Not too long ago someone suggested that we have ‘DECA Friendly’ stickers to showcase businesses that have supported DECA in one way or another through the years. Because we have so many great business owners on our strip, we have lots. I’m not sure if we’ll make the stickers, but a bunch of them (definitely not all) are referenced below.
Pegasus Studios – Dances of Offering Benefit Concert
Each year Pegasus faculty and students bring members of the Toronto dance community together to celebrate and give back to our city through an evening of dance. This year they are raising money for the Paediatric Ambulatory Clinic at Toronto East General Hospital. The event is at the Betty Oliphant Theatre on Jarvis Street on Sunday February 12th at 5:00 pm.
The unique event combines the talents of students and professionals. This year’s show features, two-time Dora award winner, Nicola Pantin, up-and-coming choreographer Jessica Houghton, the wonderful students of Earl Haig/Claude Watson and Father Redmond performance arts schools and much more.
For tickets, visit http://www.dancesofoffering.myevent.com. For more information, visit http://www.thepegasusdancebag.blogspot.com
Reminder – Public Swimming at Monarch Park Collegiate Institute
Tuesday 7p.m. – 8 p.m. female only $1/person
Friday 6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. all ages $1/person
These community swims are booked until June 2012.
Self Defence For Women
On Friday, February 24th from 4 – 6 p.m., Dragonz Martial Artz owner and 5th degree black belt taekwondo, Marvin Prashad is offering a self-defence seminar for women. Hosted by St. John Elementary School, it is pay-what-you-can and all proceeds will be donated to Hope4Help, a non-profit that supports the Tumani Community Orphan School in Kenya. To confirm your attendance and request additional information, contact Liane Paixão at liane.paixao(at)sympatico.ca.
Melanie’s Bistro 4th Anniversary
To thank local diners for their business during the first four years, Melanie’s Bistro is offering at $25 prix fixe menue from Jan. 25th – Feb 8th. Yum.
The AWARD WINNING Better Bulk
Now Magazine has decreed that our very own Better Bulk is the “Best Bulk Food On The Danforth.” We already knew that, but we’re glad that Now everyone else knows too.
The AWARD WINNING Wag On The Danforth
Not to be outdone, Wag On The Danforth was voted the 2012 Best Pet Food and Supply Store by Toronto Pet Daily. Wag also hosted two cat adopt-a-thons last year and placed 24 cats into new homes. That success is spurring them on to host another one this year. Also – if your dog is a great big muddy mess because of the great big muddy weather, you might want to stop by the wash-your-own-dog tub and wash your big muddy dog.
LucSculpture
Did you know you can buy a membership to the LucSculpture School & Studios at Danforth and Greenwood? It gives you access to the pottery studios and wheels, events and library as well as discounts off glazes, classes and workshops throughout the building.
Ciraco Framing
Fernand Ciraco wants you to know they’re having a sale on custom framing. 15% off at the store at 1946 Danforth, across from East Lynn Park.
Contractor Wanted
And, finally – speaking of businesses we want to support, I’ve received a request for some recommendations for a contractor to do a major basement reno and a minor stairs reno. Step up DECA-ites and post your suggestions to the blog or send them to me and I’ll do it (natasha.granatstein(at)gmail.com.
I want to very highly recommend urban haven landscapes http://www.urbanhavenlandscapes.com
Alan created a beautiful front porch for us on a previous enclosed deck. His work is beautiful and he’s a great guy too!
Beth Yarzab of Career FitMom recommends Chris & Mike Gustaffson of Emerald City Design. “They have done work for us, my sister and my sister-in-law. We all live in East York/Beach and so do the brothers. They are hard working, professional, tidy and generally great to have around.”
Chris Coughlin of CKC Contracting just finished a complete renovation of our basement – from a new sanitary line to ceiling. The price was right and the quality is good. Chris lives in the neighbourhood (almost) at Pape and Danforth which helped. He can be reached at ckccontracting@gmail.com and at 416-520-0883.
I wanted to rave about our contractor. Mike Dofort finished our completely unfinished basement, put in a playroom and a full bathroom. He was on budget and on time. His number is 416-752-4970. We live around Mortimer and Coxwell.
My company is called Axis Construction (yourbuild.ca). We have many years of experience with renovation and new construction. We also have an interior designer in-house.
We are currently finishing a medium sized renovation in Riverdale. This included a major overhaul of their basement apartment and a stair repair and refinish.
Happy to come take a look and provide a quote for the work for no charge.
– Michael Fleming
I have an excellent renovator for you. His company won renovator of the year in 2008 and has been a finalist every year after that. The owner’s name is Florin and below is his contact information. I know a fair amount of renovators and he the best by far. You can’t go wrong with him and he guarantees his prices. He is happy to come to your home and give a free estimate. He’s great — always prompt and extremely diligent.
Tel: 416-441-0084
Email: florin@sqrc.com
Website: http://www.sqrc.ca/
If you are looking to dig out the basement (or other cement work) we recently hired Mike Scott Home Improvements 416-698-1565 and can’t recommend him highly enough. He did excellent work, showed up every day on time (unheard of for contractors these days!) was polite, courteous and completely trustworthy. Not the cheapest quote, but a very reasonable price and excellent value for the job. He also helped us to sell scavenged bits from our basement, which helped reduce the cost. He has since worked for several of our neighbours. He is kind of local – Scarborough, but not too deeply in.
DECA member, Cameron Gunn, is a carpenter who does basements etc. as well as furniture. He can be reached at gunncarpentry(at)gmail.com or on facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Gunn-Carpentry/307460869294858)
Mike Dofort also did our basement and did a fantastic job. We were very happy with his work and he is highly recommended!
For smaller jobs, if you’re comfortable with a self-taught but highly competent and very affordable handy man, I recommend Douglas the Handyman (Douglas Schouten, (647-975-0374).
He did a great job jacking up and re-shimming the beam under an addition that had not been properly shimmed (from before I owned my house). He was knowledgeable, professional, and pleasant to work with, so I hired him to build my deck. He quoted me an extremely reasonable price ($2000) and did a meticulous job. He really takes pride in his work: everything was beautifully level, and meticulously measured and cut. Lovely work. He was professional and cheerful (even when running into unexpected extra work, like having to break out some old concrete blocks in the way). When my vision and his differed, he was willing to do it my way. He’s a really nice guy, which matters if someone is going to be in your home for a while. And he’s a police officer who does these projects on his days off, so there’s some peace of mind there, too. He was lovely to work with, from start to finish. I am going to need some ceramic tile work done soon, and I will definitely call Douglas first! I confess I actually hesitated before suggesting I review him on Homestars.ca because once he gets better known, he might be too busy to take on my projects! –Becky in East York
For aluminum Siding: Andy Aluminum (416-230-8218). Andy and Steve are the best! My 1920s home had no soffit venting. It was a small but complicated job: remove a section of old aluminum siding under a roof overhang, drill venting holes into attic, then replace old solid siding with vented soffit siding. They came for a free estimate and took down part of the old soffit siding to see what had to be done, then put it all back together perfectly. The free estimate took them over a half hour–maybe 45 minutes. They were helpful, informative, and cheerful. Their estimate was very reasonable, and once I called to set it up, they came the following week. They were thorough, tidy, and professional. They matched the existing siding colour well. They even helped me lift some heavy stuff into my truck that I needed to return to Home Depot, and when it became clear the 16 foot lumber could not hang out of the back of my truck like that, they even threw the lumber on their truck and drove it to the Home Depot parking lot for me!! I’m telling you, these guys are NICE!! A pleasure to work with. -Becky in East York