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Danforth East Arts Fair: Bonnie Dorgelo of Dorgelo Jewellery

In our series of artist profiles leading up the Danforth East Arts Fair, writer Shauna Rempel introduces us to Bonnie Dorgelo of Dorgelo Jewellery. 

Jewellery maker Bonnie Dorgelo’s fascination with stones began early: as a child she collected rocks and even entered her collection into the local fall fair.

Fast forward to today and the established artisan has become known for exciting, contemporary sterling silver jewellery featuring semi-precious stones. When it comes to semi-precious stones, Dorgelo says she selects pieces that have visually appealing colours, patterns and shapes while paying attention to the special properties they carry. “I find intriguing ways of combining shapes, textures, sheens and other opacities.” Combined with Swarovski crystals and wrought in sterling silver, the result is classic yet unpredictable.

Although they can easily be considered heirlooms, Dorgelo’s earrings, necklaces and bracelets are not meant to languish in a safety deposit box. She says her “versatile, interchangeable and detachable designs” have an elegant yet casual attitude.  They  are “intended to be worn as often as one wishes,’’ she declares.

     

For Dorgelo, who grew up on 100 acres of land and is currently based in Collingwood, nature is a constant inspiration. The graceful sweep of a flower petal, the cascade of water over rocks or moonlight as it streams through the branches of the tree — all are fuel for her creative pursuits.

This multi-talented artist, who is also passionate about painting, says she encourages everyone to find their own inspiration and pursue their creative dreams.

Bonnie Dorgelo’s jewellery, which range in price from $10 to $500, will be for sale at the Danforth East Arts Fair in East Lynn Park on September 15 & 16, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For more information about the Danforth East Arts Fair and our artists, visit www.deca-arts.ca, or check out Facebook and Twitter.

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Peachfest & Movie Night

Peachfest Poster

It’s Peachfest! There’s so much to see and do at the market this Thursday – a magic show at 5:00 p.m., music from Bad Dog, peachy treats from True Brew, topped off by a movie in the park at 8:30 p.m. Check out the poster for more details.

Speaking of peaches… they’re a favorite of Angela Russo. Angela and her husband have been bringing the fresh fruit and baked goods of Loffredo Fruit Farms in St. Catharines to our market for five years now. She says making peach pies is her favourite, especially when the peaches are freestone like they are right now, which we’ve learned means that they separate from the pits very easily. Even though she sells out most of her baked goods each week, it’s not the business that keeps her coming back. Angela loves the friendly people and the atmosphere of our market.

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At the Market this week: solar power, sock crafts, and samples!

At the Farmers’ Market this week:

  • Learn about renewable energy from Solarshare.
  • Mrs. Darling will be making Socktopuses this week (after being rained out a couple of weeks ago). Bring your lonely socks at 4:30 p.m. for this super-easy craft for all ages!
  • Representative from My Epicure will be on hand showcasing their products with free samples and lemonade.

Best atmosphere of all the markets I do. – Josh Belanger, farmer

As one of the only organic farmers at the market, Belanger’s Organic Farm has a number of loyal customers in the neighbourhood. Josh is a fourth generation farmer;  his great grandfather purchased the land in Hillsdale where the farm still operates. They provide certified organic produce, such as beets, carrots, garlic and potatoes, as well as raised organic meat such as fresh lamb, veal and frozen meat pies. That means that all the animals are fed certified organic food that comes directly from their 200-acre farm.

Josh says that our market has the best atmosphere of all the markets that he does, and he especially appreciates the nice dinners that our volunteer community cooks provide to the farmers (at no cost!). We’re so glad, because we always appreciate the meals that our farmers provide us!

 

The East Lynn Farmers’ Market runs every Thursday from 3-7 p.m. between June-October at East Lynn Park, located on the south side of Danforth Ave, just west of Woodbine Ave.

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At the Market this week: 1 lb of Worms with a side of Artisan Cheese

Cathy’s Composters: If you don’t know much about vermicomposting then visit Cathy’s Composters at the market this week. She’ll be showcasing the composting power of worms. Cathy has worms, organic mung beans and sprout grower to available for purchase.

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Also happening this week:

  • Toronto Public Library Storytime will be at 4:30 p.m.
  • Susan from FoodSaq will have reusable veggie and fruit bags available for your market goods – three for $5.

“If I were to move to Toronto, I’d want to move to this neighbourhood.” Steacy de Hann, dairy farmer.

Steacy’s farm, Primeridge Pure, is located in Markdale up towards the Bruce Peninsula. She lives on the farm with her husband Scott, one year old Grace Anne and 16 dairy cows. Their combined expertise in herd management (Scott) and Artisan Cheese-maker certification (Steacy) make for the perfect partnership for making pure, natural Artisan Cheese. Each week she brings a selection of cheese curds and cream cheeses

The East Lynn Farmer’s Market runs every Thursday from 3-7 p.m. between June-October at East Lynn Park, located on the south side of Danforth Ave, just west of Woodbine Ave.

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Market this week: Henna, Kindermusik, TEGH, Socktopuses and Syrup!

What’s going on this week?
  • Joanne will be doing henna body art at the park from 3-7:00 p.m. for market goers.  You can get a sneak peak at some of her designs here, which she’ll be doing by donation.
  • Nadia will be hosting a Kindermusik session at 3:30 p.m.
  • Nurses from Toronto East General Hospital’s Emergency Department will be on hand with some summer safety information.
  • Socktopuses! This weeks craft is super easy to make for all ages. Have any lonely socks laying around, sad without their partner? Give them a new purpose in life as cuddly, playable socktopuses. 4:30 with Mrs. Darling this week at the Market’s Kids Kourner.

Do you know the difference between good sugars and bad sugars?  Well, Jay from Danbrie Farms thinks our neighbourhood is full of people who know the difference and that’s why he likes coming to our market.  Jay brings us only the best sugars found in real maple syrup produced on his family’s sugar bush in Milton.  He sells a variety maple delights, including maple syrup, maple butter, maple raspberry jelly and maple jalapeño jelly (which is apparently a great addition to a stir fry). He also sells beefy goodies from his father Jim’s farm in Durham – beef patties, ground beef and summer sausage – all grass fed.  How about a little beef stir fry for dinner tomorrow?

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CornFest & Trees

Market this week: CornFest, Godelie Family Farms & Cooks
 
Time to celebrate all things CORN! It’s Cornfest at the East Lynn Park Farmers’ Market this week.   Toronto’s famed storyteller Dan Yashinsky will be telling his stories at 4:30 p.m.  and the music of Bad Dog will set the mood for market goers and picnickers alike starting at 5:00 p.m. Be prepared to sing along!  And don’t forget your toonies as there will be cobs of boiled corn for sale at the DECA table.

Speaking of corn, I spent some time chatting with Harry from Godelie Farmily Farm last week.  Godelie Family Farm owners Gary & Blanche Godelie have been one our market’s pioneers having been with us since the first year.  Harry leaves the Godelie farm in Otterville at about 10 a.m. each week with corn, beans, cucumber, potatoes and many other fresh goodies that are picked daily.  That means that the corn he sells at our market is picked at 6:00 a.m. and can be on your table at 6:00 p.m.  Amazing!  As people shopped last week Harry asked them how long they boiled their corn – most people said between 8-10 minutes.  Turns out you only need to boil it for two minutes as it keeps the sugars from turning starchy.  I can attest that the corn is scrumptiously sweet right now as Harry convinced me to try some raw last week.  It was surprisingly delicious.  Try it.

Volunteer cooks:  We have over a dozen volunteers who cook dinner for our farmers each week.   They do it as a way to say thank you to the farmers and makes it so they don’t have to drive home on an empty stomach.  We have one volunteer signed up each week but given it’s peak season for the market we are looking for some additional volunteers to help with meals over the next two months to help distribute the load.  If you are interested in helping contribute to a meal please contact Shelley  – shelleydarling (at)yahoo.ca.

DECA Tree Group

The new DECA TREE GROUP meets this Thursday July 19 at 7 p.m. at Relish (back room). New members welcome!  We are hoping to get the group started on some projects, big and small. If you have time before the group meets, please read Every Tree Counts: A Portrait of Toronto’s Urban Forest.  This will help us make a plan for enhancing the tree canopy in our fabulous neighbourhood. If you can’t read it in time, please come anyway. There are many ways to get involved. We especially need to get water to our newest local trees.  Hope to see you there!