We started with two pop-up shops in October. And, not to toot our own horns, but they were a great success. Why? Because all of you came out to take a look.
Building on that excitement, the Renew East Danforth team (and it’s a big team now) has been working like mad for the month of November to organize nine shops in six storefronts over two blocks.
We believe this is the biggest pop-up the city has ever seen and it’s been done completely by volunteers. More than 30 artists and entrepreneurs applied for this round and the nine that were selected are a fantastic mix of arts, gifts, clothing, accessories (from silver jewellery to duct tape wallets), arts and crafts workshops and fitness classes.
We’ve been reading a lot about pop-ups lately and we know that by increasing activity in empty storefronts and bringing shoppers to a commercial strip, pop-up shops have successfully regenerated run-down neighbourhoods around the world. Where there are shoppers, paying retail tenants follow.
The pop-up shops are opening this Saturday, December 1st for the month of December.
(You might want to keep a copy of the Pop-up Poster in your pocket for easy reference :-)
Here are the details for the December pop-up shops.
December 1 – 31 @ 1801 Danforth
bright-brown vintage+handmade has high-quality vintage clothing, decor and vinyl as well as hand-made jewelry and arts, and
VSVSVS (pronounced versus, versus, versus) is a site-specific art installation.
December 1 – 31 @ 1803 Danforth
Pop goes the Easel! is a colourful explosion of art. Expect paintings, prints, cards, magnets, art workshops and drop-in crafts. Join Nathalie Vachon and Helen Billett for great gift ideas, some decadence for your walls and some creative inspiration.
December 1 – 31 @ 1872 Danforth
Careerfit Mom – Take advantage of career coaching and fitness services, including resume writing, job search strategies, fitness classes and personal training.
December 1 – 31 @ 1936 Danforth
LEN – Democratic Purveyors of Fine Art & Beautiful Things. For the discerning buyer, a gallery of emerging and established Canadian artists will include carefully selected and prudently priced objects.
December 1 – 22 @ 1940 Danforth
Tyke Threads is a Toronto-based online boutique specializing in hip, unique, quality clothing for boys (and girls who don’t want to be in pink.)
December 1 – 9 @ 1948 Danforth
Patsy Berton Art Gallery will feature Patsy’s paintings that capture the light and dynamic energy of people and place.
December 11 – 24 @ 1948 Danforth
Lemon Drop Clothing – Choose your custom dress design. They’ll take your measurements. You choose from the luxurious fabrics and 3-4 weeks later your fabulous frock arrives on your doorstep!
December 26 – 31 @ 1948 Danforth
Marina Rocks Toronto – Get your funky duct tape accessories made by teen entrepreneur, Marina. Unique and fun, each is a piece of art.
December 26 – 31 @ 1948 Danforth
Mrs. Darlings Imaginarium for girls and boys is a place to play with art and discover the art of play. There will be many media and materials for kids to create interesting and beautiful things. Drop-in times and classes offered.
DECA’s Renew East Danforth Team has been hard at work painting and scrubbing multiple storefronts along the Danforth in preparation for a pop-up bonanza for the month of December. (You’ll here more details on that shortly)
1872 Danforth Avenue was our last storefront to come available. This soon-to-be beautiful space will be the December home of CareerFit Mom. However, the space needs a little elbow grease to make it shine, and we are quite anxiously looking for some extra people to help out. Tomorrow, Thursday November 29, starting at 7:00 p.m. the team will descend upon this space – if you can offer an hour or two (or three!) of your time and effort, we would be so very, very grateful.
Do you love a park in your neighbourhood? Have you formed a “Friends of” group, or are you thinking about doing that? Do you want to know how others have revitalized their parks? Come and talk about our parks!
Note: this event is intended for Ward 32 parks/parkettes. That said, we can all learn from each other so if you love a park in another Ward, go anyway and make some great park-loving connections!
Before there were subways, there were streetcars. And before there were streetcars there were horses and buggies. BlogTO recently put out this post with some very cool pictures of what Danforth Avenue has looked like through the years.
Danforth now…
And the Danforth continues to change today. We’re excited to a few see new businesses moving into the area:
Dulux Paints (2031 Danforth), a Canadian company, will be opening it’s 7th location in our neighbourhood on January 2nd. Besides boasting premium quality paint and terrific customer service, Dulux is known for their involvement in the Let’s Colour movement which helps neighbourhoods turn grey spaces into more lively, colourful places. Hummm…..
Oaks ‘N Acorns (1856 Danforth) According to their Facebook page, Oaks ‘N Acorn is “a new Activity Studio and Stay ‘n Play Café providing a welcoming and creative hub where parents and children can participate together or individually in a diverse range of classes and workshops…” (Opening date is TBD)
The Pillow Shoppe (1434 Danforth) has recently opened with a vast selection of decorative pillows. Everything from sage to army green and olive to hunter green. (They have other colours too, but you know us, we love green.) Official grand opening weekend festivities on December 8 & 9! They even have a selection of giftware.
Metropolitan College (2017 Danforth, 3rd floor) offers all sorts of English language programs and seem to have already brought a boost in foot traffic to the surrounding shops.
Another change this year was the additional of decorative lights along the Danforth – thanks to the Danforth Mosaic BIA‘s Streetscape Committee for the shooting stars west of Westlake, and to the Danforth Village BIA for the holiday wreaths adorning street lamps east from Westlake. We think they’re a lovely, twinkling addition to the neighbourhood.
And in other Danforth retail news, a big congratulations to Wag on the Danforth being named one of Toronto’s best pet stores from BlogTO.
Ladies and Gentlemen, it is our pleasure to inform you that our neighbourhood is part of the set of the latest Robocop instalment. Are you jumping up and down with excitement? Yeah, we thought so. You’re welcome.
Silly Goose Partners with Woodgreen Community Services
Our friends at Silly Goose Kids are up to their usual awesomeness. In addition to wrapping gifts for $1 donations to Woodgreen, they are also helping with Woodgreen’s annual toy drive. See below for the details:
And last but not least, a few words from DECA’s fearless leader (Anita, our Chair) as we prepare to bring 2012 to a close:
DECA is a fairly unique residents association, in that we came together because we wanted to build something, not fight it. Five years ago, we banded together to help make our neighbourhood more vibrant, walkable, safe and fun. We’ve come a long way since that initial meeting and this past year was our busiest ever.
The list of our projects for 2012 is impressive:
a weekly Farmer’s Market,
the bigger-than-ever Danforth East Arts Fair,
a hugely successful Harvest Moon Festival,
the third annual DECA Pumpkin Parade,
first-ever Kids Gear Sale,
the painting of neighbourhood Bell utility boxes,
new pop-up shop initiative along the Danforth (now called Renew East Danforth),
a new historical mural at Main and Stephenson,
beautification of the Stephenson Park area,
the forming of a new DECA Trees group,
first-ever DECA pub crawl,
expanding of the ever-popular DECA Diaries blog to a team approach
…and so much more! We like to think DECA is having an impact. And to continue, we need your help. How, you’re wondering? I was hoping you would ask!
Membership
An annual membership to DECA is just $10 per household. This $10 gives us a small budget for our projects, but more importantly, it gives us credibility and clout when dealing with city hall and other groups. And, let’s face it, with all the neighbourhood events and projects it gives you access to, $10 is a steal!
Please, if you live in our borders and you haven’t renewed or paid for your DECA membership yet, please take a minute now to do so by signing up here: http://danfortheastcommunityassociation.com/membership
Volunteers
All of DECA’s accomplishments have been due to the dedication of some AMAZING volunteers. Thank you to everyone who pitched in to lend a hand this year! Needless to say, our neighbourhood is so much better because of it.
We need more of you though! We’re a relatively small group of volunteers for the number of project we have going. So if you can spare even just a couple of hours a month, we need your help! Send us a note to see how you can pitch in, by clicking here. If these projects doesn’t grab you, but you have an idea for another one, please speak to us! All of our projects started off as just a small idea in someone’s head…
Before I sign off …
It needs to be said that most of our biggest volunteers sit on the DECA Board. I want to personally thank the members of this past year’s team, every one of whom has committed countless hours to improving our little pocket. I am perpetually in awe of your energy and drive to make things happen.
Looking ahead, I am excited to work with the 2013 Board and other volunteers, and to see what successes the coming year will bring to our community.