Year: 2010

El Anatsui: When I Last Wrote to You about Africa – October 2, 2010 – January 2, 2011

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El Anatsui: When I Last Wrote to You about Africa The exhibition is a 40-year career retrospective of Ghanaian visual artist El Anatsui and will be his first solo exhibition in Canada. El Anatsui is the centrepiece of the Museum’s upcoming Season of Africa, an offering of exhibitions, new permanent installations, and a series of public programs and events inspired by African art and culture. El Anatsui: When I Last Wrote to You about Africa will be on display in the Roloff Beny Gallery on Level 4 of the ROM’s Michael Lee-Chin Crystal from October 2, 2010 to January 2, 2011. El Anatsui: When I Last Wrote to You about Africa is a career retrospective of the internationally renowned artist. Best known for monumental wall sculptures made from discarded bottle tops, Ghanaian-born artist El Anatsui, has transformed often-overlooked and discarded materials into monumental visual statements that reference global, local and personal histories, as well as traditional Ghanaian beliefs. “The ICC is thrilled to present the striking work of world-renowned artist El Anatsui and to offer …

TIFF 2010 – Signed. Sealed. Delivered

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There is still time to check out Signed. Sealed. Delivered, a signature memorabilia show which is showing at Gallery One (121 Scollard Street) until September 30, 2010. The pieces are from The Signature Library. Torontonian, Bryan Ulrich has collected signatures of the worlds most famous celebrities for over 20 years. He has the largest collection of Micheal Jackson signatures. It was pretty weird standing in front of the signed Thriller jacket encased in glass. Signed. Sealed. Delivered also has album covers, photos and a number of beautiful guitars signed by rock gods like Brian Wilson, Guns and Roses and Neil Young. I attended the opening party during TIFF and met Bryan later on that night at the after party at Moroco.

Hudson COLLECTION Fall Winter 2010 – 2011

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Designer denim isn’t dead. Holt Renfrew and Hudson have teamed together to bring Hudson Jean’s first high end collection. This collection differs from regular Hudson collections because the pieces are hand made using raw denim and the process is labour intensive. With the new Collection I wanted to reinvent the idea of traditional denim and tops—its an anti uniform approach. Each piece has so much individuality and lets the wearer express her own style and personality. It is the roots of the HUDSON “way of life”. (lead designer for Hudson Jeans, Ben Tavernit) Pieces in the line include jeans, tops, dresses and jackets with prices ranging from $145 – $995. Jeans will average around $400. The line is exclusive to Holt Renfrew and is available at the Bloor, Yorkdale and Vancouver locations. Standard n. Of recognized excellence or established authority. The common thread within Standard and the foundation of the Collection is Denim. Standard is style that comes from the classic HUDSON aesthetic in its purest form. Denim becomes the new neutral. Standard is both …

TIFF 2010 – Lia Sophia

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The lounge that most surprised me was Lia Sophia. I knew it was a jewellery line but I didn’t expect to fall in love with it. On display was the newest red carpet collection called La Belle Rose. The collection used materials like silver, gold, copper, black diamond crystal, clear crystal,  jet crystal,  Hematite, Tortoise resin, jet enamel and lapis resin. The most interesting thing about Lia Sophia is that the collection isn’t sold in stores, it’s a direct selling company. It’s much like Avon where you buy items from a Lia Sophia Hostess at a jewellery party or from an Advisor in your area. Lia Sophia jewellery also comes with a Lifetime Replacement Guarantee which could come in handy if you ever lose a stone. The gift bag for this lounge was a choice of jewellery from the collection. It was a hard decision but I was attracted to the steampunk looking Runway style of the collection which featured Black Diamond Crystals in Matte Silver and Matte Gold or Clear Crystals in Matte Silver …

The Smirnoff Nightlife Exchange Project with Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker

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I’m sure the generators dying as the lead singer from USS (Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker) started to play his guitar wasn’t part of the plan. I stood there in shock.  The Smirnoff Nightlife Exchange Project concert with USS isn’t starting off on the right foot. I felt terrible for the band but being professionals he sat down on the edge of the stage, gathered everyone closer and began an acoustic set. It seems he was just pulling songs out of the air to keep the crowd entertained. It was great to see them making the most out of a horrible situation. I felt bad for the band but I got a kick out of the Techs freaking the hell out. This type of thing can’t be good for business. They were running around doing their best to get things started again. After five minutes of darkness I wondered if they would be able to get things going again. It wasn’t looking good until the 20 minute mark when the roar of the generator filled the quiet …

TIFF 2010 – DPA Gifting Lounge

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The InterContinental Toronto Centre on Front Street welcomed the Dubois, Pelin and Associates (DPA) Gifting Lounge during the Toronto International Film Festival. The Presidential Suite, which has this amazing wrap around terrace and fantastic views, was the location. Sponsors for the DPA Gifting Lounge included: MICALLA, FeenieBeadie, ANZIE, Ruby Wow!, Royal Blush, Glass Harp Gallery and Susan Hood designs, Michique, Roots, LouLou Bell, SwissTEC, Imperfect Indulgence, RevitaLash, Sula Beauty, Bathing Belle Swimwear, Snoflake, Barbara Bela, Sodaliscious, Turbine, Eva Varro, Pearl Resorts & Spa, Jumeirah Hotels and Resort Kusmi Teas, FUZE, The Berry Company, Galloping Cows, Ridiculous by Jilli, Manitobah Mukluks, Marchon Eyewear, AMC, Author Ann Kaplan and Lomography. There were a lot of great Canadian brands at the lounge, too many to talk about individually. It was great to see Canadian content getting pushed to the celebs. ANZIE jewellery initially invited me to the DPA Gifting Lounge so I could get a look at the collection. I was familiar with the brand as I’ve seen them at Holt Renfrew before. I didn’t know that they …

TIFF 2010 – Murale/Sally Hershberger Lounge

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The Murale/Sally Hershberger Lounge set up shop in the Intercontinental Toronto Yorkville Hotel. I was at the Intercontinental so much it almost felt like a second home. I laughed at people wondering if I was famous walking into and out of the hotel. Of course, I had my neon green Prada shades on. Sally Hershberger is a well know celebrity hairstylist who brought some of her crew to Toronto do get everyone’s hair red-carpet ready. There was also complimentary makeup applications and I took advantage of those services. Sponspors for the Murale/Sally Hershberger Lounge included: Coty Inc, Sally Hershberger Professional Hair Care, Murale I had my makeup done on Saturday and Sunday at the lounge. I had Dino on Saturday and he gave me a bit of smokey eye. It wasn’t dramatic but it was quite pretty. Sunday I had my make up done by Anil Bhatoo of Murale and he gave me dramatic makeup to go with the leather Danier dress I was wearing. It was my favourite look of TIFF. I also discovered …

TIFF 2010 – BMW Toronto Celebrity Gift Lounge

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BMW Toronto Celebrity gift lounge was setup at the Hugo Store in Yorkville for the Toronto International Film Festival. Greg May Hair and TDotTV teamed up to produce the lounge. Guests were treated to mini spa days with hair by Grey May, facials by Mayavii using the Black Pearl Collection products, make up by Jessica Llyod and massages from the Toronto Performance Health Centre Sponsors of the lounge included: Mayavii, BMW Toronto, Greg May Hair Architects, Toronto Performance Health Centre, Elizabeth Grant and Mondia Alliance. Mayvaii is an importer of Sea of Spa & Dr. Kadir Laboratories skin care lines. They are bringing the famous Dr. Kadir Matrix Gold Mask which was made popular by Kate Moss. Two 2011 BMW 5-series cars were on hand for viewing. I was all about the pampering this TIFF so I took advantage of the facial with Ilan and really liked the Black Pearl products he used. I also had my makeup done with Jessica Lloyd. BMW Toronto Celebrity Gift Lounge Gift Bag Favourites (These are products I found …