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Let’s Party! Save the date: April 12

It’s been a long winter. Power outages, Polar Vortex, snow, the return of the Polar Vortex, and even more snow. If there was ever a Spring to celebrate, this is it. So save the date for Saturday, April 12, 12-4 pm, 1811 Danforth, because we’re inviting you to kick off your Sorrels and get together with your neighbours to party.

We’re calling it Danforth East Dreams. We were so inspired by #DreamPopup survey response, we decided to up our game and go even bigger. What do you want to see next for DE? A co-work space? Community gardens? Ping pong in the park? And we know dreams are a good place to start because the Farmer’s Market, Arts Fair, Pumkin Parade, Pop-up Shops, Adopt- a-Tree and Yard Sale (or a community association) all began as someone’s big idea.

Come out and tell us. Or show us. Because this isn’t a meeting: it’s a party. We’re going to have all kinds of fun, interactive ways to share your ideas. Put your house and ideas up on the giant map of the hood, Neighbourland (apologies to Candy Chang); pin your dreams to our clothesline; get interviewed by roving kid-reporters; build your dream with the crafty Mrs. Darling (of Mrs. Darling’s Imaginarium for Boys & Girls fame); get your bike tuned up for spring by the folks from 32 Spokes; or just come and hang out and be inspired.

Besides all the free activities, we’ve also got free snacks and drinks to fuel your creative energy–popcorn courtesy of Moberly Natural Foods; java and treats from Melanie’s Bistro; beer from family-run, DIY-ers Beau’s.

But that’s not all.

Right next door, at 1803 Danforth, from 11-3 pm, Toronto’s Repair Cafe is partnering with the Tool Library and offering you free repairs of your broken stuff! The volunteer-run organization is committed to giving people the confidence to fix your things instead of making them landfill fodder. They’ll have fixers available for computers and other electronics, small appliances and furniture, and clothing and more. Our current pop-up shop, Veritus Pictures, will also be open for business– take a stroll through his gallery and find out about his fabulous workshops.

So start dreaming about the hood and tweet your ideas with #DEdreams to get us started.

Special thanks to the owners of 1803 & 1811 Danforth, Haig and David, for the use of their space for the day.
Window1811Danforth

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And The Winner Is…

How did last week’s #DreamPopup survey go? In a word: Awesome! As in, the response to our survey, open from Jan. 23-27, 2014, asking what would be your dream pop-up shop, was totally awesome.  A whopping 91 of you took the time to fill in the survey and 44 people battled it out online on Twitter and facebook, creating a truly inspiring conversation about what our ‘hood is lacking (or sometimes appreciating what we already have and introducing your faves to others).

Without further delay, here are the survey results. Drumroll, please…

Question 1: “What kinds of new businesses do you want on Danforth East?” (Note: Results for this question add up to over 100% as respondents suggested multiple businesses.)

# 1. More Restaurants and Pubs – when combined they were the top request (cited by 38% of respondents) with many people specifically citing things like: good quality places, family-friendly, healthy food options
# 2. Bookstore – new or used (cited by 27% of respondents)
#3. Fishmonger (cited by 24% of respondents)
Tie for 4 and 5.
#4. More Coffee shops (cited by 20% of respondents) with some requesting Starbucks
#5. LCBO or Wine shop (cited by 20% of respondents)
Two other top requests were Cheese shop (14%) and Clothing (13%) – boutique, children’s.
The answers we saw on our social media sites were pretty similar, with restaurants/bars/cafes taking the top spot. A bookstore was the next most popular, then a cheese shop (a combined brewery + cheese shop was a particularly popular Tweet, though not the most unusual combo. That honour goes to the suggestion for the lingerie + hardware store. Perhaps we can petition the Home Hardware to start a new side business…).
Other suggestions on Twitter and facebook included clothing (kids’, outdoors), a community hub space (similar to the Centre for Social Innovation; a sewing store; specialized grocers (Korean, Japanese, Mexican); a housewares shop; a “funky” design store; a place to buy really good quality posters you’d want to frame; an art gallery; a water sports store; a food co-op; a music store; a vintage toy shop; a theatre company; large grocery stores like The Big Carrot or Whole Foods and a tea shop.  (Yes, please, to all of these!)
Question 2:  “Why? How would  to convince them to come?”

Answers most commonly talked about changing demographics in the hood, working families, and wanting to walk to shop for all their needs. Some sample replies:
-My own personal goal is to be able to do the majority of my shopping in the neighbourhood. I would much rather support the local economy than big name stores and I would prefer to walk and experience my neighbourhood first hand. I want an opportunity to commit to local businesses – which means they need to take a leap of faith and commit to this community.
-The neighbourhood is changing and supporting more and more quality, specialized businesses.
-We generally have to leave the neighbourhood to go to these places.
-These are the things I most often go outside of our community in order to access. If I could simply walk down the street and purchase these things that are staples in my life, I would be their customer for the duration!
-that young parents looking to stay healthy have moved to the neighbourhood, can no longer get downtown
-the neighborhood is changing. Houses are selling as soon as they go on the market. Lots of young people and young families. It is one of the last neighborhoods right on the subway line that has not “come up” yet!
-All of these things are lacking within walking distance of our neighbourhood. I would way rather walk to do my errands than drive, and I believe that others I’m the neighbourhood share that sentiment.
Question 3: “How often do you shop on Danforth East?”
In total, over 60% (or nearly two thirds) shop 3 or more times per week on Danforth East! (Although those of you who read this blog are arguably more likely to shop locally, we’ll choose to look see this as a good news story.)
Here are the results:
5 times a week or more: 23%
3-4 times a week: 39%
1-2 times a week: 33%
Once in a while: 5%
Not at all: ZERO
So what’s next? Obviously, we won’t be bringing you a pop-up fishmonger anytime soon (Can you imagine the cost of setting up the refrigeration & display units?), but now we’ve got more tools in our belt to take existing businesses, say, Hooked, to petition them to open stores within our stretch of the Danforth. If you want to help try to make these changes a reality, come join our weekly Pop-up Shops lunch meet up or send us an email at Renew(at)DanforthEastCommunityAssociation.com to volunteer.
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5 Cool Pop-up Facts & Your #DreamPopup

It’s hard to believe, but it’s only been about a year or so since the first pop-up shops opened in the DECA ‘hood. Since then, all sorts of cool new things that have happened, including an important change we’ve just made to our application process (cool thing #3). Gay Stephenson (cool thing #1), shares 5 things you might not know about the project.

Then we’re turning it over to YOU. Please tell us what kind of businesses you’d like to see in the ‘hood (captain of Team Fishmonger over here…or is that Team Wine Store?). Fill out the survey and shout your ideas from the rooftops on our Facebook page or tweet it using #DreamPopup.

We also want to take this opportunity to send a huge thank you to each and everyone of you. Whether you read this blog for local news, join us for special events, shop locally or lend a hand as a volunteer, THANK YOU – without you, the wonderful things going on in the ‘hood couldn’t happen.

5 COOL THINGS…

1. We now have two Community Economic Development Coordinators

Working in partnership with DECA’s board, these two share a full-time job at WoodGreen, funded by a grant from the Metcalf Foundation. Tina Scherz and Gay Stephenson, two keen DECA pop-up volunteers were hired in July 2013. Here are some of their goals: filling the empty storefronts, promoting the value of shopping locally and spreading the pop-up shop project to other neighbourhoods.

Congratulations to In This Closet and their landlords Klaas and Mark! This local favourite is now a permanent fixture on the Danforth.

2. Results by numbers

  • 3 pop-up shops are now permanent businesses. Hip, hip hooray! In This Closet,  Fareal Custom Tshirts and  LEN: Democratic purveyors of beautiful things in a new space.

  • 1 pop-up shop applicant skipped becoming a pop-up completely and secured a permanent store of her own. Congratulations to Isabelle of Ankh Yoga at 2017 Danforth.

  • 2 pop-ups shop landlords secured long-term leases after hosting successful pop-ups last year: 1872 Danforth (Canine Social Company) and 1948 Danforth (Canadian Nutrition).

  • In the last six months, 8 new shops have popped up along Danforth East, bringing the grand total participating to 23, since the first launch in October 2012.

  • Nearly 100 volunteers have contributed their talent, labour, expertise, and hundreds of hours to this project.

3. We are changing the way we do things…

Beginning this month, new pop-up tenants can apply at anytime! We’re switching things up a bit so as to have an ongoing intake for tenant applications. The tenant recruitment committee will review applications as they are received. All pop-up shop applicants complete detailed applications, submit business plans and are interviewed by a team which includes local retailers. Find out how to apply for a pop-up shop here.

We are very grateful to all the landlords who participate! We couldn’t operate without you. Building owners receive a minimum of $700 per month in rent to help defray their costs (property taxes, heat, hydro, maintenance and insurance). Tenants also pay a fee of $50 per month to DECA which helps to fund pop-up shop promotions and defray some of the costs. Property owners can find out how to participate here.

4. We’re keeping track

Did you know that pop-up shops keep track of how many people visit each day? They also track their daily sales. This data helps shed light on what’s working well, and what’s not. What have we learned? Shops with beautiful window displays tend to get more foot traffic. When our expert volunteers help pop-ups to beautify their windows, they see immediate results! Saturdays are often the busiest day of the week, and Sundays can be so slow that it’s a good day to close. The south side of Danforth is now attracting far more people than when we first got started.

Eyob outside Cheap Thrills, photo credit Bruce Reeve

4. Fewer vacant storefronts

Have you noticed how many new businesses are moving into the hood? Some recent additions include a beautiful lighting store bella lite, a new yoga studio Ankh Yoga. This week, the Shoe Clearance store opened in their new location at 2000 Danforth, just west of Woodbine. A recent study, conducted by UofT’s graduate Urban Planning students, shows that the percentage vacant stores on Danforth East (within DECA’s borders) has declined from 17% in 2012 to 9% in the fall of 2013. While the number of vacant shops does fluctuate over time, it’s wonderful to see so many new businesses in the hood.

5. A work in progress

Pop up shop are still a relatively new phenomenon, so we keep experimenting, hoping to find out what works best. Some shops come for a month or two, like over the holidays when we hosted  Zilberschmuck Jewellery and Asiri’s Treasures (specializing in alpaca wool fashion from Peru). Other businesses come for six months, hoping to become permanent fixtures in the hood – six month tenancies give these small businesses a better chance to get established than shorter terms.

Are you interested in getting more involved with the pop-up shop project? Click here to join our email list. We’ll send you updates and opportunities to get involved.

Volunteers make this project tick. From expert window dressers, communications professionals, marketing, graphic design, painters, project leaders, handy people, tenant recruiters, landlord recruiters, interviewers, researchers and so much more. We’re learning together and we welcome your involvement.

We’d also like to give a warm welcome to Veritus Pictures at 1801 Danforth Avenue, our newest pop-up shop. Owner James Buffin, a documentary film maker, specializes in “how to” workshops,  and documentary and corporate video production. In January, he’s offering a 50% discount on workshops through Groupon and he also has a store launch special on until the 31st: 10% off everything and 50% off a workshop when you sign up with a friend.

Please stop in and say hello. James is open Tues. & Wed. 1:00-5:30 pm, Thurs. 2:30-6:30 pm, and Fri. & Sat. 1:00-5:30pm.

6. What do you think our neighbourhood is missing?

Now it’s your turn… What do YOU think our neighbourhood is missing? Tell us your wish list and we promise to try and bring those businesses to Danforth East! Don’t be shy, the more responses we receive, the stronger our case for convincing those businesses to come.

Get the conversation going by commenting here on the blog, on Facebook or on Twitter (#DreamPopup)- wherever you like to chat. And please fill out this tiny survey.