Be a better you and support local businesses

Was February really only 28 days long?  Holy moly!  If you are like me, motivation has been at an all-time low.  Just in the nick of time, here are some local options that will get you out and about.

Get Artsy

Julie Glick, who is an extraordinarily talented local artist and all-around wonderful person (who is an invaluable member of our Arts Fair team of volunteers) is teaching oil painting on Tuesdays at Artisans-At-Work, starting THIS Tuesday, March 12 for 8 weeks.  There are only a few spots left.  Details below!

teaching promo march 2013

Get Moving

We blogged in January about fitness options in our neighbourhood, but CareerFit Mom has some new classes coming up that we wanted to tell you about, including a free run club on Sunday mornings along the Taylor Creek Trails!

Mar Apr 2013 Schedule

Get Shopping

This is not a pop-up shop plug.  This is a personal story about my best shopping experience ever.  

On Monday afternoon, on a day off shopping for sinks and toilets for my new bathroom, I finally made it into Krystle Lee’s pop-up at 1801 Danforth Avenue.

I expected to go in, casually browse through items, make polite conversation, and then leave.  That is exactly the opposite of what happened.

Krystle  was warm and welcoming, and I explained that I am recently back to work after having twins, which was my second pregnancy, so all of my clothes are either too tight, too old, or both.

Krystle literally took me through almost every garment in her shop.  She encouraged me to try things on, even things that I didn’t think would look good.  I learned that all of her clothes are Canadian-made – no sweatshops and as much as possible, Toronto-based designers. (What? Designer? Who do I think I am??) So I tried on many, many beautiful clothes.  Krystle and I honestly assessed each outfit and she gave me tips and advice about fashion that I had no idea about. (If you know me, you will not be surprised that fashion info was all new to me.)

I was playing it cool and not looking at price tags, but when push came to shove, I had to start caring about the bottom line.  Beautiful spring blouse? $35. Gorgeous black button-down dress? $95  Softest and best fitting camisole ever? $20  The prices were totally reasonable.  (She has higher end stuff too, which is also steeply discounted, if your budget has a bit more give than mine!)

Krystle is a personal stylist and usually sells privately to clients who know about her almost exclusively through word-of-mouth.  She buys her clothes with deep discounts, and her lack of overhead means that she can pass those savings right to her clients.

I left there with a great work dress, a georgeous sweater, and some really beautiful tops.  Even more amazing was that for the first time in 15 months, since my twins were born, I am excited to get dressed in the morning and I feel better about myself than I have in a long time.  To me, you can’t put a price on that.

You can find Krystle at 1801 Danforth Avenue for the month of March. www.krystle.ca

March Pop-Up Shop News

Did you hear? Two of the February pop-up shops that we fell in love with are sticking around another month!  Now, they are the pop-up shops formerly known as the February pop-ups.  (Thankfully, they have much catchier names:) Fa Real Designz N Prints and Krystle Lee will be gracing our neighbourhood with their awesomeness for the entire month of March. 

Krystle Lee | 1801 Danforth Avenue
Monday 12-6 | Tuesday 10-6 | Wednesday Closed | Thursday 10-6 | Friday & Saturday 11-7 | Sunday  Private Appointments

Fa Real Designz N Prints | 1898 Danforth Avenue
Tuesday-Saturday 12-8
Birthday celebrations are happening.  We hear there will be cake to celebrate owners Allister’s milestone.  And this weekend only you can get custom tee’s for $20 (regular $30) and toddler/baby shirts for $10 (reg $15).  There is also a end-of-winter season sale on FaReal clothing (hoddies, long sleeves and tees) and if you spend over $50 the toque is on them!

Read more about Fa Real owners Tracey and Allister from an interview they did with the Scarborough Mirror and check out what local resident, DECA Board Member and Queen’s Diamond Jubilee recipient Catherine Porter has to say about her experience with the shop below. And if you too would like to be the best gift giver in your family, you should visit Fa Real this weekend.

I am a good gift giver. I pride myself on this. I’d say I have the record in my family as the best gift giver. 

I give thoughtful cool presents.

Allistar and Tracey at Fa Real Designz N Prints have helped me keep my record. I am in love with them. You will be too.

Let me explain.

Seven summers ago my husband’s family built a lop-sided cabin at the cottage. I was up on the roof too. The project ran over time and budget. So, for Christmas that year, my husband and I got everyone in the family (the Burt family — I kept my last name, thank you very much) custom-made shirts for the Burt Building Company. On the back it says: “We may not be smart…. but we’re slow.”

The shirts were a hit.

My sister-in-law just had baby number three. I needed to get little Ollie a gift. An AWESOME gift. So, I took a photo of the T-shirt — both sides — and emailed it to Allistar and Tracey, who specialize in custom-designed shirts. They have one of our pop-up shops on the Danforth, where the old jewellrey place was.

I asked them to approximate the design — use a triangle instead of a house, you know, whatever. It’s the idea that counts.

Tonight, I picked up a dark blue onesie that matches EXACTLY my own T-shirt — except I don’t have clasps at the bum, but you get the idea.

Allistar and Tracey are geniuses.

I got two more — three custom-made shirts for $50.

This place is the BOMB. It’s around for another month, as one of DECA’s pop-up shops. Lucky us. 

We’d like them to stay even longer. 

Don’t you have a gift to give someone? A soccer team to outfit? A street party coming up?

IMG_6747
 

For more information about these pop-up stores, the DECA Pop-Up Shop project and DECA, please visit our website, and follow us on twitter @DECAdiaries.