All posts tagged: Toronto

Red Canoe Brands Showroom

Red Canoe Brands now has a brick and mortar store in the West end of Toronto. I’ve been a fan of Red Canoe ever since I stumbled on their website many years ago. I really enjoy the aviation and outdoor influence in the line. It’s been great watching them grow from a purely online endeavor to products sold in The Drake General Store to a flagship store in Whistler and now their own showroom in Toronto. Red Canoe draws on these ideals to create unique quality apparel. Tough, comfortable outdoor clothing built to be worn. Dedicated to the promotion of historic and cultural icons, it is classic clothing that, like the symbols it honours, will stand the test of time. President and Founder Dax Wilkinson came by his adventurous spirit and love of the outdoors honestly. Growing up in Northern Ontario, his time was spent flying in the legendary DeHavilland Beaver into remote hunting and fishing camps. Aird Island, his family retreat on the North Channel of Georgian Bay, has been his source of inspiration …

Svedka Vodka Launch

So Svedka launched in Canada. There was a party held at Parts & Labour. It was there I learned of Svedka’s mascot. It is one of the most bizarre product mascots I’ve seen, a sexy fembot. SVEDKA‟s futuristic branding is the platform on which SVEDKA_Grl, the world‟s first fun & flirtatious spokesbot, was born. She was designed in 2005 by Stan Winston, the mastermind and visual effects supervisor behind The Terminator and Jurassic Park. As fembots go, the Svedka _Grl looks good. I’m just having a hard time trying to reconcile how this sells vodka. The New York Times wrote a story that talks about the marketing plan. Early this year, SVEDKA debuted its first television commercial in the US. The “Soul Train meets the year 2033” future/retro themed commercial was directed by Francis Lawrence (whose credits include Lady Gaga‟s “Bad Romance” video, Britney Spears‟ “Circus,” Justin Timberlake‟s “Rock Your Body” and Gwen Stefani‟s “What You Waiting For”) and features a cover of the Jackson 5 classic song “Dancing Machine.” The bizarre commercial is burned …

From the Soul: Caribana Art Exhibit at The Royal Ontario Museum, July 23 – August 13, 2010

The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) joins in the excitement of the Scotiabank Caribana Festival and presents From the Soul: Caribana Art Exhibit, July 23 to August 13, 2010, Canada’s largest ever single juried display of works of art by African Canadian artists. Curated by renowned African Canadian artist and activist, Joan Butterfield, the exhibition is produced by the Association of African Canadian Artists, in conjunction with Scotiabank Caribana and the ROM. From the Soul will be on display in the Museum’s Bronfman Hall, Level 2 during the citywide festival, which takes place from July 15 to August 15, 2010. More than 160 works on canvas, several Caribana parade costumes, three dimensional bronze sculptures and award-winning ceramic pieces by 49 artists will be on display. Ms. Butterfield said, “This collection of works will arouse the conscious, still the mind and soothe the soul. Our goal is to attract a new and expanded audience to this exhibition with the hope of inspiring others with the message of courage, love and respect prevalent throughout the displays. Art is …

Douglas Coupland x Roots Launches at Bloor Street

The Douglas Coupland x Roots collaboration is now on sale at the Bloor Street Store. The ROOTS X DOUGLAS COUPLAND collection includes apparel for women/men/children, accessories, leather goods, design items, furniture, limited editions, original art and a series of pop-up stores. This is the first time Douglas Coupland has designed fashion wearables. He is best known as the internationally best-selling author of “Generation X”, “JPod” and “Generation A”.

Stuart Weitzman coming to The Eaton Centre in August

Stuart Weitzman is scheduled to open the last week of August week of August 16, 2010 in The Eaton Centre. Stuart Weitzman opens its first stand-alone store at the Toronto Eaton Centre (TEC) in August. The downtown Toronto location marks the third opening for Stuart Weitzman brand boutiques in Canada, having recently launched at Rockland Center and Carrefour Laval in Québec. Within the next several years, the plans are to roll out a limited number of brand boutiques in select locations across the country. The 1,506 square foot store has a captivating atmosphere with an innovative interior design of ribbon detailing. Designed by famed Italian architect Fabio Novembre, who collaborates with Stuart Weitzman on its store designs, this unique modern retail concept has become a recognized worldwide icon of the brand. With a palette of vanilla/gray tones, the stores transcend into a modern contemporary space showcasing Stuart Weitzman’s shoes and handbags. The shop will carry the full collection of shoes and handbags. It will be interesting to see what shops drop Stuart Weitzman (there are …

i want: Uniform Dress by Marc by Marc Jacobs

I tried on this cute military style dress by Marc by Marc Jacobs at Holt Renfrew. It looks like a Celine knockoff. It’s like Marc took an old military coat and made it a dress. It closes with a set of buttons that are covered by the zipper.  It’s super cute. Purchase online at: Neiman Marcus, STYLEBOP.com

i got: Criss Cross Sandal by Marais USA

These Criss Cross Sandal by Marais USA are my new favourite summertime flat. They are super comfortable and not expensive. I love the discussion and stares these shoes bring. They are so bright and neon. I love it. I picked these up at Chasse Gardee. They carry Marais USA in Toronto and they range in the $85 – $120.

Trump Soho

I want – I got’s Bisha Adventure in New York City

Oh my god, I better not miss this flight. I’m standing in line for security checks; it’s 7:30am. It’s Monday morning and I’m hoping to catch my 8am flight to New York. I’m impatient and freaking out. I clear security without much time to spare and I’m running to gate 151, hoping that boarding hasn’t closed yet. I didn’t even close the clasp on my bright pink sandals. Amazingly they don’t fly off my feet. I slow down a bit when I see a lineup of people at the gate. Thank god, still time. I laugh to myself. This is the start of an amazing day. I love my life. I’m going to New York City for the day. I leave Toronto at 8am and I the return flight is at 7:30pm. This trip is the product of a fucked up week, to put it mildly. The day after the earthquake I receive an email from Foujan at Matchstick. There may be the potential for a blogger to be sent out to NYC to join …

Luminato 2010 - Wish Come True Festival

Luminato 2010 – Wish Come True Festival

I had to check out the super cute installation by FriendsWithYou at Queen’s Park for Luminato. It was like an acid trip came to life; floating mushroom and pill shaped objects with happy faces. Magic, luck, and friendship are the qualities that FriendsWithYou, a visual arts collective based in Miami Beach, seek to spread throughout the world. Now, in an unprecedented spectacle created just for Luminato, they invite Toronto to come out and play. FriendsWithYou turns Toronto into Rainbow City, a delightful explosion of colour and jubilant energy. Led by the Rainbow King, Luminato 2010’s Festival mascot, a host of celestial characters transform Queen’s Park with larger-than-life dimensions of giant totems, bounce houses, and inflatable friends. Meanwhile, emissaries from this magical world fan out across Toronto to spread their universal message. The trusty Olympus E-PL1 was there to record some video I wish random installation like this were more common in the city.

Todd Selby in Toronto

Todd Selby in Toronto

Todd Selby (aka The Selby) came to Toronto to promote his new book, The Selby is in your House.   Holt Renfrew hosted a public book signing session in the Bloor street store.  A party in his honour at was held at Parts & Labour the night before. It was at this party I would learn about Todd’s site and why I was always hearing his name in fashion circles. Yep, I was that ignorant about the man. I don’t follow interiors that much and since he loves to photograph homes I can see why I never really bothered to check him out.  I knew he was important, the why was never that important to me. For those of you not familiar with The Selby, he takes photos of people’s homes. These people are usually creative types and many big players in the fashion industry. My first exposure to The Selby was on the walls of P&L. Holt Renfrew had printed all the pages of his book on these panels that lined the walls.  There were …