Kingwest Magazine by Kingwest Magazine

PUBLISHER KING WEST MEDIA LTD. PRESIDENT PETER FREED EDITOR-IN-CHIEF KAREN VON HAHN CREATIVE AGENCY PORTLAND STEWART CREATIVE DIRECTOR ALICE UNGER MANAGING EDITOR RONNILYN PUSTIL SENIOR DESIGNER MICHAEL BOZINOVSKI ASSOCIATE EDITOR DIANE PETERS CONTRIBUTORS ADRIAN ARMSTRONG LORETTA CHIN LEANNE DELAP CAROLYN DREBIN NAOMI FINLAY FRANCISCO GARCIA ROBERT GRAVELLE CHRIS JOHNS SHOLEM KRISHTALKA JOHN BENTLEY MAYS ARASH MOALLEMI J. KELLY NESTRUCK MARILISA RACCO RUSSELL SMITH ELI YARHI DIRECTOR OF MARKETING AJ MANJI DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MORAD REID AFFIFI DISTRIBUTION MANAGER CARL BRAY KING WEST MEDIA LTD. 552 WELLINGTON ST. W. PENTHOUSE SUITE 1500 TORONTO, ON M5V 2V5 KINGWESTMAG.CA

ON THE COVER DAUPHINE MCKEE SHOT BY FRANCISCO GARCIA STYLIST: COREY NG FOR P1M.CA HAIR & MAKEUP: VANESSA JARMAN FOR P1M.CA MAC COSMETICS FROM THE ALL ABOUT ORANGE COLLECTION, NARS PURE RADIANT TINTED MOISTURIZER IN ALASKA OUTFIT HERE AND ON THE COVER: SEE CREDITS PAGE 56

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Editor’s Letter

Sound Ministry

Drama Queens

Thinking Big

Spin It

Garment Guru

Street Style

10 Minutes With...

Doggy Style

Dream Team

The Pour

The Anti-Spa

On the Town Collected: The Autograph, Test Drive: Beauty bars, Word on the Street: What to do with Ontario Place, The Playing Field by Marilisa Racco, The Deal: Jon Graham mixes it up at the Thompson

126

Visionary

Contributors Proclaimer

Micro-Trend: Lobster rolls, Veg Out: Burdock, Local Talent: Alex McLeod by Sholem Krishtalka, The List: From Art Basel to the U.S. Open, Mr. Smith’s Good Times Guide by Russell Smith

Indie label Arts & Crafts turns 10 by Leanne Delap

Behind the curtains at Factory Theatre by J. Kelly Nestruck

David Mirvish and Frank Gehry team up to make their mark on King West by John Bentley Mays

Graphics gone wild put a spin on summer by Francisco Garcia

Fashion designer Jeremy Laing takes KW inside his creative process

MJ DeCoteau and Alison Gordon Rethink urban cool by Loretta Chin

KW catches up with design wit Jonathan Adler

Fashion goes to the dogs by Loretta Chin

Canada’s top cooking couple dish it up at Edulis by Chris Johns

The best of Italy for summer by Robert Gravelle

Karen von Hahn lives it up at the One&Only

Q&A with Luminato’s Jorn Weisbrodt

EDITOR’S LETTER PHOTO: ALVARO GOVEIA

he late Ed Mirvish stood out in the old, Presbyterian grey Toronto, not only for his pizzazz but also for his creative foresight. Decades before anyone else had the vision to re-imagine a dwindling downtown warehouse district as an entertainment and cultural hub, there Ed was, posing for the cameras with his customary “ta-da” pose, greeting the likes of Richard Burton and Laurence Olivier at his red-velvet-draped Royal Alexandra Theatre and swanky, Roman bust-filled roast beef emporium. Now, his son and heir apparent David Mirvish has teamed up with the globally venerated architect Frank Gehry (in Mirvish’s words, alongside the late Mirvish Sr., another “Jewish boy who grew up in the ‘Jewish ghetto’ of Toronto”) to honour his father’s legacy. The dynamic duo’s mega-project would see the destruction of the Princess of Wales Theatre to make room for a development the scope and scale of which bustling King West has not yet seen: three signature Gehry twisting towers, each 80 storeys high, all together housing close to 5,000 units. Architectural critic John Bentley Mays explores this controversial and potentially game-changing proposal for the neighbourhood in “Thinking Big” (p. 52). Meanwhile, contemporary King West success stories—such as that of the creative agency and recording label Arts & Crafts, which celebrates its 10th year atop the indie scene this spring (chronicled in “Ministry of Sound,” p. 42), and local 33-seat storefront restaurant Edulis, recently named one of the country’s top dining experiences (profiled in “Dream Team,” p. 76)—reveal that sometimes the secret to making it big lies in staying small while holding fast to old-world ideals of craftsmanship and integrity. This tension between the contemporary emphasis on expansion and the value of craft also lies behind the dramatic events that have unfolded behind the scenes at Factory Theatre, which, as Globe and Mail theatre critic J. Kelly Nestruck reveals in “Drama Queens” (p. 48), has given rise to a new cultural mission, along with a new set of directors. As this issue’s Visionary, Luminato’s Jorn Weisbrod reminds us that arts and culture aren’t merely diversions but “the seed to our society,” expressing who we are as humankind (p. 126). Meanwhile, in “Garment Guru” (p. 66), fashion designer Jeremy Laing invites us into his downtown west atelier to talk about his process—a hands-on artisanal approach that drives both his innovative designs and a flourishing global business. As King West grows—and we here at KW can hardly keep track of all the new openings we want to cover as we near our press deadline—it will be a challenge to juggle the demands of increasing density with the preservation of the offbeat charm that drew us here in the first place. How big to grow and what to keep small and beautiful are creative questions. Given the neighbourhood’s vibrant mix of entrepreneurs and innovative thinkers, it’s a safe bet that this creative tension will continue to fuel impressively unique results, the likes of which even a brash original such as Ed Mirvish never imagined.

3 0 0 K I N G ST. E A S T. T O R O N T O. O N. M 5 A 1K4 W W W . K L A U S N . C O M / T E L . 41 6 3 6 2 3 4 3 4

CONTRIBUTORS

FRANCISCO GARCIA Photographer Francisco Garcia has shot campaigns for Holt Renfrew, Roots and Aritzia and editorial for magazines such as Flare, FASHION, Nylon, GQ and Cosmopolitan. He splits his time between Toronto and New York City, where he’s just opened a studio. For this issue of KW, he turned his lens on spring’s graphic pop for “Spin It” (p. 56). Summer playlist: These days Garcia is spinning Tame Impala, Bob Marley, The Strokes, DJ Shadow, The Weeknd, Maluca and Buraka Som Sistema.

ADRIAN ARMSTRONG

SHOLEM KRISHTALKA

LORETTA CHIN

Stylist and fashion writer Loretta Chin wears many hats but owns more shoes. She writes The Drop, a weekly column on the city’s retail scene, for The Grid. As a stylist for numerous projects from print to television, she can scan a shop for finds in under 60 seconds, which did for this issue of KW in Proclaimer and “Doggy Style.” A self-confessed fashion hoarder, Chin has vowed to purge her collection; a list of candidates has offered to help. Summer playlist: Anything dance, especially old-school R&B.

Writer Sholem Krishtalka, who profiled artist Alex McLeod for this issue (p. 30) before jetting off to Europe, was the sole author of the notorious ARTFAG zine and has since contributed to Canadian Art, C Magazine, Toronto Standard and The Globe and Mail. His own paintings and drawings have been shown in Toronto, New York and Berlin, with recent solo exhibitions at the Art Gallery of Peterborough and the Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives. Summer playlist: Krishtalka will be grooving to epic Lana Del Rey mixes sent to him by his friend, the glorious drag entity Produzentin, and “whatever is playing on people’s iPods at Hanlan’s Point Beach.”

Globe and Mail theatre critic J. Kelly Nestruck was nominated for a National Newspaper Award this year. He has reported on the performing arts for Maclean’s, the National Post, Toronto Star and The Guardian in the UK. For this issue of KW, he went backstage to get the story for “Drama Queens” (p. 48). Summer playlist: Nestruck plans to wear out Hawksley Workman’s The God That Comes, an album of tunes from his cabaret adaptation of Euripides’ The Bacchae. “It sounds heady, but it’s really sexy”—plus, Workman will be bringing the show to Tarragon Theatre next season.

J. KELLY NESTRUCK

PHOTOS: (GARCIA) ALISON MUNN, (ARMSTRONG) VINCENT LUK, (KRISHTALKA) JIM VERBURG, (CHIN) TU LY, (NESTRUCK) CATHERINE FARQUHARSON

Toronto photographer Adrian Armstrong’s work has appeared in FASHION, The Kit, Flare, Canadian Business and YYZ Living, among other publications. Fresh off a trip to Thailand and India, he headed into the studio to shoot the gorgeous goods for this issue of KW. Frankie, his canine studio assistant, played model for this issue in “Doggy Style” (p. 74). Summer playlist: Armstrong will be listening to every playlist on Songza with the word “indie” in it.

ITâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S BETTER ON TOP, ALL YEAR ROUND.

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kentwoodfloors.com

60 Yorkville Avenue

www.fourseasons.com/toronto

416.964.0411

Design has arrived in midtown.

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PSR Brokerage. Exclusive listing broker. Prices and specifications subject to change without notice. E. & O. E. Illustration is artist’s impression.

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LYCARA METAL-FRAMED PO BABY-BLUE “BLOOM,” R, IS E CLASSIC TUB CHAI BONATE TAKE ON TH NTO.CA RO 42, CALLIGARISTO BLOOMING COOL. $3 3

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YOU’RE SO TRANSPARENT

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A SHOE T HAT MAKE S A STYL STATEMEN E T CAN BE HARD TO FI

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THE HEALERS

THE DETOX MARKET 367 KING ST. W. 416.548.9879 THEDETOXMARKET.COM “We believe in pure, natural products that work” is the mantra hanging in the front foyer of KW’s newest wellness mecca, The Detox Market. The store, which originated in LA, opened as a pop-up in September 2012 and is now here to stay. Store coordinator Laura Townsend calls the Toronto location a “wellness community” that strives to reduce toxins through everyday alternatives. The one-stop-shop also houses a yoga studio (yogavita.ca), offers seminars on nutrition and naturopathy, and sells snacks and juices from locals Belmonte Raw. All of this in addition to its collection of natural and reasonably priced products that are mostly unique to the store, including freshly madeto-order Odacité skincare, New York’s luxurious vegan Rahua hair care line, and to-die-for perfumes from Honoré des Prés. —Brianna Bijman

THE SHOE IN

GRAVITYPOPE 1010 QUEEN ST. W. 647.748.5155 GRAVITYPOPE.COM The ’hood’s newest haven of cool, gravitypope, hails—surprise, surprise—from Edmonton. Since first opening its doors in 1990, this pope has a passionate following for its footwear, one that it is looking to replicate in Toronto. “A lot of heart and soul has gone into this store,” manager Jody Kirk says of their new location, and the high-quality esoteric selection of both shoes and designer apparel tell it all. In a lofty space adorned with an extravagant 1930’s staircase rescued from a Buenos Aires theatre and carefully chosen antique display cabinets, picks from design heavyweights such as Rick Owens, Paul Smith, Maria Cornejo and Marc Jacobs sit alongside obscure labels. This artful mix of haute and happening encourages discovery. Suffice it to say, gravitypope’s coveted cult following in the west is already afoot here. —Brianna Bijman

LLNESS STARTS BEAUTY AND WE ET. AT DETOX MARK FROM WITHIN

THE OUTFITTERS 201 NIAGARA ST.

PHOTOS: (SHOE) RICHARD SIEMENS, (CHAIR) COURTESY OF FREED HOME, (DETOX MARKET AND LA DESIGN) NAOMI FINLAY; LA DESIGN CREW STYLED BY GOTSTYLE

416.363.4470 LIVINGARTSDESIGN.COM

A veteran of the KW scene, Living Arts Design has moved shop. Their new digs add style cred to an emerging art and design strip south of King on Niagara. “LightForm is up the street, and Walnut Contemporary gallery shares our first floor,” says interior designer Christopher Artymko. “The strip has much more of an artsy, design feel now. We love it.” Clean, comfortable and contemporary—much like the furniture and home accessories here on offer—this new split-level location, stripped back to beautiful bricks and beams, offers visual inspiration for the home, office and cottage. In the upper-level studio one finds the branch-like chandeliers of Brothers Dressler, David Trubridge light pendants and sleek Martha Sturdy sculptures. But the ultimate walk-in draw is LA’s custom furnishings: vintage Steelcase chairs upholstered in felt, a sprawling ebony dining-room table, a quirky cowhide sofa. Staged in an apartment-style setup—complete with idealized kitchen, bathroom, bedroom and living room—the LA Design style is on full 3D display in the downstairs showroom. Since opening its doors in ’94, LA Design has tackled everything from architectural renovations to hotel interiors. If you don’t see it on the showroom floor, feel free to go bespoke with an in-home consultation. —Eli Yarhi

THE FINISHER FREED HOME FREEDHOME.CA

A SPANKING NEW CONDO NEEDS A WHOLE NEW LOOK. ENTER FREED HOME—A ONE-STOP SHOP THAT OFFERS EVERYTHING FROM INTERIOR DESIGN SERVICES TO HOME FURNISHINGS. BOOK A CONSULTATION WITH DESIGN CONSULTANT NANCY LAGROTTA TO CHECK OUT YOUR FLOOR PLAN AND YOUR FINISHES, AND HAVE FURNITURE, ACCESSORIES, EVEN WINDOW COVERINGS ALL LINED UP FOR YOUR MOVE-IN DATE.

THE TR ADITIO NAL WI TAKES NGBACK ON A N CHAIR EW MOD SLEEK ERNITY MARINE IN A BLUE.

LIBATIONS BLACKBERRY PETRICHOR

That was one hell of a long winter. A toast then, to the earth born anew—here’s a drink as refreshing as spring rain. The floral crispness of Hendrick’s is especially invigorating with a touch of bittersweet Aperol, and grapefruit pairs perfectly with the subtle spice of thyme. Ancient Romans used the herb to flavour their hooch and believed it could cure the melancholic—making this drink the perfect treatment for anyone suffering from lack of sun. Added bonus: Blackberries are full of antioxidants, so if you’re on a pre-beach-season health kick, this drink is practically good for you. 1½ OZ HENDRICK’S GIN ½ OZ APEROL ¼ OZ HAYMAN’S SLOE GIN

848 KING ST. W. 647.352.3318 PSBYPRETTYSWEET.COM

A pale-pink dollhouse that’s come to life as a congenial bakery, PS by Prettysweet is the quintessence of hominess. Antique floral tea sets, DIY light fixtures made from castoff cutlery and whisks, and a cozy fireplace lend character to the repurposed row house’s simple interior. After stints in the pastry kitchen at Splendido and Senses, owner Adjoa Duncan has been making a name for herself in the custom cake business. In addition to her famous made-to-order wedding cakes, the chalkboard menu at PS boasts Duncan’s humbler house-made baked goods, like individual cheesecakes in mason jars, gooey butter tarts and decadent chocolate brownies. To wash down all the prettiness, PS pours 10 Tealish blends and fair-trade organic coffee from Fair Grounds. —Rebecca Feigelsohn

2 SPRIGS THYME 3 BLACKBERRIES

Muddle the blackberries and thyme into the juice, add the rest and shake sharply. Fine strain into an iced glass and garnish with a sprig of thyme. Joe Howell is head bartender at the membersonly Spoke Club / thespokeclub.com

PHOTOS: (DRINK) ADRIAN ARMSTRONG, (SWEETS) COURTESY OF PS BY PRETTY SWEET

THE SWEET TOOTH PS BY PRETTY SWEET

2 OZ FRESHLY SQUEEZED GRAPEFRUIT JUICE

B-AND-GO FRESH THINKING FOR THE GRA ROUND PATH. ERG UND ’S BAY AND SET IN KING

PHOTOS: COURTESY OF KUPFERT & KIM

NEWS FOR FOODIES

PROCLAIMER

KW heats up with the arrival of Miami-based Cibo Wine Bar in the former Alimento digs on King, where executive chef Saverio Macri (of Yorkville’s Ciao Wine Bar) will dish up authentic Italian cuisine accompanied by an extensive wine list … Meanwhile, Alimento’s former baker, Andrea Mastrandrea, opens his own rustic Italian-style bakery, Forno Cultura, one block west, underneath popular sausage hall WVRST, with a plate-glass view onto the action around the forno and their killer old-country sweets like amaretti bianchi … Across the street, Brioche Dorée bakes it up Parisian style with quiches, croissants and crepes ... For the gluten free, Kupfert & Kim’s “meatless and wheatless” takeout kiosk in the PATH under First Canadian Place brings vegan bowls, salads and breakfasts to Bay Street suits in need of a health-food fix … Best known for its short-rib burger, Marben reopens after a full-blown reno and a menu revamp by executive chef Rob Bragagnolo … Resto impresario Charles Khabouth adds to his ever-expanding KW empire (Weslodge, Patria) with this latest offering, a new offshoot of Montreal Italian eatery Buonanotte … The Drake Hotel will open its first standalone restaurant, Drake One Fifty, in the Financial District at 150 York Street. In true Drake fashion, the resto will be topped off with a bar, general store and art/performance space … Dupont’s Live Organic Food Bar sets up a Liberty Village outpost with Live Market. Grab some vegan takeout, pick up organic makeup from the store section and sip an Ezra’s Pound espresso—the coffee master is also in-house … The long-awaited Bar Buca at 75 Portland is set to open in late spring. Café by day, bar by night, Buca’s casual little sister will serve up Italian cuisine, tapas style, from brioche to buona notte. —Rebecca Feigelsohn

MICROTREND

LOBSTER ROLLS CAROLYN DREBIN’S BEST GIG EVER LOBSTER IS THE

CRUSTACEAN OF THE MOMENT. WITH PLUMMETING PRICES THANKS TO ABUNDANCE, THERE’S NEVER BEEN A BETTER OR MORE AFFORDABLE TIME TO GET YOUR LOBSTER FIX. HENCE, THE ARRIVAL OF THE FORMERLY HUMBLE LOBSTER ROLL. THREE DOWNTOWN HOTSPOTS ARE PACKED WITH CUSTOMERS LINING UP TO SHELL OUT.

ROCK LOBSTER

BUSTER’S SEA COVE

THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY

Owner and chef Matt Dean Pettit is determined to bring lobster from the elite to the street. The lobster lover says he grew up at Red Lobster, hand in the tank. With the proliferation of oyster houses downtown, Pettit wondered why there weren’t any “lobster houses,” and thus the Rock Lobster Food Co. was born. After hugely successful and crazy-queued pop-ups in Kensington Market and at TUM (Toronto Underground Market), his fresh PEI and Nova Scotia crustaceans found a home on Ossington. Top-loaded buns are flown in from Nova Scotia and filled with lobster meat tossed in house-made mayo and secret proprietary seasonings. Served up with a huge McClure’s dill pickle and a side of hand-cut Yukon gold chips ($14). B-52s, eat your heart out!

Tom Antonarakis and Quinten Tran’s grill and fryer have been a St. Lawrence Market stalwart for almost 20 years. Last summer saw the launch of their seafood-centric food truck. Despite offerings of sandwiches and fry-ups, it was the spectacular lobster roll that had customers coming back for more. Originally a mobile menu special, its popularity earned The Roll a permanent home on the market menu when the truck was parked for the winter. East Coast lobster arrives daily and is cooked, cracked and massaged to make sure no stray shells spoil the tenderized meat. It’s then lightly dressed with celery and chives and stuffed in a bespoke split-top bun. The overflowing roll is accompanied by a sour dill spear and a heap of slaw or fries ($15). Extra napkins required as this roll runneth over.

This counter-service lunchtime hotspot is known for its modern and tasty take on traditional fish ‘n’ chips. Don’t let the newsprint and nautical charm fool you. Wednesday is Lobster Roll day, and the weekly specials practically swim out the door. With lobsters arriving each Wednesday morning, owner Phil Sato and his staff get busy cracking shells and stuffing lightly toasted top-split Wonderbread rolls with a half-pound of fresh lobster meat. A quick slick of mayo, a glaze of lemon butter and a sprinkling of green onion make this ultimate roll complete. Completely delicious! Served with either a side salad ($16.99) or fries ($15.99). Come for the fish—but stay for the lobster rolls.

110 OSSINGTON AVE. 416.533.1800 @ROCKLOBSTERFOOD

93 FRONT ST. E. 416.369.9048 @BUSTERSSEACOVE

581 KING ST. W. 647.351.6153 @THEONEFISH

PHOTO: NAOMI FINLAY

THIS IS THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY.

BURDOCK

Creative cooking with tongue and cheek is hip enough, but Ursa’s Jacob Sharkey Pearce says vegetables are poised to take over the plate. Here, the innovative chef dishes about one of his favourite veggies—the little-known burdock. WHAT IT IS: A root vegetable, aka arctium lappa. All the parts of the plant are used, some for medicinal purposes. But the root, which looks a bit like a carrot or a parsnip, is what you want for cooking. WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: This versatile root is more complex and flavourful than most others. “It’s nutty and earthy, kind of like a parsnip blended with a potato that took a walk in the rain with a bottle of Scotch in hand and fell over drunk in a mud puddle,” says Sharkey Pearce. With calcium, potassium and amino acids, it’s got good nutritional value, too. WHERE TO GET IT: Available in Chinatown year-round. WHAT TO DO WITH IT: Use it like you would a potato or any other root vegetable. “One thing we like to do is wash it well, make lengthwise strips using a vegetable peeler or mandolin, then soak the strips in tamari for about 10 minutes. Lay them on parchment paper and bake at 150°F overnight (or put them in a dehydrator). Eat the chips as they are or add them to a dish as a crispy element.”

JACOB SHARKEY PEARCE’S BURDOCK GNOCCHI 1¼ LB POTATOES (IDEALLY HEIRLOOM, OLD SEED) 1¼ LB BURDOCK 1 EGG, BEATEN 2 EGG YOLKS, BEATEN

PROCLAIMER

VEG OUT

LA PRIMA TUTTI MATTI’S ALIDA SOLOMON

364 ADELAIDE ST. W. / 416.597.8839 TUTTIMATTI.COM

Italian food may be all the rage, but the intrepid and talented Alida Solomon, chef and owner of Tutti Matti, has been bringing true Tuscan method cooking, learned the hard way in the kitchens of the region, to the ’hood for over a decade. To celebrate this milestone, Tutti Matti hosted a month-long “Festival of the Crazies” (Sagra dei Matti), with weekly prix-fixe menus, each showcasing a different animal—from the famed beef of Tuscany to the wild boar. Also on offer was Tutti Matti’s first bespoke wine: La Sarta Vino Rosso (“the Seamstress”), a Syrah blend from grapes out of Montalcino and Sicily. When she lived in Tuscany, Solomon became fascinated with the winemaking process. With the help of seasoned Italian winemaker and enologist Roberto Cipresso and award-winning designer Laura Wills, Solomon has also launched Wine Tailoring, a customized wine service that provides the personalized experience of creating one’s own vino without the ticket-price of an entire vineyard. From barrelling and blending to tasting and packaging, Wine Tailoring offers aspiring winos a 360degree experience with the bragging rights to boot. La Sarta is currently available at Tutti Matti ($85 list price) and will be at wine retailers soon. —Rebecca Feigelsohn

CHEF ALIDA SOLOMO N HAS BEEN DOING IT TU SCAN STYLE FOR A DECA DE.

1¾ CUPS ALL-PURPOSE FLOUR (PLUS EXTRA FOR DUSTING)

PHOTOS: (BURDOCK) ADRIAN ARMSTRONG, (SOLOMON) ROB HOWARD

SALT TO TASTE n Steam or parboil potatoes until tender, about 25 minutes. Remove, then use the same water to cook the burdock, which will take another 35 to 40 minutes. n Mash the potatoes and burdock. Ideally, use a potato ricer, but a food processor or manual masher will work too, as long as you break them down very well. If you’re not using a ricer, pass the potatoes and burdock through a sieve or fine cloth while still warm to take out all the bigger bits. n In a bowl or on a floured board, make a hole in the middle of the vegetable mixture. Put beaten eggs in the hole. Gradually add flour and salt—hold back at least ½ cup of the flour until it forms a smooth mound, don’t over-mix. n Once mixed, let the dough rest for 30 minutes covered in the fridge. Roll dough into long snakes and cut medallions. Leave as is or form into gnocchi shapes using the back of a fork. Cook in salted water until they float and serve with any sauce you like. Serves 4.

Jacob Sharkey Pearce is co-owner and chef at Ursa 924 Queen St. W., ursa-restaurant.com

A LOOKER. T MUCH OF O N S ’ K C O BURD

BY SHOLEM KRISHTALKA

PHOTOS: COURTESY OF ALEX MCLEOD

LOCAL TALENT ALEX McLEOD

Walking into Alex McLeod’s loft studio is a multisensory affair. I am greeted immediately by a smorgasbord of sounds: the schmaltzy melancholy of the Downton Abbey soundtrack, a small chorus of computer cooling-fan hums, and a vague smell of burnt plastic. I walk past the work desk—a vast table that houses three enormous flat-screen monitors and stands atop at least three computer towers, each in various states of assembly. A rainbow of cables and wires and plugs criss-cross the floor, all of which lead to the source of the burnt plastic aroma: a small machine atop a roughly 8-inch square platform, being fed a loop of white plastic through a heated nozzle. “Oh, that’s my 3D printer,” explains McLeod nonchalantly, in the same tone that anyone else might say, “Oh, that’s my coffee table.” And what is it doing? “Right now, it’s printing one of my clouds.” He directs me to a small table by the far wall, where similar “printed” objects, mostly painted black, stand in a huddle. “This is what I’m going to have—not complete dioramas, but little vignettes. And clouds suspended from the ceiling. McLeod is in the midst of preparing for his upcoming solo show at the Angell Gallery. Since graduating from OCAD in 2007, he’s begun showing internationally, and his work has landed in numerous public and corporate collections, including the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art (MOCCA), the Royal Bank of Canada and the Bank of Montreal. His slickly shiny worlds have not escaped notice—Kanye West has blogged about him. For his upcoming solo show, in addition to the immensely time-consuming and ambitious 2D work, McLeod plans to take the elements that comprise his glossy dioramas into the third dimension. He crosses over to a bookshelf and picks up more of these miniature printouts: something that looks vaguely like the Trinity Bellwoods Park gates, a stack of bespoke Lincoln Logs, more blobby clouds. “It’s not future architecture, or historical architecture, it could be any time, but it’s no time,” McLeod says. “By using something that’s like a toy, but then making an old-school or a futuristic structure out of it, totally removes it from any architectural history.” McLeod’s entire practice attempts a kind of giddy acontextuality. For those unfamiliar, his work—mostly computer-generated prints, up to now—consists of landscapes, but landscapes devoid of any references of any kind. They are not reproductions of existing landscapes, or even fictitious landscapes. What’s more, they’re entirely devoid of material references: There are shapes that are recognizable as clouds, or trees, or small houses; surfaces that can be read as lakes, or snowy hills, or grassy cliffs; locations that seem urban, or suburban, or rural. But every object and every surface—rough or smooth, gas or liquid or solid—has a kind of polish, like a plastic-covered couch. In fact, McLeod doesn’t even refer to them by name: Instead of trees or clouds, he calls them “assets.” He “sources” his assets from various open-source web archives of 3D-rendered objects. “I want the simplest, archetypal idea of a shape. I don’t want to fake the funk and try to emulate something that exists in real life. And I think that separates it even further…making a render of a fake toy version of the real thing.” Furthermore, even in his super-shiny Super Mario dreamscapes, built in rendering software, not necessarily subject to any physical laws, McLeod includes yet more hallmarks of fakery: his clouds (which, of course, look like ceramic puffs) hang tethered to tiny wires. “It’s playing with the idea of what can be produced digitally. I don’t want the work to look like some digital thing. I really like how handmade honest dioramas look. I want them to look as if they could exist in real life.” McLeod plays a strange echogame of counterfeit: His images look like real photographs of theoretical dioramas of nonexistent landscapes. I could talk a big art theory game about simulacra and the vanishing signifier, but this seems ill fitting to McLeod’s style. He talks with a rapper’s drawl, and instead of referring to aspects of his images “succeeding,” he says “popping off.” When I present him with a challenge to his process, he nods and says that he “feels” me. And in fact, if he gave me a proper art-school rundown of Baudrillard, I would think his work smug and smarmy. He has arrived at this semiotic wormhole not through footnotes and textual wrestling, but through play and improvisation, like Super Mario wagging his raccoon tail and soaring off into the fake blue yonder.

ALEX MCLEOD IS REPRESENTED BY THE ANGELL GALLERY, ANGELLGALLERY.COM. HIS WORK IS ALSO ON VIEW AT ALXCLU B.COM

THE READ

GOOD EGG’S MIKA BAREKET DISHES OUT HER TOP 3 COOKBOOKS FOR THE SEASON

THE LIST

How to Boil an Egg by Rose Carrarini (Phaidon) From the founder of Rose Bakery, a Parisian haven celebrated for early and midday meals served with panache, comes this bright, whimsically designed collection of egg-based recipes. From Anglo classics like Toad in the Hole, to chawanmushi, a Japanese savoury custard, Carrarini has nature’s perfect food, both cheap and cheerful, covered. Hyper-real illustrations by artist Fiona Strickland.

HEA

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Vegetable Literacy by Deborah Madison (Random House) Exploring the relationship between garden and kitchen, the venerable author of Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone divides the world of veg into 12 categories, or “families.” She teaches how members of each family can often be used interchangeably (for example, leek for onion, and parsnip for carrot)— giving home cooks a richer repertoire. Helpful tips for gardeners and trustworthy recipes throughout.

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Every Grain of Rice: Simple Chinese Home Cooking by Fuchsia Dunlop (Bloomsbury) An elegant primer on Chinese home cooking by the Julia Child of Sichuan cuisine. Dunlop demystifies what is often thought to be a complex cuisine, offering accessible everyday dishes that are vegetable-focused and full of flavour. She makes a great case for using meat and fish as an accent rather than the hero of a meal. Skip takeout! And save some leftovers for late-night snack attacks.

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THE EMERSON A number of things about this newish Blansdowne restaurant are already clichés of hipsterdom: the emphasis on locally grown comfort food (Brussels sprouts with bacon, lamb shank), the craft beers, the plaid-shirted staff, the old bicycles hanging from the walls, the vintage motorcycle in the window, even the lack of a noticeable sign outside (like, if you don’t already know the place, you don’t need to, right?). But put aside your annoyances about fashion, for this is a genuinely comfortable spot, and they will treat you with interest even if you don’t ride a fixie and have a haiku tattooed on your sternum. My favourites: osso buco, cauliflower coleslaw. (1279 Bloor St. W.)

TOWN MOTO I’m not a vintage motorcycle fetishist—in fact, I’ve never driven a motorcycle—but there’s something about real motorcycle jackets that makes you really want to pretend. This shop sells clothes and accessories for poseurs like me (although they are connected to actual racing events and host seminars on fixing your bike). The place smells of leather and there is always a motorcycle in the window—though it’s for display only. My biggest interest is not in oily machine parts but in classic ’50s jackets like the Schott Perfecto, the textbook zippered punk one with the angled chest pocket. Because I still love the Ramones. (132 Ossington Ave.)

KNIT TIES There is something professorial, something Ivy League about a nubbly, square-ended tie. But you don’t have to restrict them to tweed jackets and chinos. They’re having a runway moment right now, paired with elegant suits and shiny shoes as much as with denim. The thing about the new knit ties is that they’re silk, not wool or cotton, so although they retain a rough texture they still make a small knot. I have a few: one silver-grey, one navy (by Toronto-based Dion) for charcoal suits, and a couple of bright, cheap and cheerful ones—green and pink—from Uniqlo, for summer jackets. They don’t look academic, they look Bond-y. Get some at Theodore 1922, a surprisingly urbane men’s store in the vegetarian Annex. (497 Bloor St. W.)

CANADIAN SHORT STORIES I’ve had it with our novels, those lumbering, sombre reflections on oppression and family. If you were, say, Danish, curious about this country, and you looked at the finalists for the CBC’s Canada Reads competition as exemplars of Canadian literary preoccupations, you would quickly dismiss Canada as a very gloomy and rural place. On to Cameroon or Cambodia. And yet our actual cities are filled with educated and cosmopolitan young people typing away furiously on MacBooks, connected to the world at large— where are their stories reflected? The conservatism in our blockbusters exists because the large publishers in this country are in so much financial trouble they are terrified to take risks. But short stories are published in small, subsidized magazines or online; they don’t have to make money. It’s in these magazines—Eighteen Bridges, The New Quarterly, Joyland, even the fiction pages of The Walrus—that you’ll find the humour and the contemporary sensibility, the zip and zing, that books used to provide. BOILER ROOM TV I don’t get out to clubs much any more, what with the extreme old age and all. But I miss the hot box vibe, I miss the darkness and the thick goopy bass, I miss the girls in tank tops. Now the Internet provides a virtual club experience that sates my jones for proximity to glowing turntables. Some geniuses in the east end of London came up with the idea of hosting small, dark warehouse parties with big-name DJs and videostreaming them live to the Internet. They set up the DJ facing the camera, with the dancing crowd behind him, so you can see what folks are wearing and how they react to every bass drop. Glitches, feedback and drunks bumping the decks are not edited out. They have expanded their party series to New York, Berlin, LA and elsewhere, and there is now a huge library of sets—more than 2,500 hours of music—up for free viewing on their site, with every underground dance genre represented. (My favourites: Richie Hawtin in London, Dubfire in Amsterdam, Gaiser in Berlin, DVS1 in Seattle.) With good headphones on, it’s a quick escapist club fantasy without the lineups and body searches. (www.boilerroom.tv)

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CULTURE BY LEANNE DELAP

The 30 or so fresh-faced employees in the Richmond West offices of Arts & Crafts are arranged in cubicles, the veal-fattening pens of Doug Couplandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dystopic corporate vision. But there are no cranky cogs here at Torontoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s coolest indie record label: This is a bunch of kids living their dream jobs. With too many DJs in the house, however, there had to be a democratic way to agree on what to listen to.

Kevin Drew & Jeffrey Remedios, cofounders of Arts & Crafts

“We have a software system for office music, everyone adds to the queue. By Friday afternoon, it gets more eclectic and turns into an ’80s dance party,” says Keiran Roy (who became a partner last year at the label cofounded 10 years ago by Jeffrey Remedios and Kevin Drew, who is also a cofounder of the legendary Toronto ensemble band Broken Social Scene—the collaborative ethos of which much informs proceedings). Arts & Crafts is a small and nimble artists’ services concern formed amid the backdrop of—and in response to—upheaval in the record business revenue model with the advent of digital technologies. Amazingly, it survived 10 years. The tenth anniversary will be celebrated with an old-fashioned hoedown: the Field Trip Music & Arts Festival co-headlined by Broken Social Scene and Feist, an allday outdoor concert on Saturday June 8th at Fort York and Garrison Common. “The city finally allows you to stand outside on a piece of grass and listen to music with a beer in your hand,” Remedios says. Today the A&C offices are lined with album covers (and some 20 Juno awards) from a lineup that also includes Stars, Timber Timbre, Dan Mangan, Trust, Cold Specks and Jason Collett. This really is a case of getting by with a little help from your friends. “In the early 2000s,” says Remedios (who was working for Virgin at the time), “there was a strong healthy artistic community in this city. Kevin Drew and Brendan Canning were putting together Broken Social Scene. So we said, ‘Let’s get our friends together— Metric, Feist, Apostle of Hustle, Jason Collett (a few were on indie labels, but most were unsigned)—and let’s do some shows.’” Well, those shows got to be very well known, at Lola Lounge, Ted’s Wrecking Yard, the Rivoli, the Horseshoe. Those sessions became You Forgot it in People, the second Broken Social Scene album. “And then we decided to start a company around this music.” Which brings us to that “indie” word. “There is an Arts & Crafts sound,” Remedios says, “but it is not defined by genre. It is about authenticity. Something that is going to age well. I mean, I love fashion in my clothing, but not in my music.” To his credit, Remedios admits he did not know the reference to the Arts & Crafts movement when he picked the name. “I reverse-

engineered it, and Googled it after the fact.” But the connection holds: The same urge to strip down ornamentation and uniformity and return to traditional, artisanal methods of creativity is as of the moment now as it was in William Morris’ time (and the breaking down of the Big Brother record labels who make the Princes of the world want to adorn their foreheads with the word “slave” mirrors the movement’s social reformist element). Over the past decade, Arts & Crafts has gained an international following and is a throwback to the days when a record label imprimatur was enough to get a new band a listen (think Sun Records in Memphis or Motown in Detroit). There are now the 30 twentysomethings in the Toronto office (Remedios is 37 and Roy is 36; Drew, 36, is more a guiding light than a day-to-day presence), plus one staffer in LA and an office in Mexico City. “The same forces that destroyed traditional music business have opened up new opportunities,” Remedios says. Client-side, there is remarkable range in the stable, ranging from Zeus, which is classic rock, to Feist, to The Darcys, which is sort of a re-imagined Steely Dan—a spectrum of sound that speaks to the individuality of the label’s artists, who gig everywhere from a small gallery to the Air Canada Centre. What A&C actually does is customized for each act: It records and releases albums (according to the artist’s wishes, some in a basement, some in a classic studio of their choice), manages careers and accounts, arranges tours and deals with the fast-changing world of promotion. “We don’t do typical public relations anymore, because people don’t consume information the same way,” Roy says. “We need to help musicians create content.” Hence all the youthful social-mediasavvy staffers. “The music press has changed,” Roy continues. “They were the traditional gatekeepers but no longer.” It was actually around the time he started the label that Remedios says he realized that a Pitchfork online review of Broken Social Scene was what broke the band open. The new age of instant feedback has “totally changed the dynamic,” Remedios says. “In the old days at a label we would sit in an office and wonder who X’s fans were. I remember going to a concert and looking

PHOTOS: COURTESY OF ARTS & CRAFTS

Feist

“THERE IS AN ARTS & CRAFTS SOUND, BUT IT IS NOT DEFINED BY GENRE. IT IS ABOUT AUTHENTICITY. SOMETHING THAT IS GOING TO AGE WELL. I MEAN, I LOVE FASHION IN MY CLOTHING, BUT NOT IN MY MUSIC.”

Jason Collett

Zeus

Ra Ra Riot

around to find out. Now artists and fans have a direct connection.” But nothing replaces a mic, a stage and a sweaty audience. “Playing live is a cornerstone. It gives music a sense of place. Togetherness.” The way the label and the bands interact is at the centre of the A&C ethos. “North Star,” a clever media-savvy wordplay on our latitude, is the company mantra: “Our North Star is collaboration. We fundamentally believe in the free-flow of ideas. Let them tell their story, their way.” Dan Mangan, the Vancouver-based singer/songwriter and Juno 2012 New Artist of the Year, recalls hooking up with Arts & Crafts. “In 2009, my second record was out and picking up steam and I was in the eye of the storm. It was a life-changing kind of time. I was totally unmanaged, doing everything myself and I was suddenly the focus of some industry attention. But when A&C called me, I was blown away. I had so much respect. It was my dream choice. We met for two hours in Amsterdam and they just had a great outlook, matching creative with strategic industry smarts.” It is all about fit and family, he says, and a kind of anti-paternalism. “The major labels were crumbling towers because they painted all artists with the same brush, that ‘hey kid, I’m gonna make you a star’ thing.” A&C was born out of the ashes of that model, an indie umbrella over artists as unique entities that speaks to an overarching independent spirit. Says Mangan, “I don’t generally get the sense anyone is bent on world domination, that they want to be Coldplay.” Remedios agrees that A&C’s “decentralized approach allows [the artists] the time and space and scope for creative vision.” He cites the concept of disruptive innovation. “Why did Sotheby’s not create eBay? Why did the Yellow Pages not create Craigslist? At a major label today it would be like being Encyclopaedia Britannica and knowing that Wikipedia was coming.” The ground is still moving under their feet though, the partners agree. “Things change every single day,” Remedios says. Streaming is taking the place of iTunes, which was supposed to be the next big thing. “No smelling the roses,” Roy adds. Which leaves the question: Would a rose by any other name smell as sweet? Hopefully Arts & Crafts will keep true to its prescient name, staying small and beautiful to navigate the shifting sands of the recording industry. And, as with the office playlist, collaboration will continue to be its North Star along the way.

A&C’s ANNIVERSARY SWAG Arts & Crafts: X An original collection of collaborative recordings by A&C artist pairings, including new compositions and fresh interpretations A&C x Norman Wong A photo exhibit by Toronto-based fashion and celebrity shooter Norman Wong of iconic blackand-white portraits featuring prominent members of the A&C roster as well as a photographic A&C retrospective A&C x House of Anansi: The Broken Social Scene Story Contest A short-fiction contest inspired by You Forgot It In People, hosted by Canadian publisher House of Anansi Press A&C x Jeremy Laing: Fashion Collaborations A limited edition T-shirt series collaboration created by designer Jeremy Laing, contemporary Canadian visual artists and A&C musicians, available at The Bay; with proceeds to MusiCounts A&C x Gallery Exhibition x Pop Up A pop-up shop/gallery exhibition opening in late May at a yet-to-be-announced location that will serve as HQ for all things AC10 and Field Trip Arts & Crafts: 2003-2013 A 10-year retrospective double album/quadruple vinyl of hits and rare B-sides arts-crafts.ca/AC10

Former FASHION editor and gal about town Leanne Delap writes about everything from beauty to fashion to food for the Toronto Star and magazines across the country.

Still Life Still

Cold Specks

CULTURE

CRITIC J. KELLY NESTRUCK TAKES US BEHIND THE CURTAINS AT FACTORY THEATRE TO DELIVER THE INSIDE SCOOP ON KW’S MOST SCANDALOUS CULTURAL COUP We’re at the Factory Theatre on a late-winter afternoon, when a strong beam of early spring sunshine begins to crawl through the west-facing windows of what was once the artistic director’s office and is now the office for a pair of artistic directors. Nina Lee Aquino and Nigel Shawn Williams—crowded around a single desk that they’ve just started to share as Factory’s newly minted leaders—are talking enthusiastically about the future of the downtown theatre company as these welcome warm rays begin to creep across my face. “The theatre’s changing, just like the neighbourhood,” says Williams, an actor of Jamaican-Chinese background who has played starring roles everywhere from David Mirvish’s Royal Alexandra Theatre to the Shaw Festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake. “It’s changing like the city’s changing. It’s not just a different look; it’s a different vibe.” But Williams pauses from his resounding, classically trained delivery of this spiel for a moment when I put up my hand up to shade my eyes from the sun. “Is it too bright?” he asks. Not at all. Indeed, Factory Theatre desperately needs some bright light after eight months that have perhaps been the darkest in its 43-year history. Last June, Canada’s arts community was stunned when Factory’s founding artistic director, Ken Gass, was suddenly fired by his own board of directors. Behind the scenes, the two parties had been at loggerheads for almost a year over differing plans to bring the theatre’s facilities up to 21st-century standards of accessibility and artistry. The problem: Factory’s two theatres, a 200-seat main stage and a smaller studio theatre, are located in a beautiful but crumbling heritage property at the corner of Bathurst and Adelaide—an 1869 mansion in the Queen Anne Gothic style with a large addition that dates back to 1910. Gass had backed an ambitious $12-million redesign by architect Phil Goldsmith that would have moved the original house further west and then linked it to the old addition with a contemporary steel and glass structure. However, Factory’s board, chaired by local real estate agent Ron Struys, wanted a quicker, cheaper fix—one that would compromise these plans. This was hardly the first marriage to fall apart over disagreements about renovations, but the backlash against what many saw as a board overreaction was swift. Given that Gass had not only founded Factory but had returned to its helm in 1997 to save it from financial ruin, his summary dismissal was greeted with a petition for his reinstatement—and then a boycott when it was ignored. Notably, playwrights George F. Walker, Judith Thompson and Michel Marc Bouchard—all three of them past winners of the Governor General’s Awards for drama—pulled shows. As the offstage drama dragged on, however, many younger Toronto theatre creators decided they didn’t want to see the ship go down with the captain.

FACTORY THEATR E’S FOUNDING ARTISTIC DIRECTOR KEN GASS, BACK IN THE DAY

“WHAT WE DO AT FACTORY THEATRE IS EDGY AND WE’RE GOING TO ATTRACT THE PEOPLE WHO WANT TO TAKE RISKS.”

RECTORS CO-ARTISTIC DI NO W NE S E’ TR EA LEE AQUI FACTORY TH IAMS AND NINA LL WI N AW SH L NIGE

PHOTOS: COURTESY OF FACTORY THEATRE, (CURRENT DIRECTORS) LAUREN MURPHY

Enter Williams, 47, from Canada’s more mainstream theatre circles, and his longtime friend and collaborator Aquino, 35, an up-and-coming Filipina-Canadian director who has run diverse and dynamic local companies like Cahoots Theatre Projects and fu-GEN Asian Canadian Theatre Company. The pair represent continuity and change: They both have long histories with Factory but also bring a much-needed splash of colour to the artistic leadership of a multicultural city where almost every other major theatre company is still run by a white man. “Crisis, in other people’s languages, means ‘dangerous opportunity,’” Aquino says. “We’re taking the events of last summer as an opportunity to not go back to business as usual but to really set goals to achieve success in new ways.” One opportunity that Factory has largely missed out on is tapping into that vertical city that has grown up around its problematic building. To the south, King Street has been re-fashioned as a residential district, while to the north, the Queen and Portland Loft and Condominium residences have more recently completely transformed a block gutted by fire in 2008. Most of the area’s new condo dwellers, however, don’t go to Factory or even know it exists, managing director Sara Meurling was surprised to discover when she started going through the theatre’s boxoffice database. “One of the shocking things is that M5V 2R2—the 4,000 units that surround [the theatre]—wasn’t heavily represented in our audience base,” she says. Aquino, who lives the downtown condo lifestyle with her husband and young daughter, has similarly come to the realization that her highrise neighbours know little about what’s on stage in Toronto beyond what David Mirvish advertises at the Royal Alexandra and (slated for demolition) Princess of Wales. “When I say theatre, it’s only War Horse—or the big mega-musicals,” she notes. Yet any condo dweller’s crash course in the Toronto independent theatre scene—which has the vibrancy if still not quite the Feistflavoured cool of its indie music scene—would begin with Factory Theatre. Founded by Gass with Frank Trotz in 1970, it was the very first theatre in English Canada to devote itself exclusively to plays written by Canadians. It struck gold right away by discovering the darkly comic writings of George F. Walker, who was working as a taxi driver when he spotted a poster calling for plays for what was initially “Factory Theatre Lab.” He has since become one of Canada’s most produced playwrights at home and abroad, so his withdrawal of his latest play was a particular blow for the theatre company. And yet, there is a significant part of Factory’s history that doesn’t include either Gass or Walker. From 1978 to 1997, the theatre was run by directors like Bob White (now at the Stratford Festival) and Jackie Maxwell (now head honcho at the Shaw Festival). That’s a period that saw works by a young Rick Mercer before he was a CBC TV comedy star; Robert Lepage’s Dragon Trilogy, before the Quebec director started working on the Ring cycle for New York’s Metropolitan Opera; and Tomson Highways’ The Rez Sisters, before the Cree playwright would have a huge hit at the Royal Alexandra. As for Aquino’s and Williams’ plans to lure their new neighbours and regain the theatre’s cultural cred, the new artistic directors have put together a four-play season—a shorter one than usual, due to the recent turmoil—that will feature works by the famous (like Life of Pi author Yann Martel), the lesser known (Priscila Uppal, called “Canada’s coolest poet” by Time Out London) and the little known (up-and-coming Edmonton playwright Beth Graham). They make no promises, however. “What we do at Factory is risky,” Williams says. “It’s edgy and we’re going to attract the people who want to take risks or witness or be around it.” Factory’s board of directors—still facing calls for resignation from the likes of Toronto Star critic Richard Ouzounian—took the biggest risk of all in dispensing with Gass. Now it’s up to his successors to prove if it was a roll of the dice worth taking.

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THIN BIG

KING IMPRESARIO DAVID MIRVISH AND ARCHITECT FRANK GEHRY TEAM UP TO MAKE THEIR MARK ON KING WEST BY JOHN BENTLEY MAYS

’s twisted trio of tow

ers

“THE OVERALL SHAPE OF THE SCHEME IS AS PROVOCATIVE AND VISUALLY EXCITING AS ANYTHING GEHRY HAS PROPOSED ANYWHERE.”

(RENDERING) COURTESY OF PROJECTCORE INC., (MIRVISH AND GEHRY) MARTIN ISKANDER

A mock-up of Gehry

If the vivid wishes of theatrical impresario David Mirvish for King Street West come true—and there are already critics lining up to see that they don’t—a trio of very tall, exuberantly imaginative condominium towers designed by Frank Gehry will start to rise, a couple of years from now, atop the rubble of Mirvish’s Princess of Wales Theatre and a row of elderly warehouses he owns. As Toronto learned last fall, when the application landed at City Hall, everything about the Mirvish/Gehry proposal is big. Each of the skyscrapers is projected to stand more than 80 storeys high. There will be new housing for upwards of 5,000 people—an uptick in population density unmatched by any other residential complex in the King West neighbourhood. The base of one tower will shelter a 60,000-square-foot museum dedicated to showcasing the abstract art Mirvish has been collecting and championing for the past 50 years. The base of another will feature a satellite campus of OCAD University, a premier local training ground for future artists and designers. And speaking of big, there’s Gehry himself—at 84, the most sought-after and celebrated architect in the world. So why this super-sized construction project in King West? Why Gehry? And why now? The answer is that David Mirvish, 67, has been thinking about how upcoming generations will remember the contributions made to Toronto by his late father, entrepreneur “Honest Ed” Mirvish, and by himself. Above all, he wants the Gehry buildings to be a tribute to the legacies of (in the words of the application) “two Jewish boys who grew up in the ‘Jewish ghetto’ of Toronto”—Ed Mirvish and Frank Gehry—and who “share a triumphant story of immigration, struggle and prosperity.” “I think that’s what it is all about,” David Mirvish told me. We talked in an office in one of the old industrial structures he intends to tear down. “We didn’t go out to assemble land or to be developers,” he said. “We’ve been in this neighbourhood 50 years now, and we’ve evolved as a family. This is a piece of family history. I want to make this a place that will reach out, that will be of service to as many people as possible, a destination—a place for people who will live there. I want to make this the beating heart of the entertainment district.” Adding, “It’s great that you can walk [from here] to the symphony, to the opera, the baseball game, the Art Gallery of Ontario. This is a wonderful neighbourhood.” Making it home to the lavish Gehry project will not end the career of King West’s Royal Alexandra Theatre, which Ed Mirvish bought and restored in 1963, setting in train the revitalization of the downtown west neighbourhood. But it will involve the knockdown of the Princess of Wales, a much-praised entertainment venue that is not yet 20 years old. “I really feel badly about it,” Mirvish said, not very contritely. “But at the moment, I own four theatres, and I use them 50 to 60 percent of the time, so it’s not going to slow down the amount of theatre I will do. [The Princess of Wales] is one of the best theatres in North America. Fortunately, I built it, so if I need another theatre, I’ll build one, a better one.” The announcement of the Mirvish-Gehry collaboration was immediately greeted by a mixture of widespread approval by pundits in the mass media, and outcries from bloggers, architectural preservationists, concerned citizens and politicians. City councillor Adam Vaughan, who represents the ward in which the development is slated

ARCHITECTURE David Mirvish and Frank Ge hr y want the legacies of “t buildings to be wo Jewish bo a tribute to th ys who grew e up in the ‘Jewi sh ghet to’ of Toronto.”

to take place, for example, told me that he is especially concerned about the precedent Gehry’s huge towers would set for the future build-out of downtown’s west side, currently a blend of low- and mid-rise condo stacks, office blocks, restaurants and hotels. Vaughan and other critics also lament the loss of the warehouses and argue that, while it would be great to have an outstanding, ground-up Gehry work in Toronto (the AGO, completed in 2008, was basically a renovation), the project really should go up somewhere other than King West. Mirvish will have to deal with such opposition this spring when the application begins to wind its way through the public approvals labyrinth. But during our recent conversation, he dismissed his detractors with a wave of the hand. If it’s a choice between saving the theatre and Edwardian storage facilities, and a soaring Frank Gehry mixed-use edifice, there is no question, at least in his mind, which should triumph. “You get the creativity of Frank Gehry,” Mirvish said forcefully, launching into a long list of plusses—“a vertical garden with trees growing five storeys into the air, [a place] where you’ll be able to find a decent pair of shoes, where you’ll be able to have a great meal and see some art, where students will learn something. Should that not be at the crossroads of all the buildings that are already there?” He cites Roy Thomson Hall, across the street, the multi-screen home of the Toronto International Film Festival next door and the nearby Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts. “Look at what caused the city to bring Metro Hall here, then say this is not the place to take the next intellectual step. [The criticism] doesn’t make sense to me.” Something else that doesn’t quite make sense: Expecting Toronto to be enthusiastic about a massive initiative that’s largely still a gleam in Frank Gehry’s eye. Models setting out the architect’s early, fairly tame ideas were unveiled last autumn. But others, embodying far more flair and high spirits, have emerged from Gehry Partners’ Los Angeles studio since. It’s the restless way Gehry famously works— changing the elevations ceaselessly, modifying elements even as

deadlines loom. Leaving it up to colleagues in the office to translate the drawings into models, and turn the models into reality. That said, the overall shape of the scheme—three slender towers sprouting from elaborate podiums—doesn’t appear to be shifting. What’s undergoing radical rethinking is the artistic composition of each individual skyscraper. One is now a heap of clattering planes, another, a spire of bundled crystals, the third a jet of metal strips twisting and scrambling into the sky—all as provocative and visually exciting as anything Gehry has proposed to put up anywhere. But “exciting” is not hard to find these days. Younger, less bluechip firms and many schools are full of talented, ambitious designers aching to try their hand at really tall buildings. Mirvish could easily have found and hired one. One reason he didn’t, he said, is a fascination with Gehry that goes back to the days before the architect became an international phenomenon. Another is Gehry’s well-known knack for marrying immensely expressive design with the practical know-how needed to realize his visual ideas in time and space. “I saw the difficulty of building sculptured buildings,” Mirvish recalled. “But when Frank did the building at Eight Spruce Street [in New York City], which is a 76-storey condo and it had only four change orders in it, I knew he had perfected the method for building his types of buildings. I also thought, ‘What would provide the greatest challenge and incentive to what was there? What’s the best we can do? And what could become symbolic of the ambition of this city?’” Mirvish added: “It was a bonus that Frank originally came from Toronto, that he has memories of it, that he cares about it. I want to say something about the neighbourhood and my father’s accomplishments in growing the neighbourhood, and I want to put the best foot forward I can. I feel that Frank can express that like nobody else.” John Bentley Mays is an award-winning Toronto writer about art and architecture. He is also a clematis fanatic who is redesigning his deck garden, which should be resplendent in time for high summer.

photography by francisco garcia

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2013-10-04 12:23 PM

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PHOTOS: (LAING) NICOLE COMEAU, (RUNWAY IMAGES) COLLECTIVE EDIT

IT’S IN THE PROCESS OF DESIGN THAT JEREMY LAING FINDS HIS INSPIRATION BY KAREN VON HAHN

To this end, Laing crafts all his own patterns, which is not typical for fashion designers who normally leave the pattern-making of their sketches to more practiced assistants. But it is this level of handicraft and involvement that enables him to create and develop a silhouette. “Sometimes, I’m figuring out a fold,” he says, bending the funnelshaped neckline of a deceptively simple silk dress on the rack in front of us by way of illustration, “but then I might realize I really want to stitch it.” Days of cutting and fabric play in folding, draping and even washing and distressing a textile begin to reveal certain shapes. “This is the longest, most challenging part of the process, figuring out those templates for the season,” Laing says. “But once that works as a proposition, then you are close.” What drives him forward is this fascination with the engineering of a garment along with a sense of openness. “I have this ongoing desire to be surprised,” says Laing, who likes to upset his own carefully controlled framework by regularly pushing himself out of his comfort zone. “It’s important to force yourself out of what’s comfortable, subvert your own good taste and confront your own self-made rules.” For fall 2013, Laing surprised his many followers by introducing graphic swathes of colour to his typically minimal grey and black palette—a change in direction the designer emphasizes he arrived at organically, through process, rather than being influenced by trends. “I really don’t let myself rely on external stimuli for ‘inspiration’ because it so often seems forced when a collection is described that way,” Laing says. “And what if you didn’t see a movie that season that inspired you? It’s not like I get to take three years to record an album. As soon as we are back from selling the fall collection, I have to start working on spring.” This dedicated, near-purist approach ensures both that Laing is constantly evolving as a designer and that his clothes are as contemporary as the women who wear them. “I don’t have this big idea of what women should be,” says Laing, who clearly sees that modern women don’t want or need definition from a fashion designer. “Interesting can be beautiful, easy can be beautiful. To me, what’s beautiful is arriving at the elegant solution, the thing that wants to be done. Beautifully evolved, finished, articulated—that’s what interests me.”

FASHION

The ceilings in Canadian designer Jeremy Laing’s singularly cool downtown west studio must be 20 feet high. “This place used to belong to a coffin maker, and then a gas lamp factory and a Bell switchboard before we found it,” says Laing, clearly at home in the maximal minimalism of the space. Apart from racks of fall samples just returned from a whirlwind trip down the New York runway followed by a stint in a busy sales showroom in Paris, the designer’s downtown atelier is filled with nothing but abundant northern light. Laing, who interned for Alexander McQueen and launched his own label soon after graduating in 2002 from Ryerson, is an anomaly, uniquely successful in his ability to maintain a lifestyle here in Toronto while bravely courting success abroad. Singular in his refusal to jump on every passing trend, Laing is also remarkable for his lack of neurosis in the hysteria-prone world of fashion. He and his husband, Frank, who handles Jeremy’s PR and logistics, are cool enough to choose to work and live here without concern for their fashion cred. After six years of showing both here and in New York, Laing recognizes that there are tradeoffs to his choices. “‘I like it personally because it’s sort of isolated and apart from the action; on the other hand, I see how hard it is to make noise in the first place, let alone from a distance,” he says, joking that people here in Toronto “think I’m big in Japan.” Like the Japanese and the Belgian designers of the ’90s, Laing veers on the side of cerebral and is far from noisy. Neither are his carefully constructed, beautifully modern clothes. Indeed, what impresses one most on meeting Jeremy Laing is his quiet certainty. Tidily built and self-contained, Laing is as considered and articulate in his manner as he is in his work. Laing’s formative years were spent on an army base in Germany, where he learned to sew at 13 by watching his mother. Nonetheless, he first considered art school. “I was always drawing houses as a child,” he says. “I thought maybe I would be a chef or have an antique store”—a predilection toward artisanship that proves insightful once Laing starts talking about his work. “I like to take a process-based approach that is responsive to textiles and materials and comes about through working with them,” he says, calling this methodology “more cyclical and evolutionary than making clean breaks every season.”

FASHION ALISON GORDON, VP Strategy, Marketing and Communications, Rethink Breast Cancer What does your style communicate about you? Organized chaos.

MJ DECOTEAU, Executive Director, Rethink Breast Cancer What does your style communicate about you? I love a girly look, which is harder to navigate in your 40s. My 20s were filled with Betsey and Anna Sui frocks. I still get giddy walking into a Kate Spade or J.Crew store. Now I go for a more easy, nonchalant feminine look and more understated whimsy. I hope all this says that I’m bright, creative, fun, warm and kind—all those good things. What is your must-have item for spring? Ziliotto has an adorable blue striped preppy T-shirt dress, which is dressy enough for work and also super comfy for weekend errands and can be worn out to dinner with a smudgy eye à la Margot Tenenbaum. I need things to be multipurpose these days, so I’ll definitely be picking one up. How has the fashion industry supported your efforts at Rethink? Why was it a natural fit as a partner? We launched the charity with the support of FASHION magazine and Holt Renfrew. Over the years we’ve had many fashion brands as well as designers, editors, photographers, models and stylists support us through our Fashion Targets Breast Cancer T-shirt campaign and fundraising events like Boobyball. So many women love fashion, love to shop, and designers live to make women look and feel beautiful. It makes sense for the industry to rally support around a cause that affects so many women and it makes sense for a small charity like ours to use the glamour and excitement of the fashion industry to shed light on our issues and raise funds for our programs.

What is your favourite fashion store? I am totally obsessed with shopbop.com. The selection is endless and it is delivered for free right to your door! I also like to shop online at eluxe.ca. I love that it is a Canadian company that’s helping to change the online shopping landscape here. As a busy working mom, I feel we need a lot more online shopping options in Canada. What is your best fashion find this season? My husband bought me a gorgeous black Mackage trench coat. I love that it has a high neck and is so well tailored. I can throw it over anything to take my outfit up a notch or two. Who is your fashion icon? My grandmother Lil was a big fashion inspiration for me. I inherited her incredible wardrobe and bags. Recently I wore an amazing Bill Blass cocktail dress of hers with a fantastic wide neckline and side pockets. Have you ever had anyone wear the same thing as you to an event? If so, what did you do? MJ and I are so particular about dressing on theme for our events that it would be next to impossible for someone to have the same outfit on! The theme of our last big event was “camp” and it was a challenge to work that theme without heading into costume territory. I wound up wearing a wax-coated black jean miniskirt by J Brand and a pocket-tee with big ruffles on the shoulders by Red Valentino. I told everyone I was “deconstructing camp”!

PHOTO: SEED9

MJ DeCoteau and Alison Gordon are the cofounders of Rethink Breast Cancer, a Canadian charity that supports young women concerned about and affected by breast cancer through education, support and advocacy. No pink ribbons required.

MJ DeCoteau and Alison Gordon

Brand Development. Creative Direction. Experiential Marketing. Photography. Production. Graphic Design. Website Development. Digital Strategy. Social Media. Publishing. Interior Design.

416 880 4539 PortlandStewart.com

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2013-05-21 5:03 PM

10 MINUTES WITH

JONATHAN ADLER

KW CAUGHT UP WITH THE IRREPRESSIBLE GURU OF GROOVY WHEN HE WAS IN TOWN TO TALK DESIGN (AND THE JOY OF AFROS) TO A PACKED HOUSE AT THE DESIGN EXCHANGE KW: You started out as a ceramic artist and now you have designed everything from furniture and home accessories to Barbie’s Dream House. How did this happen? Jonathan Adler: I knew I wanted to be a potter when I was a teenager. But I didn’t want to be a hairy potter from Vermont. I wanted to make pots that were sharp and clean and graphic and optimistic. I’m a glamourist—I like to take craft and re-invigorate it. Insofar as the number of things I’ve been juggling, from the stores to the coffee table books, my husband [Barney’s Creative Ambassador Simon Doonan] says: “Life is like a disco cube. All you get is your 10 minutes up there to jiggle around as fast as you can.” So that’s what I’m doing. You are known for your vibrant interiors and liberal use of colour. What is it about colour that you love? The stuff you surround yourself with is enormously powerful. Colours have emotional and symbolic meaning. Red, for instance, is dangerous, powerful and seductive. Think of Diana Vreeland’s red-lacquer apartment! What’s your favourite colour? I’m an orange guy. Orange is the colour of sunshine. At our house on Shelter Island, which is a modernist beach house, we put in bright orange doors. Everyone should have them. If they don’t, they’re insane. What else do you just love? Geometric pattern, under-appreciated craft. Needlepoint had gone into the muted world of cocker spaniels, which made it brilliant for pillows with inappropriate drug messages. Goth with Mod is one of my fave juxtapositions! Oh, and novelty hair. Afros are just joy. What do you think about the state of design today? So much design is a little bit sad. Designers tend to be a bit gracious and muted. I think design should be chic, elegant, well-proportioned and beautiful—but it should also communicate optimism and joy. You have written about Happy Chic. What makes you happy? Paddle boarding. Our Norwich terrier, Liberace. And beating my husband at ping-pong every night after dinner. What’s the one thing everyone should have in their home to make it a happy one? L’amour. Peace and love are all we need. Sorry if that sounds too sweet, but I’d rather be sweet than cool.

WE BELIEVE THAT YOUR HOME SHOULD MAKE YOU HAPPY. WE BELIEVE THAT WHEN IT COMES TO DECORATING, THE WIFE IS ALWAYS RIGHT. UNLESS THE HUSBAND IS GAY. WE BELIEVE MINIMALISM IS A BUMMER. WE BELIEVE IN THE INNATE CHICNESS OF RED WITH BROWN. WE BELIEVE OUR LAMPS WILL MAKE YOU LOOK YOUNGER AND THINNER.

PHOTOS: COURTESY OF JONATHAN ADLER

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DREAM TEAM

WITH A LITTLE LUCK AND A LOT OF HARD WORK, A COOKING COUPLE HAS MADE A RESERVATION AT TINY NEIGHBOURHOOD EDULIS THE MOST COVETED IN CANADA BY CHRIS JOHNS

FOOD & DRINK

Through their Toronto connections the couple was offered a job by Susan McKenna, the Canadian owner of the luxurious La Petraia, a gastro-tourism restaurant and hotel in Tuscany—a situation that was apparently as idyllic as it sounds. “It was that utopian dream of snipping the herbs before you plate,” Nemeth recalls. “You don’t get that anywhere and it felt so surreal and so special. You just relish that because you know you’ll probably never have that again.” For his part, Caballo says he spent every spare moment walking in the woods hunting for mushrooms. “We raised animals, we slaughtered animals and that’s the reason we went there, to connect with food like that.” The couple spent a blissful year rarely venturing beyond the Tuscan borders but eventually it was time to move on. “We sadly realized there was no life for us there,” Nemeth says. “As foreigners without money, there was no hope for us.” Caballo adds: “It was too big of a hill to climb. That was a really sad goodbye, but you have to be realistic. When you’re competing with a food culture that just has so much to offer, what are you really bringing to the table?” After leaving Europe they ended up on the west coast of Canada and eventually at the West Coast Fishing Club in remote Haida Gwaii. “It was really incredible,” Nemeth says. “We were chiselling scallops off rocks, I mean, come on. You don’t see another soul all day. There’s deer walking right up to the kitchen window. It’s so green and wet you just feel your hair growing.” That was followed by a series of “soul-sucking” jobs in Vancouver during the Olympics: Nemeth clocking 20-hour days at a catering operation and Caballo serving dull food at a middling pub to thousands every day. When the owners of the Haida Gwaii fishing lodge approached the couple about moving to Panama to help launch a deep-sea sport fishing lodge, the duo jumped right in. “We were hired to set up the company down there from the ground up. We had to hire all Panamanian staff, from fishing guides to cleaning staff to cooks and servers. Everybody we interviewed had never even eaten in a restaurant, they don’t speak English and you’re catering to people who are coming in on private jets and paying $1,000 a day. It was so hard. We worked every day for a year straight.” After a difficult but rewarding year, the couple started thinking about Toronto once again. “Right around that time we heard that Anton [Potvin, of Niagara Street Café] was thinking of selling the restaurant and every hair on my body stood on end. I’m still getting goose bumps thinking of it. I looked at Michael and said, ‘We’re going back.’ I always said to Michael when he was chef there that this is our dream restaurant.” The couple had commitments with the resort in Panama they had to honour, but luckily Potvin wanted to sell the restaurant to people he trusted and was willing to wait. “I think he was happy to pass the torch to someone who knew it and would really take care of it,” Nemeth says. “He really made sure to make it happen and we’re really grateful for that.” “We’ve always had the vision that down the road we’d have a restaurant like this,” Caballo says. “We’re so aligned in the way we believe things should be done, it’s just natural. I think there’s a real strength in knowing that the person on the other side of that door has your back.” When not jetting around the globe to dine at the world’s finest restaurants, Chris Johns is an award-winning food and travel writer.

PHOTOS: COURTESY OF EDULIS

On some unseen cue, about halfway through lunch, Tobey Nemeth and Michael Caballo wordlessly switch plates so they can have a taste of what each other ordered. It’s a kind of culinary shorthand and it illustrates just how in synch the young restaurateurs are in life and in food. It is an understanding that has served the husband and wife team well since opening Edulis, their first restaurant. Although it only just celebrated its first anniversary, Edulis has already been widely recognized as one of the finest restaurants in the country. Maclean’s magazine listed it as one of the country’s top 50 and enRoute went so far as to call it the best new restaurant in Canada for 2012. If such accolades conjure up visions of white tablecloths and stuffy sommeliers, think again. Edulis is a simple restaurant on quiet Niagara Street in King West. The bare marble-topped bistro tables are set with tumblers and gingham napkins. There’s a bar lined with Spanish tiles and good cutlery, but the only suggestions of extravagance are apparent in the numerous Le Creuset serving vessels in which many of the dishes are served. The cooking is disciplined and precise, emphasizing careful technique that leaves little room for error. A good way to start is with the herring. Lightly smoked and served under a preserving film of good olive oil, it is tender and intense but tamed by thin-shaved and lightly pickled carrots and onions. The menu changes frequently, but if there’s roasted Wakefield cabbage with Cantabrian anchovies, order it. The lightly caramelized cabbage and tongue-tender anchovies result in a kind of Mediterranean seafood choucroute garnie that is at once utterly simple and totally complex. Rice, in Caballo’s hands, is treated as preciously as truffles. His paella, which must be ordered ahead of time and serves the whole table, arrives black with squid ink and deliciously crusted on the edges. He spikes tiny, round Bomba rice with tender shreds of meat from the head of a pig, shellfish jus and vibrant parsley. The best move is to simply order one of the carte blanche menus ($50 or $70) and let the kitchen surprise you. At Edulis, Nemeth runs the front of the house and Caballo is the chef, but both are trained chefs. The couple met in 2002 when they were working in the kitchen at Avalon, chef Chris Mcdonald’s fine dining restaurant. It was a notoriously difficult kitchen, one that focused on excellence at all times and expected near perfection from its chefs. “That was a hugely influential spot for both of us,” Nemeth recalls. “That intent, that focus on product, is something we still cherish.” After leaving Avalon, Caballo was hired by Anton Potvin at Niagara Street Café—the very space that now houses Edulis—while Nemeth went on to run the kitchen at Jamie Kennedy Wine Bar. That experience was fundamental: “I loved it there,” she says. “Even now, three quarters of our floor staff are all JK alumni and in our first few fragile months, when you’re hoping that people come to your restaurant, it was really wonderful how many of those old customers came.” Eventually, the young cooks began to yearn for something more. “One of the struggles when you work in a busy kitchen is an inability sometimes to see beyond it,” Nemeth says. “You just get caught in the cycle and you can burn out creatively a little bit. We got to an age where we needed something different to move on and evolve.” An offer to attend Terra Madre, the massive culinary festival in Turin, was the catalyst that began what would be a four-year global exploration for the couple. Their first stop was Spain, where Caballo has family and had already done stages at the two-Michelin-star restaurant La Broche in Madrid and at Mugaritz (a restaurant renowned for its advanced molecular techniques) in San Sebastian.

“WE’VE ALWAYS HAD THE VISION THAT DOWN THE ROAD WE’D HAVE A RESTAURANT LIKE THIS.”

FOOD & DRINK

THE POUR

WINE PICKS BY ROBERT GRAVELLE

NONINO QUINTESSENTIA AMARO $41.95 LCBO Vintages 933796 For me, a complete dining experience involves a digestivo, an after-dinner drink to aid in digestion. This amaro from Nonino is made from a family recipe of herbs, infusions and their world-famous grappa. Excellent following a meal; drink on ice with soda and orange slices. MOVIA “PURO” ROSE 2005 $44.95 Available in cases from The Living Vine / thelivingvine.ca This sparkling rose is not technically Italian but from vineyards that straddle the northeastern border with Slovenia. Unlike any other sparkling wine on the market, this one isn’t disgorged—it still contains spent yeast from the fermenting process. Before drinking this wine, one must open the bottle with the neck submerged in water (an

ice bucket will do nicely for this). Upon removing the cork, the yeast shoots out into the bucket. The process is a bit of an ordeal but well worth it for this incredibly fresh and delicious wine. BROVIA BAROLO 2007 $64.95 B&W Wines / bwwines.com Barolo is easily one of the greatest wines of the world, and if I were forced to drink only Barolo it wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing. The entry level Barolo from Brovia is impressively concentrated with cherry notes, rose petals and anise. Drinking well now but will improve for years to come. LE VIGNE DI SAN PIETRO BARDOLINO 2011 Available exclusively at King Street Food Co. Restaurants The name Bardolino may not inspire excitement for many wine aficionados but that is about to change. The appellation of Bardolino takes its name from the nearby village on the eastern shores of Lake Garda and the wine is stylistically similar to Valpolicella. This wine is delightfully fresh and fruit forward, light in body with a pleasant vegetal note. It garnered the top award of three glasses from the most respected of Italian wine critics, Gambero Rosso (so it must be good, no?).

PHOTOS: (GRAVELLE) RICK O’BRIEN, (BOTTLES) ADRIAN ARMSTRONG

HAVING JUST RETURNED FROM VERONA FOR THE NATIONAL WINE FESTIVAL, VINITALY, THIS SPRING’S INSPIRATION FOR ME IS ALL ABOUT THE FRUITS OF THE ITALIAN GRAPE. WHILE THESE BOTTLES ARE ENTIRELY ITALIAN, THE WINES ARE SO DIVERSE THAT POLITICAL BOUNDARIES MAY BE ALL THEY HAVE IN COMMON.

LA STOPPA “TREBBIOLO” FRIZZANTE 2010 $28 Savour Wines / savourwines.ca Here’s a bit of a wacky wine from Emilia. People generally get caught off guard when they’re poured a wine that is deep purple and fizzy. The palate is quite dry with notes that are savoury and a bit earthy, kind of like cured meat. Needless to say, I’m sure you can think of a good food pairing.

THE ANTISPA

PHOTOS: COURTESY OF THE ONE&ONLY

KAREN VON HAHN LIVES IT UP AT THE ONE&ONLY IN THE BAHAMAS SOMETIMES IT SEEMS THEY’VE TAKEN ALL THE FUN OUT OF BEING A GROWNUP. IT’S ALL WORK, WORK, WORK NOW, AT EVERYTHING FROM YOUR JOB TO YOUR PARENTING SKILLS TO YOUR BURGEONING, POST-WINTER HIBERNATION BOTTOM LINE. ENTER THE ONE&ONLY OCEAN CLUB IN THE BAHAMAS—A SPA GETAWAY THAT IS SO FAR FROM MONASTIC THAT IT BRINGS THE GLAMOUR BACK INTO PLAY.

ESCAPE

A half century ago, in the spring of 1962, Mr. Huntington Hartford celebrated the opening of his swanky new Ocean Club with a glittering “Bal du Paradis” attended by the likes of William Randolph Hearst, Zsa Zsa Gabor and gossip columnist Cholly Knickerbocker, who were flown in from New York on a chartered Pan Am jet and entertained with an extravaganza of fireworks. Famously situated on what many claim is the finest stretch of pure white sand in the Caribbean, since acquired by the tony One&Only boutique chain the hotel has played host to every A-list luminary over the years from Marilyn Monroe to Martha Stewart and JFK to James Bond (most notably, in his recent incarnation via Daniel Craig in Casino Royale, where the hotel itself stars in an infamous scene). The likes of Celine Dion, Beyoncé and Jay-Z prefer to rent the villas on the property; Cindy Crawford got married in the lush Versailles gardens; Oprah and Michael Jordan own their own units overlooking the golf course. But you don’t need to know any of that to be wowed walking in. At first blush (and blinking in the glare of sun after a Toronto winter), it’s like you’ve slipped on a pair of rose-coloured glasses. Everything is peony pink, from the classic Caribbean villa entrance to the pink marble floors and the icy glass of freshbrewed pink lemonade served up on a silver tray. Indeed, nothing says luxury more than Caribbean colonial style, and the One&Only has it in spades. Perched on a picturesque cliff over a Windex blue and white beach, the hotel has retained its original ’60s bones in a quiet enclave of two-storied villas with whitepillared porches and low-slung shingle rooflines. French doors open to the breeze with pulls of beautifully worn brass; the enormous clipped lawn sloping down toward the sea is dotted with giant swaying palms and set, like an old Bahamas postcard, with nautical rope hammocks. After a comically short jeep ride from the front desk to our suite, our butler, the very charming Lamont, showed us around our absurdly lovely room, with its mosaictiled crescent-shaped bathtub, silky cotton sheets and Moulton & Brown products, and instructed us to simply press a button on our phones if we needed anything— a-ny little thing at all, from a pair of bikes to ride to movies to watch to linen to be pressed—and then left us with two flutes of pink champagne, which he was to do, every single night of our stay, before dinner. We had intended this to be a bit of a restrained girls’ spa trip, but faced with such lavish indulgence, my pal and I ended up feeling we had little choice really but to enjoy ourselves to the hilt. Which wasn’t particularly difficult, given that our mornings started with a yoga class held outdoors on a palm-fringed beach pavilion. Our mantra, delivered in a slow, repetitive chant by our skilled and impressively hard-bodied instructor from the nearby Sivananda ashram, was “I am strong, I am happy.” The treatments at the lovely One&Only spa were the most luxe I have ever had the pleasure of encountering. For my Balinese body polish and massage, the lovely (and talented, it turned out) Leutricia led me to a small private villa, appointed in an Asian style with its own garden. And as she vigorously scrubbed me with lime and ginger salts and then soothingly rubbed me with ylang-ylang and neroli oils, I was serenaded with what at first I took to be some Zen massage soundtrack, which actually turned out to be real birds singing in the tropical trees above. So darling was Leutricia that when I wobbled off afterwards in a haze in my thick cotton robe, she instructed me to drink a glass of water “right now, because soon you’ll be off to dinner and you’ll forget all about it.” And how right she was. Dune, the super-chic bar and restaurant overlooking the sea, boasts Jean-Georges Vongerichten at the helm, and a backlit agate bar where the bartenders mix a right fine ginger mojito. And its uniquely delicious Bahamas-meetsFrench cuisine—which features gorgeous inventions like a killer shrimp salad with burnt-butter dressing that I had to have every single day for lunch—can be served up beachside at your marine-blue sun chaise so your hypnotic view of the turquoise water meeting the perfect white sand goes uninterrupted. The ’60s cartouche-shaped pool, overlooking the ridiculously lovely Versailles gardens, was another key spot for basking in the rays and spacing out while pretending to read. One morning we took bikes around the island, which was a fun way to peer at the fabulous homes. Another afternoon we got a lift into Nassau’s duty-free shopping drag and checked out the local fish fry by the bridge where Bahamians chop conch for fresh ceviche in little painted huts. Mostly we did a lot of nothing but lying in the sun, eating and drinking marvellous food and wine and waddling off to the spa for another luxurious treatment—which, not in a particularly rigorous or austere way, turned out to be a spa of sorts. On our last evening, Lamont reported that he had told everyone that his current guests were two Canadian supermodels. Of course he probably says that to all his female guests, but after just a few nights at the wonderfully indulgent One&Only Ocean Club, his flattery seemed to fit the bill.

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CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: GLENN DIXON & SUZANNE ROGERS ; KASIA & CHRISTOPHER JAMROZ; BRAD KEAST & HIS DISCIPLES; LORI SIDDONS & GORDON CHEUNG; GLITTERING GUESTS; MARCUS DOYLE & FRIEND; TORONTO ARGOS MIKE BRADWELL & JOE EPPELE; CP24’S GURDEEP AHLUWALIA & MTV’S ALIYA-JASMINE SOVANI @ ROM

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PHOTOS: (TFI) GEORGE PIMENTEL PHOTOGRAPHY, (RAFF) EMMA MCINTRYE

REEL ARTISTS FILM FESTIVAL

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COLLECTED

THE AUTOGRAPH

BRYAN ULRICH

PHOTO: SEED 9

“All collectors are completionists,” says Bryan Ulrich. “They have a burning desire to build, maintain and complete a collection.” A consummate compiler, Ulrich has amassed a stockpile of celebrity iconography over a decades-long pursuit for the perfect John Hancock. Completionism is behind collecting a Kid A LP autographed by each member of Radiohead. Or a guitar signed “Thrill is Gone” by B.B. King. A thrill not lost on Ulrich, who has parlayed his passion to full-time work through The Signature Library (thesignaturelibrary.com), a compendium of scrawled photos and artifacts (guitars, books, hundreds of LPs) from the likes of Amy Winehouse to Salman Rushdie, Wayne Gretzky, even Henry Kissinger. If their name has been made, Ulrich has hunted, and gathered, their mark. “Every letter,” he says, counts—collector-speak for a carefully made autograph, not “the scribble” of a hurried hand passing through a crowd. It’s also the reason why much of the memorabilia on the walls of Ulrich’s Thompson condo sells for upwards of $10,000. Certain keepsakes, however—such as a prized Neil Young–signed guitar—are not for sale. Such mementos are, in this haute collector’s view, signature art that bring fans closer to their favourite artists. Ulrich is at home among them. —Eli Yarhi

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THE NEWEST DOWNTOWN HOTSPOTS SERVE UP A MENU THAT’LL MAKE YOU LOOK PRETTIER, FEEL BETTER AND MAYBE EVEN HELP GET YOU LAID. BY MARILISA RACCO YOU LOVE YOUR LOCAL FOR ALL THE REASONS THAT COUNT: IT’S CONVENIENT, FRIENDLY AND GIVES GOOD DRINK. IN MANY WAYS, YOUR AESTHETICIAN OFFERS THE SAME (A SHOT OF TEQUILA OFTEN HELPS GET ME THROUGH A BRAZILIAN, PERSONALLY). NOW TAKE THOSE TWO CONCEPTS AND PUT THEM TOGETHER. WHAT YOU GET IS A NEW STRING OF WALK-IN NICHE BARS THAT OFFER SPECIALIZED BEAUTY SERVICES LIKE WAXING, MANICURES AND EYEBROW SHAPING— WITH NONE OF THE MORNING-AFTER REGRET.

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THE EYEBROW BAR

Eye Love Brow & Beauty Bar 793 Queen St. W. / 647.349.1884 / eyelovebeautybar.com SERVICES: From $25 for brow maintenance to $65 for lash perming. Add-on services include facial waxing and one-onone makeup lessons. VIBE: This airy loft space feels like you’ve entered your cool best friend’s downtown apartment. Eye Love is flooded with natural light and has two old-school beauty chairs, each placed in front of a large mirror—all the better for exposing (and rectifying) bad brows. WALK-IN VIABILITY: Sorry, appointments only. ‘OLOGIST: Eye Love is a one-woman show run by Mary Dang. She’s a seasoned makeup artist and brow veteran and really knows her stuff. She explained to me how tweaking my brows would help to open up my eyes and make me look younger (younger!) and talked me through where she was going to pluck and what I should allow to grow in. She then showed me how to properly pencil in my brows. SIGNATURE MOVE: This place is plucking-only, since Dang says it’s the most precise way to shape brows. She won’t use wax or threading because they remove too much hair and lead to sparse or too-thin eyebrows. She recognizes that plucking can get “intense” and told me to inform her if I needed to take a break. BUZZ FACTOR: I know it sounds crazy, but this eyebrow shaping took years off my face. Unlike booze, which puts the years on. Go ahead and get plucked.

PHOTOS: NAOMI FINLAY

RAISING THE BAR

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N THE ARRIVAL OF THE WALK-I RE’S NO THE NS MEA CE MANI-PEDI PLA ISH. POL D PPE CHI FOR USE MORE EXC

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SERVICES: Waxing from $8 (nose, temples, ears, sideburns) to $95 (“Manzilian and Buttocks Package”—I can’t make this up). There are also three types of monthly membership packages that offer discounts and perks. VIBE: The space is divided into a serene and sparse (ha!) foyer that conceals the waxing rooms in the back. Each waxing room has a door—no dingy curtains separating beds here—so privacy is ensured. WALK-IN VIABILITY: Walk-ins are welcome but it is strongly suggested that you make an appointment. ‘OLOGIST: My waxologist was really nice and eager to put me at ease. Little did she know I’ve been dropping trou for aestheticians since I spied my first unwanted follicle—shame is not in my beauty vocabulary. The experience was efficient but not brutal, and when it was all done she stepped outside the room while I inspected her work closely to ensure that I was happy with the end result. SIGNATURE MOVE: During a bikini wax, the waxologist talks the client through breathing exercises to help alleviate any pain or discomfort. It’s like the Lamaze of hair removal. BUZZ FACTOR: If you’re going to volunteer to have someone pour hot wax on your lady (or gentleman) bits and rip it off, you might as well do it in a place that’s cute, clean and inviting. Why not keep these same principles in mind the next time you volunteer for a hangover?

SERVICES: Manicures and pedicures (including Shellac, Artistic, gel and sculptured nails) from $22–$50. VIBE: This tiny but well-maintained space in the Exchange Tower takes the term “bar” seriously. It comprises a long, uh, bar that accommodates about six clients on one side and a corresponding nail technician on the other, decked out in a fetching all-black uniform. There’s also a pedicure station in the corner. WALK-IN VIABILITY: They do accept walk-ins, but an impromptu lunchtime mani is a pipe dream if you haven’t booked an appointment. Phone ahead. ‘OLOGIST: My manicurist was really friendly and knowledgeable and disarmed me immediately when she didn’t require an explanation of the term “squoval.” Much to my delight, she explained that they never cut cuticles but instead clean around them and remove any bits that pop up. SIGNATURE MOVE: They only do dry manicures here, which means there’s no soaking your tips in a dish of soapy water. For one thing, it makes for a faster service, and for another, it makes for a longer-lasting manicure since soaking only serves to expand the nail, thus inviting chipping when it contracts. They also give you a choice of a hand massage or a scrub, both of which use locally made all-natural products. BUZZ FACTOR: For expedience, cleanliness and technique, I strongly recommend this bar for delivering chic nails and friendly chitchat. (Which, when it comes down to it, is more than you can say for that bar back at your local with the surly attitude and scraggly cuticles.)

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WORD ON THE STREET

WHAT WOULD YOU DO WITH ONTARIO PLACE? INTERVIEWS BY ELI YARHI

TURN IT INTO A TECH PLAYGROUND, A COMMUNITY WHERE ALL THE BIG TECH PLAYERS COULD SETTLE. PUT A TECHNOLOGY COMPLEX IN THERE AND GENERATE SOME SERIOUS ECONOMY. YOU WANT TO ATTRACT YOUNG, INTELLIGENT AND CREATIVE ENGINEERS TO THE CITY. THE ONTARIO PLACE LANDS ARE CLOSE ENOUGH TO DOWNTOWN WITHOUT ACTUALLY BEING IN TORONTO PROPER, AND IT’S A HUGE SPACE. —DEVIN M., 28, BRAND STRATEGIST

I LIKE THE CASINO IDEA. BUT I ALSO THINK THAT BECAUSE OF THE WAY ONTARIO PLACE IS LAID OUT, AND WHERE IT IS, DEVELOPMENT SHOULD BE FOCUSED MORE ON A FAMILY-ORIENTED RESORT. BY TYING IN THE EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE AND BUILDING A BIG HOTEL AND CASINO, THE CITY STANDS TO MAKE HUGE MONEY. I’M FROM NIAGARA FALLS, AND THAT’S HOW WE MAKE OUR MONEY. —CHRIS M., 30, CHEF

I’m all for MGM buying the Ontario Place lands. I don’t have a problem with that area becoming an entertainment centre because it will revitalize a part of the city that only operates during the summer months. It should be open year-round to create jobs and act as a tourist destination. —Georgina P., 57, costume designer

MAKE IT A PLACE WHERE FAMILIES CAN GO AND HANG OUT, SOMETHING ALONG THE LINES OF THE BRICK WORKS, WHERE COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT AND PROGRAMMING ARE CENTRAL. NOT AN AMUSEMENT PARK WITH RIDES, BUT A PLACE FOR FARMERS’ MARKETS AND REC CENTRES. HERE’S A CHANCE TO TAKE BACK THE WATERFRONT. —CHARLOTTE B., 25, TEACHER

Turn it into a destination park—a manicured green space like the Music Garden at Queen’s Quay. There would need to be some form of attraction, such as an aquarium, like they have in Stanley Park in Vancouver, which would draw people in and blend with the parklands. —Stephanie L., 26, travel consultant

It should be a year-round public space with beaches, BBQs and auditoriums. The water park should stay but the rides should go. Let there be profit through snack bars and such, but let’s have it be free otherwise. —Julian W., 27, able-bodied seaman

TRANSFORM IT INTO SOMETHING LIKE THE LESLIE SPIT, WITH BIKE PATHS AND PLACES TO PICNIC. THAT PART OF THE WATERFRONT HAS SOME OF THE BEST VIEWS OF THE LAKE. I FEEL LIKE THE TORONTO WATERFRONT IS STRANGLED BECAUSE THE GARDINER IS IN THE WAY. A BETTER SYSTEM OF PARKS COULD HELP. —TOM B., 25, WRITER

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When you get to be my age (which is whatever you think it is, minus six years), you find that despite what you—or my mother—may think, you do a pretty good job of taking care of yourself. You manage to feed yourself daily, even if it’s a whimsical mix of canned tuna, beans and an egg that’s within hours of expiration. You feather a nest that’s equal parts vintage finds and Urban Outfitters, hoping it comes across as Notting Hill chic. If you’re like me, you’ll also find that you’re quite adept at taking care of your dog, ensuring he gets his requisite two hours of daily exercise, plus lots of love and attention— with just a hint of animal cruelty in the form of dressing him up in outrageous costumes and posting the pictures on Facebook. You bathe yourself, pay your bills, earn money, maintain healthy friendships, keep your house clean and, from time to time, even manage to babysit your best friend’s kid and host a dinner party. Most importantly, however, you find that you can rely on yourself to stay calm in the face of adversity, pull it together when it feels like it’s all coming apart and stand firm against the forces of evil (a.k.a. family reunions). In essence, you’re an incredibly complete person. So, why feel the need to seek out someone else to fold into your life? For one thing, as humans, we’re not hardwired to be alone. In a 2011 study, Eric Fortune, a behavioural neuroscientist in the department of psychological and brain sciences at Johns Hopkins University, found that the brain is formulated for cooperative activity. In studying the complementary nature of the plain-tailed wrens of Ecuador, who are noted for their exceptional singing, Fortune found that their natural duets are so coordinated (in an ABCD structure, the male sings A and C, the female B and D) that they often sound like one bird singing alone. “We found that neurons reacted more strongly to the duet song—with both the male and female birds singing—over singing their own parts alone,” Fortune told ScienceDaily.com. And since the neurotransmitter systems that control brain activity among vertebrate

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animals (frogs, cats, fish and, yes, us) are nearly identical, “the kinds of phenomena that we have described in these wrens is very relevant to the brains of most…including us humans,” Fortune says. I’m not sure how far that goes in explaining why, despite 10 months of rocky terrain (including two breakups), I’m still with my current boyfriend, especially considering I’ve never gone to karaoke with him. But I do agree that my brain has an easier time of processing certain things when I know that he’s by my side. I doubt I would have been able to navigate the nightmare that is Ikea on a Saturday had he not been there to swiftly guide me through the store, steering clear of mommy brigades and their screaming offspring. I know the burnt light bulb in my bedroom would never have been changed—not because I’m incapable of doing it myself, but because I will keep forgetting to do it, only to be reminded every time I flip the switch and peer up at the dark spot in the light fixture. I’m likely to go two days using the flashlight app on my phone before remembering to buy a bulb and screw it in. My boyfriend, however, calls from work and asks what watt I need. He carries my groceries, remembers to buy the milk, opens the car door for me and makes really good coffee. That’s what I call cooperative activity. As I said, I do a pretty good job of keeping my emotional and psychological health in check, with the help of a lovely lady I see twice monthly—I call her my brain beautician. I also know now I have the strength and wherewithal to figure things out for myself (though when it comes to taxes, I run to the warm embrace of my accountant). But it’s good to know that when I’m teetering on the edge of reason, whether it’s because my dog chewed my new shoes or my mother chewed my ear off, there’s someone there to sing along with me. Marilisa Racco is a Toronto-based fashion and beauty writer who generally prefers the company of her dog, Floyd.

PHOTO: NAOMI FINLAY

I LIKE FLYING SOLO, BUT SOMETIMES IT’S NICE TO KNOW THAT THERE’S SOMEONE THERE TO UNRUFFLE MY FEATHERS AND SING A SOOTHING SONG. BY MARILISA RACCO

REAL ESTATE

THE DEAL

KW: Wow! These gilded black floor tiles are amazing. Should we take off our shoes? Jon Graham: I know, but they show everything, especially marks from stilettos. After a party I can always tell where the girls in heels were standing. Lately, I’ve been putting out baskets of slippers. Since I travel about one week a month, I get a lot of hotel slippers. Now I display my collection by the door every time I throw a party. KW: Love the dramatic colour scheme. You’ve really kept it a strong palette of grey and orange and black. Did you work with a designer? No, I pretty much did it all myself. You see so many of those blank, white, cookie-cutter boxes. I wanted something more dramatic, so I chose a lot of high-gloss surfaces and wall-coverings with a lot of texture. I like things modern and contemporary but not too minimal. And Veuve Clicquot orange is just a great colour. I got a lot of design ideas from the boutique hotels I stay in. It actually started out as two separate condo units that I put together to make one nearly 2,000-square-foot, two-bedroom, two-bathroom space. KW: How unique to have a secret dining room! Yes, it’s sort of tucked away behind the kitchen. This was a bedroom in the original plan, which I borrowed a bit of depth from to add to the kitchen and then thought would make an elegant private dining space with its own view of the park. KW: You’ve used a lot of millwork and custom furniture and built-ins. I have a few guys I work with who do all the panelling and shelves for me. Gus did the tufted orange banquette in the entry and the orange leather ottoman in the living room. Montauk built the giant extra-deep sofa for me so that it divides into four sections—otherwise there’s no way we could have brought it in through the hall. I like custom work in general because it feels so much more deliberate and considered. KW: Your master suite and office off the bedroom have a whole different feeling from the rest of the apartment, all white marble and quite spa-like. Since I travel a lot and my work is intense, it’s great to have this as a private inner sanctum. The drapes are wall-to-wall and floor-toceiling black, while the walls and floors are light—almost the reverse

of the public spaces, which have dark finishes but are open to the view and the natural light. It’s such a retreat that when I have people over, I just close it all off—some of my guests don’t even know it’s back there. KW: How long have you lived here? Is this your first place in the neighbourhood? I bought it five years ago, when the building was still in preconstruction, which was great because I got to play with the floor plan and choose all the finishes. Since I love staying in boutique hotels, I figured this was the best of both worlds: You get the gym, the spa, the pool and the rooftop bar—but with all your own stuff. This isn’t my first place in the ’hood—about a decade ago, I lived at 11 Soho Street, before the whole neighbourhood took off. KW: Your lit Buddha lamps feel like a signature. They’re from a Quebec company. I found them somewhere online. But whenever I’m home, they are on, and people know to come by because they can see them glowing from out on the street. Whenever somebody I’ve just met from the neighbourhood comes up, they always say, “Oh, you’re the guy with the orange Buddhas in the window.” KW: You seem to love beautiful things. Do you find it hard to keep it minimal? I’m into design but I’m not much of a collector—other than shoes, which are my weakness. I must have about 70 pairs of shoes in my closet, but other than that, I’m not into acquiring a lot of things. KW: What’s your favourite thing in the place? Definitely my five-minute-off feature on the wall-mounted iPad control. It’s such a buzzkill when you’re heading out with friends for the night to have to run around switching off lights everywhere and turning off the music. With this button by the door, all I have to do is press it as we walk out and everything in the place turns off automatically five minutes after we leave.

Jon Graham is the vice president and general manager Canada of MTV International and Viacom. His offices, along with all of his favourite bars and restaurants, are just a five-minute walk away.

PHOTOS: COURTESY OF THE ONE&ONLY

MTV’S JON GRAHAM MIXES IT UP AT THE THOMPSON

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356 King St. West, Toronto, ON M5V 3X5 416.977.1000

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Tale of Two Kings How small change bred big thinking. unleashing billions of dollars, and changing the way we live in this city – the Kings Regeneration Initiative in focus.

City building binds the connective tissues of urban life. The footings beneath which the public and private realms are set, it is an evolutionary process that combines architecture and urban design, the streetscapes and institutions that service society. At its best, it begins at the neighbourhood level, reinforcing the good qualities that exist in a city, while addressing the bad. It is a process that takes the long view.

the 1980s and 90s, things were in free-fall. Building vacancies increased, property owners began demolishing old buildings to decrease property taxes and parking lots popped up in their place.

By the early 1990s, 400 acres of once-thriving industrial areas on the east and west shoulders of the city centre had long suffered decline. Though the City attempted to stimulate reinvestment on these blocks bounded by King-Spadina and King-Parliament, redevelopment was stifled by prohibitive zoning regulations.

Newly elected mayor, Barbara Hall reached out for innovative ideas. In 1995, she convened a small group of city builders that included celebrated urban theorist Jane Jacobs, economist Gary Stamm, developer Robert Eisenberg of York Heritage Properties, architect and urban designer Ken Greenberg and the city’s then chief planner, Paul Bedford.

A downtown scourge, these zones had fallen into decline by the 1970s. As manufacturing moved offshore or to the suburbs throughout

“Basically, we got together in the mayor’s office and fleshed out the idea of getting rid of restrictive zoning,” says Greenberg.

Recognizing the fact that these districts could no longer support heavy industry, the loosening of land use restrictions became a growing interest for city planners.

“Big ideas don’t always require significant outlays of money. This was a case of giving free rein to pent-up forces for change.” Ken Greenberg

Crown graphic courtesy of graphicsfairy.blogspot.ca

By Eli Yarhi

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“The idea was to put one of Jane Jacob’s seminal concepts into practice – to let change of use occur freely and organically without the constraints of land use zoning.” The Kings Regeneration Initiative, as it was called, eliminated such restrictions and remodeled these districts as “regeneration areas.” By April 1996, city council had approved and implemented the plan to encourage reinvestment, create housing and offer creative spaces for fresh businesses. Though widely received as common sense, it was a radical change in planning. “We had just gone through a massive recession,” explains Paul Bedford. few developments dotted the city’s core. The boom years of the 1980s had fallen behind us. office building was scarce and running north of the city. And today’s housing boom was non-existent. Eschewing the silo thinking behind restrictive zoning, the plan offered reprieve. It was “the first innovative approach to achieving good city building and stimulating the private development market,” says Bedford.

The initiative unleashed billions of dollars on both sides of downtown. Last year, a study prepared by the Altus Group estimated that 38,000 jobs have been created in these areas, and upwards of $7 billion in economic activity generated. Meanwhile, the re-use of existing buildings and new development projects increased total taxable assessments by about $400 million between 1998 and 2002 alone. All of this growth, it should be noted, was the result of a change in policy that cost the city nothing. “Big ideas don’t always require significant outlays of money,” writes Greenberg in Walking Home: The life and lessons of a City Builder. This zoning change gave “free rein to pent-up forces for change.” Deregulated zoning was a new way to think, act and plan in order to entice the private sector. Which is exactly what happened. from the outset, regeneration ushered in a wave of adaptive reuse. Developments such as 401 Richmond brought about the mixed-use environments the Kings and surrounding neighbourhoods are famous for today. Purchased by urbanspace Property Group in 1994, 401 Richmond is a fully restored industrial building. Home to over 140 artists, microenterprises, galleries, festivals and shops, it is a vibrant demonstration of Jacobsian thinking – that “new ideas need old buildings.” At the same time, infill construction was building tempo. Neighbourhood rejuvenation and enhanced public space inspired the private sector. former city

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planner Howard Cohen had never intended on becoming a developer, but fell in love with a parcel of land that became available in 1997. As a result, Context Development was formed, and 20 Niagara completed by 1998. located on the western edge of Victoria memorial Park, the property showed there was a market for modern and minimalist, concrete-and-glass condominiums. It also marked Context’s first collaboration with architectsAlliance’s Peter Clewes, who has evolved into “Canada’s condo starchitect.” other projects introduced residential high-rise buildings of up to 15-20 floors on under used or vacant lots. The morgan, a 16-storey condo at Richmond and Spadina, replaced a single-storey industrial property with 217 residential units, shops and cafes. Completed in 2002, The morgan was one of Great Gulf’s first condo developments in the city. Development spread beyond these targeted areas, spilling eastward and westward. York Heritage Properties – led by michael Cruickshank, Vicki Rodgers and Robert Eisenberg – purchased the Toronto Carpet factory, a derelict building, in 1995. In 2003, the renewed building was awarded a Certificate of Building Excellence in the Historical Building category from the Building owners and managers Association of Greater Toronto. An icon for the district it paved, the Carpet factory catalyzed the mixed-use renovation of other old industrial buildings nearby. To the east, the Distillery District opened in 2003. Developed by Dundee Realty, it is a hub for arts and culture, business big and small. By 2008, condo projects rejuvenated the neighbourhood with work-live balance. “With a new residential population, you get all new retail, restaurants and foodstores. Which support living and working populations in these neighbourhoods,” says Bedford.

The Kings transformed the downtown sector into a vibrant and tight-knit mixture of live-work-play. Leaving an indelible mark, the plan significantly improved lifestyle habits downtown. Today, 62 per cent of residents bike, walk or take transit to work. Roughly 42 per cent don’t own cars. This wasn’t always so. In the late 1980s and early 90s, cheap land and low taxes created office sprawl throughout the inner suburbs. Built to low-density, offices in these areas stood one or two storeys tall. All were car-dependent. “Downtown, there was nothing going on in that time,” says Bedford. “That’s totally turned around now. There are more offices under construction in the city than in the 905. Employers aren’t stupid, they understand that people want to live closer to where they work – to have that flexibility.” When Google opened its first office in Toronto last November, it chose a downtown locale, Richmond and York. In 2009, Telus amalgamated 15 of its GTA offices into a single space near union Station. The most recent example, Coca-Cola Canada relocated its head offices to King St East, from Thorncliffe Park, recognizing that 60 per cent of its employees live east of Yonge St. City councillor Pam mcConnell calls these new offices a “fabulous build out of what we envisioned in the 1990s.” Today, the formula for mixed-use development sparked by The Kings is best seen in the West Don lands. It’s estimated that 12,000 people will live and work in this newly created neighbourhood, by 2020, integrating seamlessly with King-Parliament and the Distillery District. Says Bedford: “The lessons The Kings taught us are spelled out. Develop the public realm first – the streets, the blocks, the open spaces. Then, develop the performance-based zoning in which you want to see the construction of private and public buildings. Basically what I’m saying is that all the principles that we used back in the 90s are just as valid today. They are the foundation of good city building.”

“All the principles we used back in the 90s are just as valid today.” Paul Bedford

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FEAT U RE D L I ST I NGS

Charlotte St., Suite 312 $349,900

Highly Sought After 1+Den In One Of King West’s Premier Projects, ‘Charlie’ By Great Gulf. Within Walking Distance To Countless Area Amenities, This Thoughtfully Laid Out Suite Boasts High End S/S Appliances, Soaring Ceilings, Well-Appointed 3-Pc Washroom And Sun Soaked Balcony. Easy Access To The Ttc And Only A 15 Minute Walk To Financial District. Perfect Suite For The Urban Young Professional.

Portland St., Suite 611 $524,900

Philippe Starck Inspired 75 Portland. This Extra Wide Floor Plan Boasts 923 Square Feet Of Sprawling Interior Living And W/O To Large Balcony With Gas Connect. No Wasted Space With The Perfect Alcove Den. High End Modern Finishes Throughout. Bedroom Has W/I Closet And 4 Pc Bath With Rain Head Shower. Powder Room For Your Guests. First Class 24 Hour Concierge & Impressive Starck Lobby/ Courtyard. Building Among Lowest Maint Fees In King West.

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Stewart St., Suite 531 $789,900

Spectacular Loft With Park Views At The Thompson Hotel. With Approximately 1470 Sq. Ft. Of Living Space, Parking & Locker, This 2 Bdrm + Den/3 Bath Loft Couples Luxury Finishes With Incredible Building Amenities. This Suite Boasts Pre-Engineered Hardwood Floors, S/S Appliances, Corian Kitchen/Washroom Counters & More. Both Bedrooms Feature A 4 Piece Ensuite Washroom!

Dan leckie Way, Suite 521

$398,000

Tastefully Designed Modern 2 Bedroom + Den At Panorama! Spacious Corner Unit With Lots Of Sunlight! Approx 900 Sq F + Balcony. Steps To Harbourfront. Easy Ttc Access. Amazing Facilities: 24 Hrs Concierge, Gym, Roof Top Deck/Garden, Party/Meeting Room, Guest Suites, Visitor Parking.

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King St.

Occupancy, Winter 2013 - Last Chance to Select Your finishes - 10% Deposit ($2000 on signing, balance of 5% in 30 days, 5% in 90 days) - New Released Suites with Exceptional Pricing - Gas Lines for all remaining units (including outdoor Gas lines for BBQ on balcony/terrace suites)

With Fashion House’s iconic 150-foot frontage on King Street, Freed Developments opted to celebrate King Street’s heritage as a fashion district. The project combines and connects the restoration of a silverplate historic building with sleek new glass, that when

completed, will house retail and restaurants on its ground level. By retaining 11 Canadian fashion designers to create stunning installations on the landings, the building is transformed; in the words of Peter Freed, into a “modern canvas for personal design expression.”

The meaning of home continues to evolve in Central King West with the ongoing collaboration between two lifestyle masterminds, Freed Developments and the Thompson Hotel Group. Pairing elegant living spaces with lavish amenities and first-class services,

we present the pinnacle of hotel inspired living at Thompson Residences. This is the epitome of architectural imagination. Embellished with innovative features and meticulous details, the finest finishes, and uniqueness throughout.

621

King St.

Construction well underway - The views just got better - New Release! 3 additional Floors & Penthouses now added

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Homewood Ave. $2,430,000

Beautiful Turn Of The Century Mansion With Stained Glass, Skylights, Great Wood Work. Ornate Stairway, Curved Ceiling And Great Ceiling Heights. Grand Garage With Private Drive. Show To Impress.

180 University Ave., Suite 4102 $838,800

650 King St. Move in Today! 5 Units remaining

SHANGRI-LA

Shangri-La Residences. Live In The Lap Of Comfort Where The Financial District Meets Entertainment And The Arts On Impressive University Avenue. 41st Avenue, Large One Bedroom Suite Facing West With Sprawling City And Lake Views. Flawless Layout With Large Open Concept Living Space And High End Finishes Throughout. Enjoy Access To Five Star Hotel Amenities And Every Ounce Of Luxury That You Would Expect With Shangri-La Brand! Tenanted Until Jan 2014.

- Best Value in Central King West - Pug Awards 2013 Nominee, Best Building Design, Toronto Six50 King West Condominiums: Two contemporary buildings, joined at the hip. Luxury just went up a notch. High style with chic condominiums featuring one storey suites, two storey suites and 6 unique townhouses. Full floor, private elevator access penthouse to die for. A living showcase. Defining high style. Lusciously landscaped terraces with floor-to-ceiling windows that provide a birdâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s eye view of everything thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cool. 416 360 0688 | psrbrokerage.com

PSR’s Favourite Buildings In The City Brewery LOFTS

maSSey HarriS LOFTS

Lee Colucci

Stephanie Newlands

Sales Representative

Built in 1956, the Brewery Lofts was home to the CBC’s TV division for decades. It was converted to live/work space in 1998 and has captivated me ever since. All penthouse units have a spiral staircase leading to a private rooftop terrace. The owners of these exclusive suites have architectural control over their terraces, meaning you never know what you’ll find at the top of each staircase. And from Sumach’s east end vantage point, the views are simply spectacular.

BarTLeTT LOFTS

The first property I ever showed was the Massey Harris Lofts at 915 King Street West, and it became an immediate favourite of mine. The building dates back to 1883 when it was originally used as the head office for Massey Farm Equipment. The restoration of the building into modern lofts with historical accents, has given it a character that is truly unique to the downtown area.

TOrOnTO DOminiOn CenTre

Joshua Jean-Baptiste

Gaurav Gupta

Sales Representative

Finished in 1985, the Bartlett Lofts is one of the city’s original loft buildings. With exposed brick-and-beam interiors and wonderfully high ceilings, each of the 13 units is entirely unique as owners are free to completely customize their living space. Set primarily amongst older Victorian and century homes, the building is ideally located within the downtown core yet tucked away from the chaos of the main streets.

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Completed in 1967, the TD Centre is an iconic masterpiece and a defining hallmark of the Toronto skyline. The Ludwig Mies van der Rohe designed complex, acclaimed for its avant-garde design, is recognized as the epicentre of the city’s financial district. Adding the Centre’s allure, the top floor of the Waterhouse Tower is home to one of the city’s best-kept secrets, Stratus Restaurant.

KSL-KingWest-ES-April13-LG1.pdf

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VISIONARY My first job was putting price tags on pre-packed sausages in a large factory in Hamburg. I was 14 and wanted to make some money in the summer break. It was just before I turned vegetarian. The production that made me want to study opera directing was Wagner’s Tristan and Isolde by Ruth Berghaus. She was a great East German dancer and choreographer who came out of the Expressionist dance movement. I saw that production of Tristan probably 15 times, sometimes multiple times a week. I did a workshop with her later and was absolutely terrified by her. She really opened my eyes to what can be done in the theatre—and then ultimately made me realize that I could be either a great mediocre director or actually work with great artists and give them the space to create extraordinary projects. I went for the latter. The typical day in the life of an artistic director is that nothing is typical. It has been fascinating moving to Canada. What I love about it is that the civic model here is unique in North America. There are so many things that I believe Canada has done a lot better than its southern neighbour, including social rights, gay marriage, funding for the arts, health care, the immigration model. I didn’t realize how fundamentally different the society here is from the United States. Toronto is a hugely multicultural city. You see it the most in the subway but not so much yet in the cultural institutions, which is strange. I think with founding Luminato, Tony Gagliano and David Pecaut have given a direction that Toronto should develop toward becoming a cultural leader globally. But people here have to be behind it. I love arriving at the City Airport and getting on that ferry. It combines two very different ways of communication—one floating through the air and fast, the other floating on water and slow. These kinds of differences and how close they are together is what fascinates me about Toronto. It is in everything in this town and you have to make these things clash and spark energy. Artists do not have passports, but the arts are an expression of who we are as humankind. The destruction of the Buddhas in Bamiyan was an assault on global culture. The arts have always been at the forefront of social developments and we cannot give up this position. Artists see things first and are able to visualize and express them: Expressionist painting precedes Freud’s theories. The arts and culture build cities. They are not contributors, they are the seed to our society. Human beings started to develop about 35,000 years ago. The earliest paintings and even musical instruments date back to the same period. So art was right there at the birthplace of humankind. Thomas Mann said in his Reflections of an Unpolitical Man something like if we lose the concept of culture, we lose civilization. Joni Mitchell turns 70 this year and we will celebrate her art with “Joni: A Portrait in Song and a Birthday Happening Live at Massey Hall.” Through this process, we’ve had lunches and dinners. Getting to know an artist of her stature is really one of the great discoveries and rewarding journeys. I think all my other divas (and I mean this in the most admiring and gender-encompassing way) will excuse me for singling her out. I just love her line “ice-cream castles in the sky.” No better way to describe a festival. Jorn Weisbrodt is the artistic director of Luminato, Toronto’s Festival of Arts and Creativity, June 14 to 23. luminato.com

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PHOTO: MARCIN MOKA PHOTOGRAPHY

JORN WEISBRODT