Toronto-based artist, designer and ceramicist Carly Waito was born in Manitouwadge, Ontario in 1981 and grew up in Thunder Bay. She is a graduate of the Ontario College of Art and Design.

In 2004, Waito co-founded the ceramic art and design studio coe&waito with Alissa Coe. The partnership was known for its elegant and minimalist table top products, carried by a wide range of international retailers as well as sculptural installations and lighting, with an eye to the natural world for inspiration.

After moving on from coe&waito in 2009, Waito turned her attention to her painting practice, exploring an interest in geology, geometry, light, and a sense of wonder and curiosity – themes which were uniquely encompassed by the tiny mineral specimens which became her subjects until 2015.

With the birth of her daughter in 2015, Waito’s focus shifted for several years, and she became a full-time decorative arts designer with international interior design firm Yabu Pushelberg until 2020.

In recent years, Waito has gravitated towards traditional still life painting, and is currently focused on textiles as a primary subject. She has also recently returned to ceramics, with a focus on wheel-thrown functional pieces and exploratory surface design.

Previously represented by the (now closed) Toronto-based gallery Narwhal Contemporary, Waito has participated in a number of group exhibitions, including Little Crowns (Dec 2009) and The Dazzle (Oct 2010) and Moon Room (2014) at Narwhal Contemporary (Toronto), and Plus 1(2011) at Sloan Fine Art (New York), as well as three solo exhibitions, Specimens (2011) and Microgeographica (2014) at Narwhal Contemporary and at Definitely Superior Art Gallery (Thunder Bay, Ontario, 2015). Waito also exhibited with Narwhal Contemporary at several art fairs, nationally and internationally including Aqua Art Miami (2009, 2011), PULSE (New York, 2012), Papier (Montreal, 2013), and Art Toronto (2013). She is the recipient of grants from the Ontario Arts Council.

Waito has been featured in several publications, including Fragiles (Germany, 2008), Rocks and Minerals Magazine (USA, 2013), Uppercase Magazine (Canada, 2013) YEN (Australia, 2013) and ELLE Canada (2014). She has completed commissions for commercial clients such as Kvadrat Textiles (Denmark), and The Four Seasons Hotel (Toronto and Dubai). Her work is held in private collections in North America, Europe, and Australia.