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This week at the Market – free massages and treats!

apple

Is it wrong to emphasize the massages and treats over the bounty of locally grown and produced fruit, veggies, meat, cheese, bread and wine? No, no it’s not.  The farmers’ products speak for themselves, but with the chill in the air, many of us need a little bit of extra motivation to get ourselves to the park on Thursdays.

Here’s the lowdown on this week’s market:

– MP Matthew Kellway will be visiting and available to chat about Federal issues that are on your mind.

– Fa.Real Custom Tees will be there, and if we’re lucky, they’ll have some of their original design East York t-shirts for sale. (This wonderful local biz is a DECA Pop-Up Shop success story!)

– Alterna Savings Credit Union will be handing out info, reusable bags, cupcakes and cookies (yes, you read that right) – come chat with them about their neighbourhood banking services.

– Origin Wellness

origin-wellness-tree

The popular RMTs of Origin Wellness (Danforth and Moberly) are back! Erin and Yvonne have been settling into the neighbourhood nicely, and continue to enjoy meeting the great people who live here. By offering complimentary chair massage from 3:00pm to 6:30pm, these two ladies want to show you that receiving regular massage therapy treatments is a fantastic way to help maintain a healthy lifestyle.

origin-erin-yvonne-2

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At the end of the day, the farmers and vendors are why we go to the market, and us buying stuff is the reason that they continue to come. My list is ready: apple cider, red wine, fancy cheese, and some squash for soup. What are you going to get?

 

Psssst – stay tuned to DECA diaries to hear more about our upcoming October 9th Harvest Festival (taking place at the market). All we’ll say for now is, live music and bouncy castles! Watch this space.

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The East Lynn Farmers’ Market runs every Thursday from 3-7:00 p.m. between June 5 – October 16 at East Lynn Park, located on the south side of Danforth Ave, just west of Woodbine Ave. Stay up to date by visiting the East Lynn Market Facebook page.

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Help a Local Biz; Show Some East York Pride

For those who haven’t met him yet, here’s Allister, owner of Fa.Real Custom Tees, and all-around awesome guy.

Allister Thomas
Allister Thomas, Fa.Real Custom Tees

Fa.Real started out as one of DECA’s Pop-up Shops last winter and proprietors Allister and Tracey loved our ‘hood so much they moved their family above their store at 1900 Danforth Ave and set out to become a permanent addition to Danforth East. We here at DECA have used Fa.Real’s services for many amazing gifts (just read Catherine Porter’s post about the best baby present ever) and we’ve valued Allister and Tracey’s friendship.

Unfortunately, operating a shop without the backing of the Pop-up Shop program has been a financial challenge and Fa.Real is set to pack it in at the end of the month.

EXCEPT…

They aren’t ready to throw in the towel just yet. As a final effort to keep the store, Allister has created a line of East York T-shirts (designs are at the end of this post) and he’s hoping you’ll love them as much as you love our neighbourhood.

Here’s the pitch, in Allister’s own words:

First, I would like to thank all of you for coming into our shop and giving me the pleasure to express my creativity on your shirts. I also would like to say that it has been a real delight to meet the people in this community; you all have been outstanding to myself and my family and make us all feel great being here.

A customer one time asked me, “How long are you guys gonna be here?” and I simply replied, “We’re here as long as you guys keep us here.” And that’s the main reason I’m writing this. We are in a position where our stay at 1900 Danforth is limited to OCTOBER 31st, 2013.

We started printing t-shirts from our basement apartment back in 2011 in our dining room. In January we heard DECA was looking for small businesses like us that were looking to try out being in a store front for a month. My wife and I jumped at the opportunity immediately and out of 70 applicants, we were in the top 3 chosen. Since May 1st, we have been operating the business without the help of the Pop-up Shop Project.

We were so committed, we even moved our family above the store when an apartment became available, and it’s been an amazing experience ever since. We’ve been increasingly busy ever since we opened up, but we have not gotten ourselves in a position where we make enough to cover all our expenses without falling short.

So I had to think, think, think, like Winnie the Pooh. Then it hit me: I wanted to provide something that I’m very proud of and something you guys have pride in as well. So I created a line of EAST YORK t-shirts to big-up the area we call home.

And for each person who purchases EAST YORK t-shirts (if my store gets to stay), I will be offering a special lifetime membership for a 20% discount on all custom t-shirt orders here at Fa.real Custom Tees. (And don’t forget that a custom t-shirt makes a great, inexpensive personal gift for family and friends at Christmas time.)

A lot of you guys already come by here often to get shirts made for yourself or for friends and family. Sometimes, you guys just stop through to say what up and to share on some jokes or have good conversation and catch some positive vibes which is something I really enjoy as well. Help us stay here by supporting our small mom and pop t-shirt shop, and we will support our new home in East York.

Allister Thomas

Fa.Real East York Collection
Fa.Real East York Collect

Contact info:

Fa.real Custom Tees
1-888-502-1112
647-718-3339 (local)

1900 Danforth Ave.

email at info@fareal.com