hat from Afghanistan, boots from Mongolia, Bhutan and Uzbekistan, and piles of photo books.
Mukluks, Canada
Kuna Applique, Panama
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Burmese Offering Bowl
Tuareg Leather Bag, Niger
Mongolian Boots
Embroidered Boots, Uzebekistan
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In the bedroom, there's an homage to 1800s explorers, as well as a corner devoted to early filmmaking.
Homage to 1800s Explorers
Metallophone, Java, Indonesia
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Medicine Box, Kalimantan, Indonesia
Rabari Embroidery, India
Carving, Sulawesi, Indonesia
Wooden Door, India
Shark Jaw, Canada
Kuba Cloth, West Africa
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Camel Harness, India
Paddle, Indonesia
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Draped over every chair are blankets given to Spencer from people in every Naga village he visited in northern India.
Chair covered with Naga Blanket
Naga Blanket, India
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Naga Blanket, India
Naga Blanket, India
Naga Blanket, India
Naga Blanket, India
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Kilims in brilliant oranges, reds and golds from Morocco, Iran and Afghanistan cover every inch of floor spaces, sometimes two or three deep.
Moroccan Kilim
Afghani Kilim
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Iranian Kilim
Iranian Kilim
Iranian Kilim
Iranian Kilim
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Miao Embroidery, China
Shield, West Africa
Mask, Papua, Indonesia
Indian Painting
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Spencer calls the profusion of textiles as "a multicultural montage, Asia layered over Africa."
Embroidery, Vietnam
Embroidery, Vietnam
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Bead Work, Kalimantan, Indonesia
Embroidery, China
Embroidery, East Timor
Baby Carrier, Kalimantan, Indonesia
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Wire Dish, South Africa
Wire Dish, South Africa
Embroidered Bag, Uzbedkistan
Wedding Hat, Afghanistan
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Miao Necklace, China
Afghani Cloak
Carving, Kalimantan, Indonesia
Embroidery, Central Asia
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Thanks to the visual sense that accompanies his experience as a photographer and videographer, Spencer understands composition and colour.
Native Headdress, United States
Miao Embroidery, China
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Voodoo Flag, Haiti
Indian Quilt
Ankle Leggings, Vietnam
Kutch Embroidery, India
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Travelling not only broadens the mind, opening you to new experiences, Spencer maintains, it also teachers you things about yourself, because at every step of a voyage of discovery, one responds in different ways.

Then there's the part about carrying back the artistic expressions of other peoples' everyday lives -- Spencer's unique way of stretching out the journey.
Buddhist Mask, Tibet
Silk Robe, Bhutan
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Akha Headdress, Laos
Literary Travel Library
Basket, Saudi Arabia
Saddle Bag, Central Asia
Hat, Kalimantan, Indonesia
Rattan Basket, Asia
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Rabari Blouse, India
Miao Bracelet, China
Mask, Nepal
Work Table
Weaving, Bhutan
Mask, West Africa
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Dogon Door, Mali
Buddha, Cambodia
Ikat, Sumba, Indonesia
Monk's Hat, Bhutan
Religious Icon, Guatemala
Wood Carving, Thailand
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Embroidered Pillow, India
Religious Cross, Ethiopia
Native Boots, Canada
Opera Mask, Japan
Mask, Cambodia
Headhunter Basket, Kalimantan, Indonesia
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Mud Cloth, West Africa
Weaving, Laos
Paddle, Benin
16 mm Camera
Weaving, Mongolia
Mask, West Africa
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Shield, Papua New Guinea
Painted Gourds, Ghana
Silk Banner, Tibet
Weaving, Iran
Weaving, Central Asia
String Curtain, West Africa
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Indian Embroidery
Weaving, West Africa
Egyptian Bust
String Bags, Papua, Indonesia
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Ethnic Painting, China
Gorilla Skull, Central African Republic
Indian Quilt
Rattan Hat, China
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Indian Embroidery
Weaving, Palestinian Territories
Mask, Papua, Indonesia

Weaving, Iran
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Mask, Brazil
Alpaca Wool Blanket, Peru
Beading, Indonesia
Mask, Kalimantan, Indonesia
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Alex Newman is a freelancer specializing in architecture and design, urban planning, environment, and family issues.  Her work has been published in three Toronto daily papers, several national consumer magazines and corporate websites.  She can be contact through alexnewmanwriter.com.
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​Gemini nominee Douglas Spencer is an independent television producer and founder of DBS Productions Incorporated, a production company committed to producing high-quality Canadian television programs.

His latest projects include developing two websites www.dougsvideo.com and www.dougspencervideo.com featuring vidoes he filmed from around the world.

Another recent project was the 39-episode Off the Map television series -- a co-production with Gorica Productions Toronto -- featuring ordinary women exploring extraordinary places in which Doug was nominated for a Gemini (now called the Canadian Screen Awards) for best direction in an information program or series.
​Off the Map first aired on the Women's Television Network in Canada and The Travel Channel in the United States.

It also aired on CTV Travel, the Discovery Civilization Channel, Access Alberta in Canada and Women's Entertainment in the United States and The Travel Channel in the United States, France, Spain, Japan, the Czech Republic, Hungary, United Arab Emirates, Italy and Australia.

In addition to producing and directing television, Spencer has written several books including Under One Sun, the Career Awareness Kit, the Futures Kit, Learning Spaces: A Handshake with the City, Networks, and Quesitons Kids Ask For Those Who Care To Listen.
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Travelling not only broadens the mind, opening you to new experiences, Spencer maintains, it also teachers you things about yourself, because at every step of a voyage of discovery, one responds in different ways. 
Then there's the part about carrying back the artistic expressions of other peoples' everyday lives -- Spencer's unique way of stretching out the journey.    ​​  - Alex Newman