fourONEsixSTYLE

I love seeing how Toronto Fashion Week evolves each season. Just looking through the schedule of events one can see the list of contributors is growing and morphing from a few fan favourites - Denis Gagnon, Andy The-Anh, Pink Tartan and Greta Constatine - to a sophisticated roster of Canadian talent. I’ll miss Izzy Camilleri this year but am excited by some fresh scene-stylers. Keep your eyes peeled for designs by Nadya Toto, Mellinda-Mae Harlingten and Tatsuaki. Newcomers Evan Biddell and Carlie Wong of Project Runway will have a chance to impress next week, while Russian designer Max Chernitsov brings some international flare to Toronto.

image by Toronto Street.

Less than a week after a tenacious fire tore through Queen West, Preloved is back in business. As of tomorrow a temporary store will open at 24 Ryerson Ave, in the basement suite, to showcase the spring styles that fortunately survived the blaze. Opening hours are Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 12-6pm.

Recently I visited the (now destroyed) store on Queen to take some pictures and ended up walking away with a refurbished blazer. The price tag was high - about $150 - but I knew I was going to have a one of a kind piece in my wardrobe. It’s what Preloved does best.

Last night champagne flowed and painted-white cirque-robats glowed while media types mingled in an interior design fantasy world at the preview for the Interior Design Show 2007. I was fortunate to gain entry into the magical kingdom for a sneak peek at the fanciful design in store for us this year.

As expected, the usual design stars - Debbie Travis, Lynda Reeves and Brian Gluckstein - will be there peddling their wares, but none seemed to offer any notion of innovation or inspiration, except perhaps what we can expect the next hot colour of the season to be. Travis’ “no photographs please” living space was decked in spooky black and orange. All I can say about that is “Boo!”

Moving away from the dens of domesticity, local Toronto designers were making a splash. Here are my top picks for Toronto design talent.

1. Adept with porcelain, artist Ken Gangbar, creates fluid sculptures and installations for clients from TO to HK. If you want to give ceramics a whirl too he offers workshops from his studio in Liberty Village.

2. Everything Queen East shop Up to You showed, I wanted to buy. Coolest are the wood carved clothes hangers depicting New York, Tokyo or Paris skylines, though they are $120 a pop and there’s no deisgn for TO. There is an “I Heart ______(blank)” sticker though. That’s where TO can go.

3. I was seriously blown away by the modern stand-alone apartment and eco-friendly fireplaces made by Ecosmart. No gas, no hard connection. Great for any place that needs a little warming up.

4. Utillity in a tile? That’s where Utilitile comes in. I found these walnut wood tiles in the prototype section. Following form and function is truly the way to a Danish girl’s heart.

5. Simple, practical shelving by Sheridan made a big statement. The statement is “I’m fun, and smart, dammit!” Made by, and for, students so it’s got to be.

The Interior Design Show takes place this Saturday and Sunday at the Direct Energy Centre, CNE Grounds. Tickets are $16 online or $18 at the door.

Among the other exhibitors at this weekend’s Interior Design Show is a smart Toronto upstart called Bookhou Designs. The two partners, Arounna Khounnoraj who focuses on textile and sculpture and John Booth who designs furniture, marry their talent to create beautiful handmade products for your home that seem so obviously Canadian in their adorable and unassuming way.

Pillows and playthings are adorned with owls, chickadees or meadow sprigs, while lamps and benches’ curvaceous lines appear playfully constructed. I’d seen their pieces about town in places like The Paper Place (887 Queen West) and Red Pegasus (628 College Street) but enjoyed browsing their site for a better look at what they do. I’d love to see Bookhou’s textile line grow to include bedding with the same bright prints they use for journals, as above. Stop by their booth at IDS07 to see what more is in store.

Well before the condo signs started popping up on Queen West, modern furniture boutique stylegarage had made its mark on the artsy neighbourhood. From its wrap-around windows lined with eye-catching lighting, the shop, on a quiet corner of Shaw, exudes muted and sleek sophistication. It was enough to draw me in. I’d been on a hunt for a wide and low television stand with large industrial wheels for awhile and decided to browse the boutique to see if I could find it.

Inside the design store, each modern line blended fluidly with the next, allowing their most stunning showpieces - made of grained walnut, oak, maple and douglas fir - to get full attention. Whether it’s their leather sofas characterized by topstitching you’ll love or chunky Canadian wood coffee tables it’s obvious they design furniture to last a lifetime.

Since I’ve always lived in old Toronto houses with little built-in lighting I get especially excited for modern lamps of any kind. One brushed stainless-steel wall-mounted piece caught my eye. The simple style mixed with a clear vintage bulb and exposed filaments (also sold at stylegarage) would look fantastic in any pseudo-industrial space.

Though I didn’t find exactly what I was looking for, friendly staff reassured me they could custom make most things. Seems they have a very close partnership with Toronto design manufacturer Gus Modern, the company that supplied the loft furniture for Martha Stewart’s prime-time show The Apprentice. While Martha’s run might be over you can still catch the design items at the Queen Street store or at the upcoming Interior Design Show - February 22nd to the 25th.

Last winter my Mags gave out on me, leaving a hole in my shoe between sole and leather. I’d had them for a few seasons and had put them to good use in the city slush. The sole is a good two inches up from the ground all the way around and made of rubber, perfect for Toronto weather. I’d hoped to get a new pair once this wintery weather started so I went back to where I bought them in the first place, Get Outside. It’s my favourite shoe shop, along with heel boy, and it was voted best shoe store in blogTO’s Best of Indie Toronto. They’ve got a ton of great trainers, like Royal Elastics which I love, but they didn’t have a pair of Mags in sight. They seem to have switched to something called Clarks but they’re not the same.

So now I’m stranded, with no winter boots to make my way home, and I can’t seem to find a pair in the city that’s got style but can also keep my feet out of the wet stuff. Even stranger is that many shoe stores are already pushing their spring line-up of strappy sandals. Where am I supposed to find my snow shoes now? Some friends have told me to make the hike to Trove on Bathurst, maybe they’ve still got some boots on sale.

photo: idiolector

According to Anita Clark’s website I want - I got, and mass emails quickly circulating around the city, Lululemon is having another huge warehouse sale. You can expect massive line-ups but also bargain prices for otherwise pricey yoga gear. I know the image of Lululemon-clad girls running about town has become a bit cliche, so if you’d rather avoid the stereotype Roots, Fila, and Old Navy offer yoga lines too.

Since I’m back on the yoga track, hitting Bikram classes a few times a week, I feel like I spend most of my extra time doing laundry. That’s one good reason to for me to pick up some more gear. Most of Lululemon’s yoga tops and bottoms are made with material that wicks away moisture too so it’ll be easier to handle the heat when my Bikram’s instructor jacks the thermostat to 40C+. You wouldn’t catch me dropping $50 for a bra top or $75 on stretchy pants so I think I’ll hit the sale like everyone else does to find some bargains.

See what people are saying about it on blogTO

Location: 473 Adelaide Street West.
Sale starts today and runs until Sunday
Everyday 10AM-7PM

For those who get totally stressed-out Christmas shopping I have one piece of advice - go local and stay out of the malls. Over the course of two rainy days I’ve found nearly everything I need in Bloor West, Parkdale and West Queen West, granted I’ve been buying for people who love design as much as I do and it’s always easier to find unique gifts away from the dreaded mall.

Relatively new to the block is blue igloo in Parkdale, a small shop with a bit of everything for the home. Every time I go in I leave with something for my flat, but this time the silver teardrop lamp I picked up had someone else’s name on it. At Jolanta Interiors on Bloor every kitchen accessory you could dream up is somewhere on its shelves. Smallish brandy glasses were a nightmare to find anywhere else - they were out, too pricey or not the right shape - but they were a quick find at this established shop in the village. Wish I’d bought the ramekins for creme brulee for $1.50 a piece at Jolanta’s instead of at Williams Sonoma at $11 a pop, though WS did wrap them up extra pretty.

Of all the places I’d been Studio Brillantine at Dovercourt and Queen is my fav. Whenever I’m lost for gift ideas SB is where I end up. I spent an hour looking at every piece in the store - Stelton’s stainless steel coffee set by Arne Jacobsen, Shiseido candies from Ginza, Toyko and minimal digital watches by Philippe Stark. It’s the kind of stuff that wins design awards and gets noticed - conversation pieces - the kind of pieces people usually don’t buy for themselves but would love to own and probably don’t already have. I left with a great bag of goodies, easily finding something for the home-office guy, the entertainer and the traveler too all in one simple spot.

Studio Brillantine @ 1082 Queen Street West. Ph: 416.536.6521
Jolanta Interiors @ 2368 Bloor St. W. Ph: 416.762.9638
Blue Igloo - now online only.