Rodrigo Andrade is a self taught artist and designer. His first apprenticeship had him shadowing his engineer/mechanic-father as a trailer mechanic, from a young age. He then pursued a long-time desire by diving into hair design in the avant-garde world of Coupe Bizarre in the mid 90’s then moving just across the street to W Lifestyle where he’s been finessed his trade for over a decade. In March 2016, Rodrigo left W to follow his dream of working for himself and launched UPPER 751 Parlour.

Through encounters at the salon, his desire to deconstruct and reconstruct was born and this propagated an abundance of creativity that had been locked away for many years. It created an appetite to dabble in fashion, film, television, photography, illustrative art, graphic art, furniture design and upholstery. Rodrigo was very fortunate to have shadowed some outstanding people in those fields, allowing him to experience them hands-on, without formal training. These experiences made him conscious of the infinite possibilities that manifest when working with others.

Rodrigo was born in Santiago, Chile, then moved to Canada and was raised and schooled in Mississauga and Guelph. He moved to Parkdale as a young man and has made his home in Toronto ever since. Currently, he has teamed up with Kiran Thind of Cherry Bomb Vintage as her upholstery apprentice and partner, also producing events at his home studio and gallery, UPPER 751. The idea grew from his previous studio/gallery, Bodega House, which hosted art, music and film events on College Street. In 2013, Parkdale Trading Company evolved from this collaboration as a means to combine their talents and eventually launch a storefront showcasing locally produced goods & services including vintage, design & upholstery.