Gallery (s)hopping

Last night was the official opening 'do' for the AGO's Shop, so I headed down for a peek at what's on the shelves. I know, I should really have arrived early and toured the whole AGO, and I will - promise - I'm not quite as crass as infamous PR flack Edina Monsoon (of Ab Fab fame), who firmly believed that museums would be so much better if everything was on sale...

The store has quite the selection of fab stuff - I loved all the Frank Gehry pieces on show as well as the witty/cool references to all the Douglas Fir used in his design of the gallery, like the curly-whirly trivet below, and let's not forget the slew of artist designed limited edition t-shirts either (put me down for one of those) as well as tons of pre-framed art and a whole section with creative gear for the kiddies too. (Exterior image courtesy of the AGO)

 

Vintage bananas

You might have guessed from reading the blog, and if you've seen me working the aisles at charity shops hither and yon, that I am seriously bananas about vintage furniture and accessories. It's an innate thing for me, having been dragged happily along to antique markets and church rummage sales from a v. young age (I started collecting Art Deco at the age of 12). So you probably won't be surprised to hear that I used to live above a vintage store - Zig Zag - in Toronto's Leslieville. The apartment was ridiculously cheap; freezing cold in the winter, boiling in the summer, with only a dribble of water pressure and a crack house for neighbours. Needlesss to say I spent lots of time downstairs in Zig Zag, hanging out with Joe, the owner.

Joe recently closed his last store and moved Zig-Zag a block or so west where he re-opened this past weekend at 985 Queen Street East. He has such a great eye, which is why I was drooling over a pair of swanky mirrored end tables that would look fab in my new place. Joe, can you put them on hold for me? lol. Take a boo below at some of the gear on offer.

A coat conundrum

'Tis the time of year for puffy coats and woolen scarves, at least in our neck of the woods. And, if you're like us, you've got a petite hall closet that's already crammed to the gills. So heaven forbid anyone pops over for a cup of hot cocoa - Where on earth are we gonna put all their bleedin' coats?

I've spotted a few solutions around town and thought I'd share: Urban Outfitters offers a bit of a retro classic with their Coming and Going coat rack that's available in a veritable rainbow of 7 colours. West Elm gives it with a natural, branchy feel for their sculptural Tree coat rack. DWR goes modern classic and wall-mount with the slightly Sputnik looking Eames Hang-It-All. And finally, for a trad touch check out Home Depot's Pewter Wall Hooks by Nystrom, all for the princely sum of $17.97 for the set of 4.

Now you've no excuse for hanging coats on the floor...

 

Honey, my key won't work

I've featured some pretty amazing interiors in Flare Magazine, but the one below is a total favourite. In fact, when I first scouted it, I accidentally let slip that I might move in and change the locks, lol. This gem of a house, hidden away in a Toronto suburb, is owned by photographer John Cullen and his talented wife, Martine Blackhurst, who's a stylist and vintage shopper extraordinaire.

Of course John shot the place, capturing beautifully all the light and colour that fills each room. Martine is responsible for the wit and style of the interiors; she snagged much of the furniture and accessories from thrift stores, eBay and antique markets, lugging stuff home from as far afield as Mexico. The house has great architectural bones, and luckily most of the bells and whistles hadn't been ripped out or mucked up over the years - like that skylight-topped teak coffered ceiling in the living room, and the old-school glam mirror tiled wall in the dining room (there's another skylight in there too, sigh...).

Click here to take a look at the rest of John's portfolio - his shots of India are mah-vellous. And y'know what? I still might move in...

Good cause, good art, good beats

What are you doing tomorrow night? Nothing, and you're in Toronto? Okay, well I've got something for you to hit up that's for a super good cause - It's the Cape Town Shakedown Fundraiser and Art Auction at Studio Gallery out on College Street. Head there between 7-11pm on the 20th for a silent auction on a slew of edgy and cool donated artwork from more than a dozen artists and hang to the beats of a couple of DJs. All the money raised is for The Cape Town Children's Scholarship Foundation: a not-for-profit charitable group that will award scholarships to poverty stricken kids living in the Khayelitsha Township, outside of Cape Town. Go, donate, bid, drop some cash and have a good time.

Take a peek at some of the artwork on offer below from Jesi The Elder and Ndeur (I'll get back to you about who's behind the Paris shot), as well as shots of those deserving kids in the Townships, and click here for more info on the event.

Update on 2008-11-19 18:09 by Arren

Just kindly heard back from Shannon Elizabeth Murphy from the Cape Town Children's Scholarship Foundation - That glorious shot of the Eiffel Tower is by Marlowe Tatiana Grandaos.

Old dogs and rockers

Apologies for posting later than normal, today has been a bit nuts-o. The steel beams arrived at the house early this morning so I was hanging around watching the install as long as I could before totally freezing my you-know-whats off (I'll be posting shots of the install later). Now I'm back at my laptop and have just polished off Style Scout for the National Post after running to grab a door handle for a shoot for House & Home. Phew, no rest for the v. wicked...

I thought it would be fun to post a couple of recent vintage finds. The first is a totally cool teak rocker that was quite the steal from a seller on Kijiji. It's destined to be re-upholstered for a mod nursery makeover that I'm working on for CityLine. The second are a pair of beyond fab Foo Dogs grabbed from a local Goodwill. $12 each, you can't beat that with a stick. They'll be used in an upcoming shoot I'm working on with a photographer friend of mine Stefano Barbera. And don't worry, I'll be sharing the shots once they're done.

Feeling small, but pretty

Affordable art alert!!! Art Interiors (yes, they are one of my fave galleries) is just about to debut their latest show, the 15th Annual Festival of Smalls. Prices start at a way affordable $30 and max out at $250 at the top end for all sorts of beauties. Click here to shop online, and take a peek below at a few of my picks by Beverly Owens, Lizzie Vickery and Susan Fothergill.

 

Present-ly

Finding gear that's cool enough to be instantly giftable takes up a fair bit of my grey matter this time of year. Myself, and many of the folks I know, have been exhaustively hunting for the unusual and new, the special and the intriguing. In other words, gifts for the person who has everything.

Roseland Gallery is definitely worth a visit if you've hit that proverbial present wall. The place is always quite the cabinet of curiosities and this season is no exception - Françoise and Dante have tracked down scads of artful goods that include quirky snowglobes from artist Jeff Koons (whose gigant-o sculptures have recently graced the roof of the Met in NYC), standout vases by Mendini and Gatti and a flock of sweet pewter birds. You can put me down for a snowglobe, or maybe a pewter parrot...

  

Turning 40 (and still hot)

The Sacco chair caused a sensation when it was first intro'd by Zanotta in 1968. The designers behind Sacco - Piero Gatti, Cesare Paolini and Franco Teodoro - were inspired by the idea of an Italian peasant's mattress stuffed with chestnut leaves and hit upon a way to update it for the mod generation. Since then it's become an iconic 60's object, ending up in design museums (and living rooms) around the world.

Now La Commedia Del Sacco, an exhibit of the chair in 40 haute couture fabrics has been off touring the world, but, if you miss out on seeing it in New York, Paris or Tokyo you can luckily check out the whole thing online here - love the original advertising shots. And, if you fancy your very own Sacco, stop in at Inform Interiors in Vancouver, they'll hook you up. 

 

Green is good

While we're dealing with some scheduling issues on our reno (the windows are arriving after the kitchen = ugh) a couple of cool projects dropped into my inbox and I thought they were worth sharing. Moss Sund Architects did a brill job on both these Toronto homes.

Neither are new builds, they're both modern and thoughtful renos of modest family homes that maximize green solutions - Each has geothermal heating, is designed for passive solar heating and is kitted out with a green roof and rain harvesting system. And, everything used on the homes was locally sourced, recycled material.

The first is an update on trad High Park brick home with a 2-storey addition. The second took a Beach bungalow and gave it a modern second level (love those cedar shakes). Click here for more info and to take a boo at the interiors.

Animals allowed

When it comes to cleaning I'm allowed to do one job - vacuuming - so I have quite the close personal relationship with our Dyson. I can never quite believe how much stuff it can pick up, even in our teensy temporary apartment (are we really that filthy, lol???). Ours is the DC23, a compact canister version that brilliantly fit in an under-counter cupboard in our old kitchen; gotta love that smart design.

Up next from Dyson is a new handheld called the D16 Animal that would be totally handy right about now (we're about to start Pug sitting). This smart rechargeable cookie is designed with a powerful motorized head to make merry with pet hair, and Harley the Pug, lawd love him, sheds like mad. The D16 Animal hits shelves on Nov 15th.

Walls need style

Am I out to wallpaper the world, one wall at a time? Maybe, lol. I'm always happy when more of the good stuff is available so news that Graham & Brown is debuting a collection of papers at Lowes made me perk up my ears. Fashion for Walls is a collection of highlights from G&B's Superfresco Easy, Umbra and Monsoon. Patterns are fashion forward, styles are in-stock and application is a snap (all are Paste The Wall products).

Check out one of my faves below, Colada from Canadian design firm Umbra - love the black and white modern mash up of that historical motif. Get shopping!

Table tip

Mid-century wonks take note; have you heard of Lunar Lounge? They're based out of Winnipeg and have a collection that includes seating and storage, but it's their tables that I think are super sweet. So go ahead, hook your pad up with kidney and boomerang shaped tables available in a slew of sizes, wood finishes and colours. And, if you're feeling handy, order their hairpin legs to create your own table (I'm thinking of a rustic slice of wood), they come in 4 heights and 3 finishes. And yes, Lunar Lounge will happily ship across North America.

Fresh gear, daily

Okay all you design geeks, listen up - Design Within Reach is setting up a sweet program that might just be your cuppa tea. From Monday Nov 10th, and daily for the following 5 weeks, DWR: Limited will offer a first-click-first-served limited edition product. It could be vintage, it could be new, but one things for sure; there's a good chance that your mates won't have the chance to get their sticky mitts on what's on offer (giving you major design bragging rights).

The buzz on what might appear includes a Christmas tree that's more sculpture than kitsch, organic toys made in Vermont, masking tape that would make any modern Martha happy, a vintage typewriter to tap out love notes and a classic chair gussied up by fashion darlings. I'm intrigued.

Take a sneak peek below at a few of the things that might make the cut, including an original vintage 40's Eames plywood leg splint (just about the coolest and quirkiest thing that could hang on your wall). Click here to sign up!

   

Stay home

You'll have to wait until 2012, but there'll be quite a swanky new hotel/spa/condo project popping up at Richmond and John - the Gansevoort Toronto. And none too soon; currently any attempt at counting off great places to stay in Toronto invariably only takes one hand (and you probably won't need your pinkie).

This project, from looks alone, is on my radar - I love the fact that it's trying to stand out and not disappear into the blah that marks most Toronto towers. This is the third Gansevoort in the works; NYC was the first in the uber-fashionable Meatpacking District, followed up by Miami, and now Toronto. Like the others, the rooftop will feature a heated pool and bar. Hmmm, Prince played a secret rooftop concert at the NYC location recently, I wonder what they have in mind for here?

Nail or coat hanger?

Affordable artwork, and people actually slapping art up on their walls, is one of the coolest major trends in design. With the advent of Etsy, and great local galleries like Art Interiors, buying art that you like doesn't have to be intimidating or fusty in any way; a huge break from the old days when walking into a gallery would have involved a staring contest as the person behind the desk sized up your net worth with x-ray vision (nasty).

But, would you buy the art and wear the matching t-shirt? Ummm, I would, lol. Online music retailer Insound got together with designer Jason Munn to create the Insound 20; a run of 20 different limited edition posters, matching t-shirts and hoodies inspired by a bunch of Insound's favourite bands. Cool? I think so. And yes, they ship to Canada.

 

 

 

Swing that poodle

Scouting for Canadian House & Home's Trendwatch page is my version of a snap-happy wild goose chase. It's fun, never the less, and I always enjoy hitting a bunch of stores across the city to see what's going on.

Yesterday, while I was hunting for a bit of ____ (I can't give it away, honestly I'd be hung, drawn and quartered), I popped into AT Design's newly opened space on Huron Street, a few steps north of Dupont. It's a change for sure - the original AT on MacPherson is chic-ly stuffed to the gills with hardly enough space to swing a poodle, while this spot is a way larger.

Have a look below for a feel of the place. This season Arminé and Therese are mixing up hi-gloss lacquer, lots of white, gold and silver, organic influences, Mondrian, Fornasseti and Michael Aram. Lovely! 

It's a print thing

I have a total thing for Marimekko. It's the intense colours and graphic punch of their designs that just manages to make me hot under the collar, no matter whether it's one of their latest designs (like the beyond gorgeous leopard print below) or one of their classic 60's patterns. It's all good.

So, I'm extra peeved that Canada's first Marimekko Concept Store hit land in Vancouver which, unfortunately, is way off track for me (I'm in Toronto). How mean?!? Well, at least it's a little better on my bank balance this way, lol. For those of you that don't live out on the beautiful West Coast (though luckily they'll ship across the country), some of Marimekko's gear can be found in stores like Ministry of the Interior as well as Crate & Barrel.

Take a peek below at a few of their current offerings that grabbed me. Both of the fabrics, Kumiseva and Kaiku, would make brilliant wall art. Sininen Gepardi is that leopard print, available as fabric as well as the quite affordable dishware, and both the Tuuli bed linen and Fokus apron hit the nail on the head with their on-trend black and white combo.

   

Feeling modern

One of my favourite resources for lighting is Rejuvenation, they're a total go-to for fixtures that have a vintage charm, no matter what the period. And they're completely customizable too, so if you're in the mood for copper rather than nickel then they've got you covered. The newest release for their Satellite line is a collection of authentically styled mid-century modern hardware. Unfortunately this means more vintage furniture will be following me home from charity shops, garage sales and consignment stores since, up until now, ugly hardware was a total deal breaker.

Check out the hardware below - the knobs, handles and backplates are all available in Polished Chrome, Brushed Chrome and Oil-Rubbed Bronze - as well as a couple of their standout light fixtures that are on the cards for the new place.

On the tiles

While we've been waiting for that steel beam to arrive for the main floor work has been happening on the master bathroom. Yay! A step or two closer to actually getting finished and moving in; I can't tell you how exciting that actually is!!! Yep, definitely a 3 exclamation mark moment.

I'd worked on the design and picked out the finishes and fixtures a while back (they're all special order from Home Depot) - 

The tiles are all Daltile; the large rectangular ones are for the main bathroom floor, while the mosaic is for the shower area. Mantova, that's the name of the swanky hi-gloss Carrera marble look tiles, will go from floor to ceiling.

Ummm, is it weird to get excited about a toilet? Oh, the joys of home ownership, lol. Kohler's Purist Hatbox toilet is the bee's knees, add in their Oblo wall-mount faucet and the WaterTile ceiling-mount shower fixture for the walk-in shower (there'll also be a Purist hand shower in there) and, well, I may never leave...