Entrepreneur Steven Levy launched shows that influenced craft, fashion and design

Toronto serial entrepreneur Steven Levy could put on a show. He launched what is now called the One of a Kind Show in 1975 and the Interior Design Show in 1999, both of which are still running. He also started other consumer and trade shows, including INSPIRE! Toronto International Book Fair, the Schools and Skills Show and the Festival of Canadian Fashion.“He was a showman and an entrepreneur, and he knew what a good show looked like. Really importantly, he knew what it should feel like,” says Phillip Ing, whom Mr. Levy recruited from a small, club-level fashion show in the 1980s to run the Festival of Canadian Fashion.