All posts tagged: Toronto

Fitz & Fur by Roslyn Griffith Hall

Published by

Fitz & Fur is a jewelry collection created by Toronto based stylist, Roslyn Griffith Hall. Reclaimed is Fitz & Fur’s style. Throughout her travels, Roslyn attended vintage markets and estate sales and like many antiquing junkies she acquired a lot of things. There are so many objects used in the jewellery like watches, thimbles, skulls, heart-shaped lockets, lockets, keys, coins, letters, rings, pendants, spoons and guitar picks. Fitz & Fur uses those vintage finds for bracelets, necklaces and earrings. I had some vacation time recently and went to Roz’s cool little studio in my neighbourhood to check out the collection in person. Fitz & Fur uses religious imagery as inspiration. The cross is a comment element found in many pieces and makes rosaries using skull shaped bone beads from Thailand. She has recast the beads in silver because it’s becoming hard to find the bone ones in Thailand. The charm bracelets and everything but the kitchen sink necklaces are my favourites from Fitz & Fur. There is so much detail in the necklaces that you never …

CUTMR 2012 Call for Submissions – Ends May 31, 2011

Published by

Come Up To My Room 2012 Call for Submissions COME UP TO MY ROOM 2012, The Gladstone Hotel’s 9th Annual Alternative Design Event January 26 – 29, 2012 (Coinciding with Toronto International Design Festival and the Interior Design Show) Submissions Deadline: Tuesday, May 31, 2011 ATTENTION: DESIGNERS, ARCHITECTS, VISUAL ARTISTS, PHOTOGRAPHERS, SCULPTORS, WRITERS, MUSICIANS, SET DESIGNERS, PROP MAKERS, SOUND ENGINEERS, CERAMACISTS, TEXTILE ARTISTS, CRAFTS PEOPLE, FILMOGRAPHERS, PRINT MAKERS, NEW MEDIA ARTISTS and ALL CREATIVE MAKERS: The Gladstone Hotel seeks Expressions of Interest for innovative, cutting-edge, contemporary design and installation-based projects for The Gladstone Hotel’s annual alternative design event, COME UP TO MY ROOM. The ninth instalment of CUTMR will take place from January 26 to 29, 2012 at the historic Gladstone Hotel in downtown Toronto. Site-specific work will be mounted in the rooms and public spaces in the second floor Gladstone Gallery and ground floor spaces of the hotel. Ideal candidates for juried consideration are practitioners who approach their discipline with a radical personal vision, and who use design to converse, connect, collaborate and construct …

Gap Fall 2011 Preview

Published by

Wide leg pants were a passing fad for the Gap.  Cropped and skinny pants dominated the Gap Fall 2011 preview. There are a lot of leather looking pieces that are to give the look of leather for less. Sexy is a keyword I’m hearing a lot from Gap staff. Sexy is not a word that I associate with the Gap. Utilitarian and adaptable is what pops into my head. That’s probably not what they want to hear, ha. Some of my favourite pieces are the Light Grey Biker Knit Jacket and the Steel Grey Oversized Knit Cardigan.  There were a lot of cute jackets too. I didn’t see any interesting shoes at the preview. Seems nothing is going to top the amazing Fall 2010 platform boots I love. I’m never blown away by Gap previews but I always find something to love when the season hits because the collection is so large. See all the photos from the Gap Fall 2011 Preview Edit: I originally wrote this post before Patrick Robinson’s exit from the Gap. It will …

The slide in the Corus building

Quadrangle Architects 25th Anniversary Party at Corus Quay

Published by

One of my favourite parties from last week was the Quadrangle Architects 25th Anniversary at the Corus Quay building. I was dying to get an invite to this party because I wanted to see the Corus Quay building first-hand. Corus Quay is an amazing building. The party hosts took guests on a tour of the building where we learned many facts about the building. Not only does it have interesting architecture and interiors, I was totally geeking out over the many massive server rooms in the building that contain storage enough for 2 petabytes of data. After seeing the building, I want to work for Corus. The south side of Corus Quay is floor to ceiling windows that have a beautiful view of Lake Ontario. Any building that lets in a lot of natural light changes the attitude and productivity of the employees. I remember when I moved from the black hole of the Royal Trust Tower to the natural light friend RBC Centre. It was a blessing and I can’t imagine working in another …

Stacey Zhang Toronto Boutique Launch Party

Published by

Montreal based designer, Stacey Zhang has opened a boutique in Toronto. She’s chosen a strip of Queen Street West that was independent boutique friendly until the corporations moved in many years ago. It’s a brave move to  complete for foot traffic with Zara, H&M and the Gap. Stacey Zhang aims to provide stylish women with affordable,ready-to-wear collections that are ethically produced and limited in quantity, maximizing the time and care spent in creating each garment. Known for highly detailed and structurally unique clothing, Stacey Zhang features styles ranging from fun, flirty dresses to sharp business attire to feminine, chic casual wear. With organic cottons, relaxed linens, luxurious silks, wool and sustainable bamboo as staples of past collections, the designer is also known for her impeccable selection of fabric. She is continually researching practical ways to replace fabrics with more ecologically sound and sustainable threads. Both Montreal and Toronto boutiques feature a wide variety of unique accessories handpicked by Stacey on her travels throughout Europe and Asia. Stacey plans to make the shopping experience at the Toronto …

V by 69 Vintage

Published by

V by 69 VINTAGE is a new shop brought to you by Toronto Vintage mogul, Kealan Sullivan.  Kealan’s empire includes 69 Vintage and 69 Vintage Collective/Buy The Pound.  V by 69 Vintage will feature all the prized vintage finds Kealan doesn’t sell in the other shops. Everything in the store is for sale and that includes fixtures, books and gardening supplies. This is a high-end vintage shop because of the rarity of the pieces and all clothing is restored and repaired. V by 69 VINTAGE is a new creative vintage retail space which will showcase a series of changing monthly thematic concepts. Through art direction and careful product selection, the space, contents and merchandise for sale will transform entirely each month to reflect a new theme, ultimately creating an exciting retail experience. This new store is an opportunity for us to share our love and appreciation of vintage and to present our treasures in an innovative way in the form of distinctive curated collections. Our first theme is titled “THE VICTORY GARDENS” and runs from …

Primer by Greta Constantine Spring Summer 2011

Published by

Collaborations are the news in Canadian fashion so it’s good to see something that isn’t about one. Greta Constantine has created a capsule collection called Primer which consists t-shirts done Greta Constantine style. Kirk Pickersgill and Stephen Wong of Greta Constantine are bringing their master drapery and attention to fit to a whole new audience. The capsule collection, aptly named Primer, serves as the base coat for a woman’s wardrobe and is to consist of both separates and dresses. But don’t expect basics. Every piece in the collection features a subtle feminine twist like leather straps on a tank top to allow for easy belting or draped t-shirt dresses with exaggerated pocket detailings. This is all part of Stephen and Kirk’s desire to re-imagine contemporary staples. As Stephen elaborates, “designing the collection demanded that we consider what makes a t-shirt so perfect. Fabrication, lengths, colours. While a woman may be willing to suffer through a pair of heels, comfort without looking comfortable is what we sought to achieve with Primer.” The line, with prices ranging …

Garden of Roses: Denis Gagnon Interprets Alice at Luminato – June 10 – 19, 2011

Published by

I love that Luminato and Lancôme bring Canadian designers to create beautiful art installations. Last season it was Mark Fast and this season it’s Denis Gagnon who is going gangbusters with good news this year. Garden of Roses: Denis Gagnon Interprets Alice is the name of the piece that will be on display during the Luminato festival in June. Inspired by Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, one of Canada’s iconic fashion designers creates a world of wearable fantasy. One of the most acclaimed Canadian designers of his generation, Denis Gagnon is noted for his bold traversal of the boundaries between the fashion industry and art. For over a decade, his concept of clothing as “moving sculpture” has informed his innovative collections for fashion lovers across Canada while also finding expression in the realms of pure creativity.  As a result, Gagnon, who began his career designing theatrical costumes, recently became the first Canadian in his field to have his work exhibited at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. In this installation, a one-of-a-kind dress surrounded by a …

[FAT] 2011 – Fashion Schematics Day 4

Published by

[FAT] is upon us again. I’m taking it really easy this week. I had my roving photographer Paul Baik on the scene. I asked him to send me his top photos of the night to post. Here are his choices. Imagozine Imagozine Monikova Zita Pop Human Nature Kinetic Elements reSURGEnce Mitra Mitra Toxic Vision Cmichelon Miller Monro Fashion Whore See all of Paul’s photos from [FAT] 2011 – Fashion Schematics Day 4 Thank you Paul for the great photos of the night. images: Paul Baik

[FAT] 2011 – Fashion Schematics Day 3

Published by

[FAT] is upon us again. I’m taking it really easy this week. I had my roving photographer Paul Baik on the scene. I asked him to send me his top photos of the night to post. Here are his choices. Heidi Ackerman & Lindsay Sinclair Heidi Ackerman & Lindsay Sinclair Saint Hollywood by Uta Bekaia The Bored Collective fea Katherine Piro Breeyn McCarney Breeyn McCarney Breeyn McCarney Breeyn McCarney Breeyn McCarney Wani by Saki See all of Paul’s photos from [FAT] 2011 – Fashion Schematics Day 3 Thank you Paul for the great photos of the night. images: Paul Baik