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News from Artisans at Work

So many classes, so little time…

Artisans at Work (2071 Danforth Ave.) is your one-stop shop for all things artistic and creative – right in your own backyard! (Or front yard, and probably a few streets away too, but you get the idea.)

Make sure to stay tuned to their website for details about this Friday’s “First Friday” event, which are still being finalized.

Here is a nifty update from artist-owner Tara Shelton.

Hi there folks of our east end!

Tara from Artisans At Work, on the Danforth here with a few new classes to tell you about, and some news about a great new artist’s resource group called East End Arts!
Firstly, we have the following classes to offer:
– Oil Painting with Julie Glick for adults: Tuesdays 6:30-9:30 p.m.
– Encaustic Painting (with wax) w/Graham Curry:Thursdays in JUNE 6:30-9:30pm
– Printmaking, Modeling, Collage, Drawing, Painting for kids in French!
 Wednesdays in July: age 4-7 years: 3:00-4:30 p.m.  & age 8-12 years: 4:30-6:00 p.m.
– Oil Painting with Julie Glick for youths aged 12+
Tuesdays & Thursdays in July 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
– Pilates with Esther on Wednesdays 7:30 p.m. in June
– Yoga with Amanda on Sundays 10:00 a.m. in June
– Reflexology workshop May 30 1:00 p.m.
There are more classes & Workshops in the works, please sign up for our newsletter, on the About Us page, at www.artisans-at-work.com
Our Community Room is now huge! Come in and see!
East End Arts is a new LASO (local arts service organization), and is excited to announce its launch on Tuesday, June 25 at the East York Civic Centre at 6:00-8:00 p.m. 850 Coxwell Ave. Music, art demonstrations, refreshments and more! Bring a sample of your art, to add to the mosaic work to celebrate the launch! No bigger than 4 x 4 inches.
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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

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Out Of The Zone

I must admit to being ‘out of the zone’ of DECA diaries of late. It’s been the holidays, the goings on at Earl Beatty – from the ball ban to the potential closure of the community centre and heading out west for Christmas, I’ve just not been in blogging zone. In honour of being ‘out of the zone’ this post is full of stuff that is out of zone. We try to keep this blog very focused on the happenings that fall very close to DECA’s borders because as soon as you extend it a little bit, geographically or content-wise, things get out of hand pretty quickly. But, herewith a few out of zones.

The Projection Booth

This is a new rep theatre on Gerrard between Pape and Jones. It boasts art, schlock, indie and foreign films. It grew, according to the three owners, “out of a desire to support Canada’s vibrant filmmakers and create an intimate and unique theatre going experience. Since opening in August 2011, Projection Booth has become known for outside the box programming and a commitment to showcasing the best in independent and world cinema.”

They’ve got Bollywood Sundays, Super Punch Saturdays, Fright Night Fridays, documentaries and a full slate of other films to discover. They are also renting out the space (Toronto’s oldest running cinema, the website says) and looking for new films. Thanks to Cameron Tingley for sending this find our way. www.projectionbooth.moonfruit.com.

Oil Painting For Beginniners

If your news year’s resolution was to do something more creative or try something new, then maybe you need to check out Julie Glick’s oil painting classes. You might know Julie from her pet portraits, but she does so much more than that (as you can see above). Classes start in February and you can learn more about the classes and Julie at www.julieglick.com