Neighbourhood Living - The Beach - Fall 2013 by Neighbourhood Living Magazine

Fall 2013 • Issue 17

CELEBRATING NEIGHBOURHOOD PEOPLE

the beach

Artist Rob Croxford

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Neighbourhood the beach

NEXT ISSUE: Winter 2013 Delivered to homes and targeted businesses in The Beach. Editor/Feature Writer: Tracey Coveart Graphic Designer: Pamela Hickey Social Media Administrator: Carolyn Tripp Neighbourhood Promoters: Carolyn Tripp, Greg Baroski, Joan de Grey

In the Neighbourhood Luke Anderson - 6 Journeys by Judy: The Leslie Street Spit - 12 Upcoming Events - 14

Fashion + Beauty

Printer: Ironstone Media

Fashion fun this fall - 15 Bumbleberry Kids - 16 Studio Fresh - 17 The head to toe beauty team at Flaunt Boutique - 18 Gift Guide - 20 Neighbourhood Source Guide - 21

Contributing Photographers: Tracey Coveart, Judy-Ann Cazemier, Carolyn Tripp, Greg Barsoski, Kristina Raimi Contributing Writers: Tracey Coveart, Judy-Ann Cazemier, Carolyn Tripp, Karie Johnston Publisher: Greg Barsoski

Neighbourhood Living Magazine is now in its 5th exciting year, celebrating the wonderful people and places in our neighbourhood. Do you own a business in the neighbourhood or are you thinking of becoming a local merchant? For ways to increase your cash flow, contact Greg Barsoski at 416-402-4283 or b5@sympatico.ca.

ON OUR COVER: Pop culture artist Rob Croxford (robcroxford.com) combines 1950s iconography and clever wordplay to create playful art with a subtle sociopolitical edge.

Food + Celebration Brussels Bistro the next chapter in a fine French tradition - 22 Pippins is proudly Canadian - 24 VeloutĂŠ brings fine French cuisine to The Beach - 26

Dollars + Sense Your financial future with Nadine De Palma - 29 Protect yourself against disability with Karie Johnston - 30

Home + Garden Rob Croxford: A spoonful of sugar - 32 Howards Storage World makes decluttering easy - 36 Al Sinclair has The Beach covered - 38 Kevin Karst Design Inc. brings a lot to the kitchen table - 40 Chinatown East Culinary Stroll - 42 New Kids At Home store is even more fun than before - 44 All rights reserved info. No article or ad may be duplicated without the consent of the publisher. Neighbourhood Living makes no representation or warranty, expressed or implied, as to the qualification or accreditation of those whose opinions are expressed herein, or with the respect to the accuracy of completeness of information (medical or otherwise) provided to, or published in, this magazine. The views and opinions expressed within are not necessarily those of the publisher.

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neighbourhood people

Luke Anderson is changing the neighbourhood, one ramp at a time BY

At 24 years of age Luke Anderson was on top of the world. Literally. Having graduated with his degree in Civil Engineering from Waterloo University, Luke moved out west to Rossland, BC, where he could pursue his first love: mountain biking. A gifted and natural athlete, Luke had always enjoyed a physical challenge. Growing up in Stouff ville, Ontario, he spent every spare minute biking, running, climbing. Later it was organized sports: “baseball, lacrosse – you name it, I did it.” But was in the fall of 2002, while mountain biking in Rossland with a friend, that physical challenge took on a whole new meaning. “I bit off more than I could chew and came up short on a big gap jump,” says Luke. “The second I came to, just moments after I crashed, I knew that I was in trouble. I knew exactly what had happened, but I was in this state of calm collectedness. My survival mechanisms kicked in. I knew I had to get off that mountain and I channelled all my energy into that.”

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Tracey Coveart

What had happened – what he was told later in the Vancouver hospital where he spent five weeks – was that he had sustained a high level (C4-5) spinal cord injury. Luke was a quadriplegic. “In the back of my mind, I knew this was a permanent state. I had very minimal movement below my shoulders. I had that hopeful thing, but deep down I knew I was kidding myself.” In the hospital and later in rehabilitation, Luke heard success stories. “People in my state who learned to walk again. I met a guy in the hospital in Vancouver, who was in a similar situation. He had fallen off his bike and had a C4-5 spinal cord injury. At first he couldn’t move much beyond his shoulders, but he regained a lot of movement. He could walk and ride a bike again. I really wanted that to happen to me, but I knew it wasn’t going to.” After he was stabilized and fit enough for travel, Luke flew back home and spent six months at Toronto Rehab – Lyndhurst Centre . “I worked with occupational and physio therapists to try

to gain back as much movement as I could. And I did make gains. I arrived at Lyndhurst not being able to move below my shoulders; not being able to feed myself. It doesn’t seem like much, but I remember that first bite I took on my own. I was sitting in the cafeteria with my family and I ate a grape by myself. It changed my life completely.” It was a major victory but Luke – who was once very proud of his sculpted body and athletic ability – was devastated by his physical condition. “My self confidence was shot. I had a hard time wheeling past a bike locked up on the sidewalk. I couldn’t imagine myself being involved in the cycling community in any capacity. I wanted to have romantic encounters but I didn’t see how anybody could be attracted to me or how intimacy would even work. I was adjusting to so many new things: the dependence on others for help and the rigid routine that goes along with it. At 10 pm there would be a knock on my door and someone – often a stranger – would be there to put me to bed; to be my hands. “In a split second, I went from being this incredibly active, physically able 24-year-old guy to someone who was very dependent on others and my wheelchair to get around. And in that split second – and the following months as I got used to this new way of life – I found myself living in a world not well suited to a person who uses a wheelchair.” The job interview Still recovering emotionally and adjusting to his new way of living, Luke turned his mind to gainful employment two years after his devastating injury. “As I started to get more comfortable with my situation, I sent out resumes, looking for work as a structural engineer.” And lo and behold, he got an interview at an engineering firm in downtown Toronto. “The morning of the interview, I did what everyone else does,” recalls Luke. “I got dressed up and I arrived early.” But for somebody who uses a mobility aid, that wasn’t enough. Three steps separated street level – where Luke sat in his wheelchair – from the entrance to the building, the elevators, and his potential employer. For Luke, those three steps might as well have been a mountain back in Rossland. “It was a cold, wet November day, and I sat there, waiting in the rain, wondering how the heck I was going to make it to my interview.” Fortunately someone coming out of the building told Luke about a back entrance. “It was a loading dock. I had to get in touch with the building manager, who went into the garage and moved all kinds of garbage to haul out these big, heavy, temporary ramps used for the snowblower.” It took more than an hour to get into the building, but Luke finally arrived at the offices of Blackwell Engineering, soaking wet, freezing cold and late for his interview. “I guess I must have said something right,” says Luke, who can laugh about the experience now, “because I got the job!” A ﬁnger in the dyke For both Luke and his new employer, the challenge of that initial interview was just the tip of the accessibility iceberg. “Now we had to come up with a way to get me into the building so I could come to work every day.” The solution was to purchase a deployable ramp. Each morning when Luke arrived at the building, and each evening when he left, the ramp had to be unfolded, then refolded and tucked away. And that was something Luke couldn’t do by himself. Usually, the job fell to Luke’s good friend and coworker Michael Hopkins. “We grumbled and complained about the ridiculousness of the situation, and at the same time we noticed how many other people were struggling; people who weren’t using wheelchairs but had mobility issues of their own.” Delivery people lugging heavy packages would jump at the chance to use the ramp, says Luke, as would parents and caregivers pushing strollers. “For more than five years (in 2012 the building was retrofitted with a permanent ramp and an automatic door opener), I had to arrange to have someone meet me outside every morning when I got to work and go www.neighbourhoodliving.com |

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of the accessibility issue. Rather than accept defeat, however, they turned their annoyance into activism. “We had to figure out a way to get the conversation started; to let people see how big the problem is.” And so, in 2011, The Community Ramp Project was born.

down with me every evening when I left. There was no spontaneity or independence. This was incredibly annoying, especially when Michael would get busy with other things or lose track of time. There were many times when I was left downstairs and it fuelled my frustration.” And this was Luke’s place of employment, where people were aware of his needs and had jury-rigged a way to accommodate them. There were countless other buildings in the

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city that were inaccessible to Luke and anyone using a wheelchair. “I get it,” says Luke. “We’ve got a lot of venues in this city that are old and were designed at a time when people who used wheelchairs didn’t really participate a lot in their communities because they weren’t seen as people who could. But we’ve come a long way and it’s time to change things.” When tension boiled over, Luke and Michael would kvetch about the widespread nature

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The StopGap solution Inspired by the success of The Good Bike Project – which was started by two OCAD employees who painted bikes in bright colours and left them locked up around the city to increase awareness about cycle friendly communities – Luke and Michael launched their own campaign, StopGap (stopgap.ca), which is run by volunteers who are inspired to create awareness about barriers to the built environment. “These brightly coloured bikes had caused a stir,” says Luke, “and we latched onto the concept, offering businesses with single-step doorways a free ramp painted in bright colours with our website highly visible so people would go there to learn more.” The first community ramp rolled out in The Junction in the fall of 2011. There are now more than 130 ramps in six communities: The Junction, Kensington Market and Roncesvalles in Toronto, Stouffville, Orillia and Cranbrook, BC, with The Beach and Leslieville/Riverside slated to come on board this fall. For the first few years, local hardware stores donated the materials, and volunteers built and painted the temporary ramps, which are individually designed by Luke. In The Junction, Stockyards Home Depot provided all of the materials and the Stockyards Team Depot, along with family and friends, helped build the ramps. The Roncesvalles Ramp Project took place over two days, during the Polish Street Festival in 2012. Materials were donated by Pollock’s Home Hardware and the Greening Homes crew built the ramps. “This was our most successful – and ambitious – ramp project to date,” says Luke. “We built 43 ramps in two days!” Made out of lightweight plywood with a nonslip finish, the ramps can be deployed whenever there is a need. (The installation of permanent ramps requires a street variance for encroachment onto city property, as well as a building permit and more complicated, expensive design-to-code construction, which puts it financially out of reach for neighbourhood ‘mom and pop’ shops.) The ramps are custom constructed to fit the step and are painted in red, yellow, green, blue, white or black – “obnoxiously bright” to get people talking. StopGap provides participating businesses with a sign to put in the shop window, announcing that a ramp is available, and Luke is trying to encourage business

owners to purchase an inexpensive call bell system to make accessibility virtually seamless for everyone. The businesses sign a waiver accepting liability for the use of the ramp and StopGap makes sure that owners understand the potential for risk and how to deploy the ramps safely. “There are some businesses that do shy away from the risks,” says Luke, “and some business owners just don’t get it, which is unfortunate because everyone benefits from a ramped entrance.” The early adopters – those who responded positively to the survey StopGap distributed in their community and chose to receive a free ramp – are seeing an increase in their consumer base, “and a really interesting thing is happening,” says Luke. “Customers of businesses that are not part of The Community Ramp Project – in particular, customers pushing strollers – are demanding that the businesses they frequent have ramps installed.” Dan Lajeunesse, owner of Roncy’s Bean, is thrilled with his ramp. “I hadn’t even heard about the ramps when they installed one in our entranceway during the Polish Festival last year. Now I rave about them! It’s definitely helped our patrons come and go more freely, especially moms and babies and people with special needs who can’t make it up the step. Now the ramps are all up and down the street. It’s the norm.” For some shoppers, like local mom Lana, who has small kids and spends a lot of time out and about in the neighbourhood, it’s not a question of convenience. It’s a matter of necessity. “I won’t go into a store unless it’s got a ramp.” Full speed ahead This demand for accessibility has led to the first offshoot of The Community Ramp Project: Ramps on Demand. Businesses that missed the first round of applications can now apply to Ramps on Demand to have a custom ramp built at cost (usually between $100 and $300) by contractors that are aligned with StopGap. Brooke Manning, who opened her Roncesvalles shop, Likely General on July 21 of this year, couldn’t wait to get her Ramp on Request – and even put a notice in the window that her black ramp was on its way. “I contacted StopGap as soon as I signed the lease. It makes my business so much more accessible. And now that it’s arrived, people are just so appreciative that it’s here.” And the StopGap organization, which has applied for charitable status, just keeps on growing. Early in June, StopGap inked a partnership with Dixon Hall, a multi-service Riverside agency offering skills training for people who are at-risk and/or economically marginalized. The Dixon Hall Mill Centre, which works in partnership with George Brown College, local

high schools and other non-profit community agencies to provide carpentry and home renovation training to more than 50 paid clients each year, has taken on The Community Ramp Project as an educational vehicle. “It’s an incredible partnership that will streamline our ability to get more ramps out there,” says Luke, whose ultimate goal “in the ideal world” would be to have a ramp in every Toronto doorway. In the east end of the city, Queen Street businesses including Ed’s Real Scoop, Lady Marmalade, Potala Gift Shop, Beachside Grill and Moo Milk Bar have already ordered their Dixon Hall StopGap.ca ramp. And once the next round of applications goes out to shops in Leslieville, Riverside and The Beach, Luke expects things to get very busy for the good folks at Dixon Hall. Luke and the entire StopGap team are thrilled with the success of The Community Ramp Project. “Our brightly coloured ramps have generated a lot of interest. They’re working. They’re speaking for themselves. People get it. They often say to us, ‘It’s so simple. Why didn’t somebody think of it before?’” To truly understand a need, however, you have to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes, or in this case, wheel a mile in someone else’s chair. Luke encountered an obstacle and he found a way to overcome it – for his own benefit and for the benefit of society as a whole. Now he would like to tour his accessibility solution from coast to coast in the spirit of Canadian awareness heroes Terry Fox and Rick Hansen. “I see a real opportunity to take this thing across the country,” says Luke, who is working on logistics and sponsorship for a cross-country tour. “I’d like to see a ramp project in every community in Canada.” A busy, happy life Luke doesn’t have much time these days to think about what he can’t do. He’s too busy doing what he can. An ambassador with the Rick Hansen Institute and an independent presenter, Luke likes taking his message of awareness and accessibility to children. He shares his story with kids in elementary schools and introduces the community ramp project as a way to overcome challenges in life and to effect social change. “Kids often ask me if I regret making that jump,” says Luke, who dates, skis, sails and has recently reconnected with the cycling community as a coach mechanic with DIY bicycle shop Bike Pirates at 1292 Bloor Street West. “I tell them if I hadn’t, I wouldn’t be here, meeting them, telling them my story and opening up their minds to a different way of life that is just as fulfilling and pretty amazing.” One of the important lessons Luke teaches children is that accepting change can introduce

us to new and exciting things and even make us better people. That’s the lesson readers take away from The Ramp Man, a book written by school principal Thelma Sambrook and Luke’s sister, Grade 1 teacher Logan Anderson, and illustrated by the Grade 6 students at Summit Heights Public School. The book was inspired by a live presentation Luke gave at the school and takes readers through Luke’s life: his devastating injury, his post-spinal cord injury navigation of a world that is not well suited to people who use a wheelchair, and his use of the powerful tools of optimism, perseverance and hope to tackle – and overcome – the barriers he encounters. “Ultimately, it is these kids who are going to be tasked with removing the barriers to our built environment. And disability affects us all as we age. We are TABs: Temporarily Able-Bodied. One day every one of us will need barrier-free accommodations.” And what became of the man who thought he could never attract a mate? Luke, now 35, and his girlfriend Nicola, a nursing student 10 years his junior, are getting serious. “She’s starting to move some of her stuff into my place to make it feel more like a place that she can call home as well,” says Luke, who has big plans for the future. “I definitely want to be a dad. I love kids!”

Luke Anderson stopgap.ca lukewanders@gmail.com http://stopgapblog.blogspot.ca/

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Journeys by Judy: The Leslie Street Spit by Judy-Ann Cazemier

Tommy Thompson Park or, as locals call it, the ‘Leslie Street Spit’, is one of the best places to escape the hustle and bustle of the city. It’s a great spot to commune with nature and a favourite destination for cyclists, rollerbladers, joggers, birders – easily identified by their long lenses – fishermen and photographers. The Leslie Street Spit is a natural habitat for many birds, aquatic wildlife and small animals. The last time I was there I spotted a small brown rabbit as it jumped into the grass, warning signs to ‘Please brake for snakes’ (glad I didn’t see any!), an enormous cormorant colony, swans, red-winged blackbirds, Canada geese, a large flock of brown speckled birds I couldn’t identify and, of course, tons of seagulls. It is an urban ornithologist’s dream, with more than 300 species of birds known to inhabit or at least visit the park. At a lookout over the main enclosed water area, I paused with my camera to enjoy the serenity and take in the view. It was so still; so peaceful. I heard blackbirds singing, watched swallows swoop and dart, and gazed at black strings of cormorants flying overhead. A barn swallow sitting on a fence posed for me. As I waited to capture its profile, a second swallow flew in and blocked my view of the first. Checking the LCD monitor on my camera, I was surprised and delighted to see the second swallow had flown into my photograph. What a gift! The main trail is paved, making it ideal for cyclists. There are beaches along the western shore and a long pedestrian bridge in the centre of the park. At the end of the spit there is a small red lighthouse and a beach made of concrete, rusted steel and, unexpectedly, two stone inukshuks. This urban wilderness – which extends five

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kilometres into Lake Ontario and is jointly operated by the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources – was created in the late 1950s, made with millions of cubic metres of concrete, earth fill and dredged sand. Throughout the week, heavy trucks continue to dump their loads of excavated concrete rubble at the site, which means, for safety reasons, the park is only open to the public on weekends and holidays. According to the Tommy Thompson Park website (www. tommythompsonpark.ca), it takes about two and a half hours to walk to the lighthouse at the tip of the spit and back, based on an average walking speed of 4 km/h with no stops. But it always takes longer. It is so picturesque you can’t help but take frequent breaks to enjoy the tranquility, the prolific flora and fauna around you and the breathtaking views of the downtown Toronto skyline.

The spit at a glance Where: Foot of Leslie Street, south of Lakeshore Boulevard East. When: Open weekends and holidays 9 am to 6 pm, April to October and 9 am to 4:30 pm November to March. Closed Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day. Gates and parking lot are closed after hours. Who: Bicyclists, rollerbladers, joggers, hikers, walkers, bird-watchers, nature-lovers, sailors, rowers, botanists, fishermen and photographers. Exceptions: No dogs or motorized vehicles allowed. Bikes must travel at 15 km/h or slower (there are speed bumps). Links: Tommy Thompson Park – tommythompsonpark.ca; Toronto and Region Conservation Authority for the Living City – trca.on.ca; Ministry of Natural Resources – mnr.gov.on.ca; Friends of the Spit – friendsofthespit.ca; Toronto Port Authority – torontoport.com; City of Toronto – toronto.ca; Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Corporation – towaterfront.ca; Aquatic Park Sailing Club – aquaticpark.com; Important Bird Areas of Canada – ibacanada.com; Ducks Unlimited Canada – ducks.ca; and University of Guelph, School of Environmental Design and Rural Development – uoguelph.ca/sedrd www.neighbourhoodliving.com

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Upcoming Events ■

october 4

■

Toronto Field Naturalists 90th Anniversary Celebration. 7:30pm, The Papermill Theatre, Todmorden Mills Heritage Site, 67 Pottery Rd. Show includes skits, haikus, stories, reports and songs written and performed by TFN members to celebrate our history and love of nature. Presentations by Junior Field Naturalists, the Nature Reserves, Hurricane Hazel and TFN walks. Tickets $15 for adults, $5 for children 6-12. Info: 416-429-7821, marg.mcrae@gmail.com, torontoﬁeldnaturalists.org. ■

october 5

Toronto Centre for Naturopathic Medicine Open House. 10am-2pm, 475 Broadview Ave. Meet the doctors and therapists. Sample reﬂexology and craniosacral treatments, assess your body-fat percentage and hydration status and ask questions about natural treatment of your health concerns. Info: 416-598-8898, www.torontonaturopathicmedicine.ca. Withrow Park Farmer’s Market. 9am-pm, Saturdays (until Oct. 26), 725 Logan Ave. Info: withrowpark.ca. ■

october 6

Leslieville Farmer’s Market. Friday May31 to June 2 (times vary). Woodbine Park, at Coxwell 9am-2pm, Sundays (until Oct. 27), Jonathan Ashbridge Park. Info: leslievillemarket.com. ■

october 8

Open Door Yoga Classes. 7-8pm, Tuesdays, St. David’s Anglican Church (Donlands and Danforth). Info/ registration: 416-466-3142, opendooratstds@gmail.com, opendooratstds.ca. East York Farmer’s Market. 8am-2pm, Tuesdays (until Nov. 5), East York Civic Centre, 850 Coxwell Ave. ■

october 9

Open Door Parent/Caregiver Drop-in. 8:30-11:30am, Wednesdays, St. David’s Anglican Church (Donlands and Danforth). The drop-in offers toys and activities for toddlers, snack and circle time. A great opportunity for parents and caregivers in the neighbourhood to get together. Info: 416-466-3142, opendooratstds@gmail.com, opendooratstds.ca. Fairmount Park Farm Market. Wednesdays, 3-7pm, Wednesdays (until Oct. 30), Fairmount Park, 1725 Gerrard St. E. Info: fairmountmarket.weebly.com. ■

october 10

East Lynn Park Farmers’ Market. 3-7 pm, Thursdays (to Oct. 17), 1949 Danforth Ave. Info: my-market.ca. Sweet Pea Soap Company’s Thanksgiving Centrepiece Workshop. 3091 Kingston Rd. Centerpiece features fall mums, berries, greenery, a pumpkin spice soy candle and a classic gardener’s handmade soap. $75, including instruction with Joan de Grey, materials and refreshments. Register at denise@sweetpeasoapcompany. com. Info: sweetpeasoapcompany.com. ■

october 16

Riverdale Community Arts and Letters Club presents Wayson Choy. 6pm, 370 Broadview Ave. Riverdale resident and Member of the Order of Canada Wayson Choy talks about a writer’s life, from writing The Jade Peony to almost dealth. Info: 416-393-7720, susanp@pathcom.com. ■

october 17

Plus Size Fashion Show with MC Canadian Fashion Designer Linda Lundstrom. 6:30-10pm, Balmy Beach Club (bottom of Beech Ave.) All clothing and accessories from Curvaceous Consignments and available for purchase. Models are friends of the store. Tickets $25 in advance at Curvaceous Consignments (2186 Queen St. E.), $30 at the door. Proceeds will sponsor a family from The Beach at Christmas. Info: 416-694-2000. ■

october 18

Get Inspired: Paint Rock Pumpkins and Ghosts. 4-5pm, S. Walter Stewart Library (auditorium), 170 Memorial Park Ave. Ages 11-18. Free. Supplies provided. Registration/info: 416-396-3975, www.torontopubliclibrary.ca. 150th Anniversary of St. Joseph Catholic Elementary. 6-11pm, 176 Leslie St. Meet ‘n Greet in Parish Hall. Tickets/information: stjosephs150th@gmail.com.

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october 19

150th Anniversary of St. Joseph Catholic Elementary. 176 Leslie St. Mass at the church followed by a procession to the school for an open house from 11am-3pm. Decade rooms, time capsule and cake. Dinner/dance at 6pm. Tickets/information: stjosephs150th@gmail.com. Nth Bokwa in support of the Toronto Zoo. 4-7:30pm, Eastminster United Church, 310 Danforth Ave. Hosted by Dione Mason with BokwaBEST Carol Szuky, Heather Arbeau and team of fabulous instructors. Try an intro to Bokwa® no experience necessary, shop Nth quality vendors, or relax in our lounge while enjoying TbyDaniel’s Premium Tea Bar. Advanced online pricing $7 or $10 at the door. Info: 905-872-7728, www.nthlounge.com. ■

october 22

Wine Hike. 6:30-10pm, House of Moments, 386 Carlaw Ave. Fundraiser for Mothers and Sons Against Violence Against Women, who are climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro with their sons in January 2014. Join us for a glass of wine, hors d’oeuvres and laughs with stand-up comedian Carly Heffernan. Tickets: masavaw.eventbrite.ca. ■

october 25

Fall Beach Studio Tour. Oct. 25, 6-9 pm; Oct. 26, 10am-6pm; Oct. 27, 11am-6pm, from west of Woodbine Ave. to east of Victora Pk. Ave. Visit 25 artists at 13 studio sites. Free admission. Brochures (with map) available at most local shops and www.beachstudiotour.ca. Look for the yellow signs and explore our vibrant, artistic neighbourhood. Info: Nathalie Vachon 416-691-5195, info@beachstudiotour.ca. ■

october 26

Toronto Beach Chorale - Inspiration in Music. 7:30pm, Kingston Road United Church, 975 Kingston Rd. TBC joins with guest vocalist Paula Grifﬁth, the Toronto Beaches Children’s Chorus and guest musicians in a program of favourites. General Admission $20; Youth (7-18) $10; children under 7 free. Cash only at the door. Info: David Garde 416-699-6634, torontobeachchorale.com. Monster Scavenger Hunt. 6-7pm, S. Walter Stewart Library, 170 Memorial Park Ave. Hunt for monsters at this Annual Haunted House. Costumes welcome! Halloween prices for participants.Info: 416-396-3975, www.torontopubliclibrary.ca. 5th Annual Riverside WalkFEST. 10am-6pm, Queen St. E., between the DVP and Empire Ave. Nine unique walks lead by local personalities, along with Nell & Natasha’s Annual Pumpkin Give Away and Jimmie Simpson Recreation Centre’s Haunted House (11am-3pm), fun children’s activities and sidewalk sales. Walking tours schedule includes 9am Fitness/Dog Walk exploring dogfriendly businesses, parks, alleys and the Riverside itself. ■

october 27

7th Annual Walk, Roll, Run and Fun Fall Fair at Variety Village. 3701 Danforth Ave. Supporting inclusive, integrated sport, ﬁtness and life skills programs for people with disabilities. 5k and 1k routes, 8am-2pm. Great prizes, including a Florida condo vacation. $45 to register. Info: 416-699-7167 x255, www. walkrollrun.ca. Fun Fall Fair from 11am-2pm. Fun for all ages and abilities! Bring the whole family and enjoy Halloween-themed activities, snacks and refreshments, vendors and farmers’ market, pumpkin painting, pie baking contest and more! $5 admission includes two refreshment tickets. Info: supportvariety.ca. ■

november 6

The Dandies present Holodeck Follies – Star Trek Variety Show. 8-9:30pm, Black Swan Tavern,154 Danforth Ave. A 90-minute variety show ﬁlled with music, stand-up, sketches and Star Trek inspired improv. Ensign Alan Leightizer and Jason Zinger and the 10-Forward band will also be on hand. Join the interactive experience by wearing a Red Shirt! Trivia prizes to be won, Tribble petting zoo and more! $7 at the door. Advance tickets at www.brownpapertickets.com; info at http://improvdandies.wordpress.com. ■

november 16

Toronto East Rotary Club’s 4th Annual Arts and Crafts Sale. 10am-5pm, Eastminster United Church, 310 Danforth Ave. Art, refreshments, live music, face painting and a draw. Proceeds to community projects, including the Out of the Cold Program at Eastminster. Free admission. Info: 416-463-3834, amunn@pathcom.com, www.torontoeastrotary.com. ■

november 20

Riverdale Community Arts and Letters Club presents Carol Bishop-Gwyn. 6pm, 370 Broadview Ave. Ms. Bishop-Gwyn will discuss her book, The Pursuit of Perfection: A Life of Celia Frana. Presentation and book signing. Info: 416-393-7720, susanp@pathcom.comInfo: 416-463-3834, amunn@pathcom.com, www.neighbourhoodliving.com www.torontoeastrotary.com.

! l l a f is h t n u f n io h s a Fabulous f As we close the book on a less-than-typical summer season, we’re eagerly anticipating a predictably stunning fall fashion lineup at our east end boutiques! There’s so much to choose from right here in the neighbourhood, including stunning designs from great local designers that will have your friends begging to tag along on your next shopping excursion.

Always the harbinger of comfortable chic, Christina at Bergstrom Originals (781 Queen St E) has her own line for a simple, yet elegant transition to colder weather. Try the stylish, curve hugging Hayworth Dress [1] inspired by – you guessed it! – Rita Hayworth. Pair it with an Obi belt by Brave Leather [1] and a Mustard Daily Tote [1], also available at www.bergstromoriginals.com.

Pert Lingerie (1817 Queen St E) has essential intimates for any season. Staff take the time to understand your needs and wants and will even help your hapless significant other pick out what’s best. Be sure to check out their seamless panties and bra-and-panty sets while you’re there. Head down the street and through the door of Delish by Studio D (2116 Queen St E) to discover a wide range of designs for all styles and tastes that will give your tame wardrobe a bit of a pop. Anticipating a holiday event in the near future? Turn heads with a floor-length beaded gown.

When you’ve sampled Christina’s wares, head further east to Yoka (950 & 2116-J Queen St E, yokafashions.com). There, you’ll find a wide array of transitional clothing, including leathers, plaids and heavier fabrics perfect for keeping the chill at bay. Try on a side-zip black belted knee length coat or a gorgeous readyto-wear dress for a quick wardrobe update. 2 Embrace the deep jewel tones of autumn at Dorly Designs (1173 Queen St E), your go-to boutique for original pieces that are made in-house. Their adorable-yet-sophisticated take on traditional floral jewelry is guaranteed to pick up any fall outfit. Be sure to check out their stunning ‘Purple Reign’ necklace [2] . This chunky accessory can be nestled in a loose-neck sweater or worn out in the open with a strapless evening dress in dark velvet.

Futher along, Any Direct Flight (1382 Queen St E) offers classy professionalism with a twist. Tired of the monochrome blazerand-pants suit for the office? They’ve got you covered from head to toe for unusual pieces that will liven things up for you and your coworkers Monday to Friday.

Posh Boutique (2016 Queen St E, 416-690-5533, www.posh.ca) will chase away those end-of-summer blues with ‘perfect for the cottage’ cozy knit sweaters by KOOI [3] . Pair with skinny jeans and western boots when you’re downtown, or Uggs and your favourite chicbut-comfortable yoga pants for by-the-fire reading. Connie Meyer is the owner and designer of Studio Fresh at 810 Danforth Avenue (416-850-8356). Innovative, sophisticated and playful, her ready-to-wear line is carefully created for dressing up or down. Try Connie’s semi-fitted Mona Dress in grey [4]. With its loose neck, comfortable fabric and knee length, it’s a perfect pick for fall. If you’re in the mood for more, Studio Fresh also carries a variety of distinctive Canadian designers including Tenacious, Veronique Miljkovitch, Momo, T.A.S.T., Lilliput, and Olena Zylak’s knitwear and accessories.

With so many amazing places to visit in the east for the best of fall fashion, get ready to accept the compliments that are bound to come your way. Happy shopping! www.neighbourhoodliving.com

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Designing a Business Card As prosaic as the title sounds this is actually a sentimental story about a favorite dress. When my sister was very young, our mother, an excellent shopper with a taste for handmade clothes because nothing in the stores “fit properly” (admittedly she had narrow shoulders) took us to the Marimekko store on Scollard Ave. and purchased us each a dress. I have no recollection of mine, but my memory of my sister’s dress is intact because it had seven pockets made from colourful fabrics just waiting for a child’s treasures. My sister loved it completely and wore it out. I remember it so well that when I was designing the business card for Bumbleberry Kids I wanted it on the clothes line. Google’s magic produced it and then many months later one of our favorite customers came in with the blue version of it which hangs in our store as an example of lovely children’s clothing design. This dress is still being made and my sister’s was bought in the early 1960’s.

Bumbleberry Kids 1584 Queen St. East bumbleberrykids.blogspot.com bumbleberrykids@gmail.com 416 691-5556

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These are the kind of details that make Bumbleberry Kids an unusual children’s second-hand clothing and goods store for 0 – 6yrs. We notice stuff. • fabric content and quality; age of clothing; simple

design; french and felled seams • the difference in warmth and ability to breathe between wool and polyester fleece • cashmere and mohair come from Kashmir and Angora goats, not sheep and are suitable for children with wool allergies • mohair from Angora rabbits, and Alpaca are also for children with wool allergies Come talk to us about carriers which you may borrow to test these important purchases. We also sell maternity wear and have an array of useful goods for newborns and mother.

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MOnA DreSS reD DOT DreSS uP DreSS DOWn eASILY

MOnA DreSS greY eASY-TO-WeAr SeMI-FITTeD DreSS

A SeMeTrY TunIC greY/bLk STrIPe VerY SOFT FLOWIng knIT WITH POCkeTS

Connie Meyer is the owner and designer of Studio Fresh, located at 810 Danforth Avenue. In addition to her innovative, sophisticated, playful, ready-to-wear Studio Fresh line that is easily dressed up or down, the boutique also carries a variety of distinctive made-in-Canada fashions by Canadian designers, including Tenacious (bags), Veronique Miljkovitch (clothing), Momo (clothing), T.A.S.T. (clothing), Lilliput (hats) and Olena Zylak (knitwear and accessories). We invite you to our shop to experience design that is a true reflection of the artist behind the clothing; contemporary fashions that coincide beautifully with mainstream trends, while bringing out the individual in us all. You will find us two blocks east of Pape Avenue, at 810 Danforth Avenue, in Toronto’s east end. Our phone number is 416-850-8356. Our staff is friendly and helpful, but not pushy, and we will always give you our honest opinion – even if it means losing a sale. Honest. Our hours are: Monday – closed; Tuesday to Friday – 11am-6pm; Saturday and Sunday – 12-5pm www.studiofresh.cawww.neighbourhoodliving.com or info@studiofresh.ca. | Neighbourhood Living | 17

The ‘head to toe’ beauty by Tracey Coveart

Kay Love

When Montreal tattoo artist Kay Love decided to change careers seven years ago, Toronto – and hairdressing school – beckoned. So did Ivan. “I was having a quarter life crisis. So I thought about what I liked doing that was fun and artistic that would also allow me to make a living. I’d been doing my friends’ hair forever, so it seemed like a natural choice. I put down my tattoo gun and ink and picked up my scissors.” Kay started at Flaunt five years ago as Ivan’s assistant and receptionist while she attended school, then came on full time as salon coordinator and part-time stylist when she graduated. “I was completely blessed,” says Kay, who enjoys creative freedom at the boutique. “My chair got busy very fast. I’ve been on the floor as a full-time colourist and stylist for the last four years.” A creative spirit – “I paint, I draw and I have dabbled in sculpting, video and photography” – Kay brings an artistic approach to her work at Flaunt. “My clients are my medium. They come in with this beautiful canvass and my job is to embellish it.” She’s also a realist. “I have a no BS policy. If it won’t look good, I won’t do it, but I explain why and suggest options that will suit them better.” Thinking in terms of form and shape and complementary colours, “I listen to what my clients want in the context of what is achievable and what will look good.” One of Kay’s main goals as a stylist is to make her clients comfortable in her chair. “I create a safe space for them to come and talk. It’s their time to decompress. I’m not just dealing with their hair, I’m also dealing with their emotions.” She semi-jokingly refers to her work at Flaunt as ‘hairapy.’ “I develop a relationship with my clients and sometimes they tell me really personal details about their lives. I have the same code of ethics as a therapist. What they say in my chair, stays in my chair.” What Kay loves most about her job, “is making people happy. When I give an awkward teenager the 360 degree look in the mirror and her face lights up like a Christmas tree or a new mom tells me it’s the first time she’s felt sexy since she had the baby, that’s when I know I’m in the right place.” Hours: MWF – 11am-7pm • TT – 12-8pm

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team at Flaunt Boutique Growing up in salons where her mother worked, “I never wanted to be a hairdresser!” laughs Adriana, Flaunt’s award-winning stylist and colourist. “I wanted to be a teacher.” She was thrust into both when her mother opened a hairdressing/aesthetics school in post-communist Romania. “I was working full time as a hairdresser at 15 and teaching at 16. I still remember my very first paycheque. It was for $65.” She took over the school at 18, when the rest of her family moved to Canada, selling everything five years later to follow her loved ones here in 2001. With no English skills, Adriana was forced to start at the bottom and work her way up, but she landed a job at a high end Bloor Street West salon one week after arriving in Toronto. Seven months later, when she’d memorized enough words to carry a conversation, the owner took her on as his personal assistant. Adriana was a natural. Quickly moving up the ranks from junior to senior stylist/colourist, she was nominated for four prestigious awards in 2006 and landed two: Ontario Hairdresser of the Year and Canadian Colourist of the Year. In 2007 and 2008 she won back-to-back North American Colourist of the Year awards. “It’s a beautiful job, making clients happy,” says Adriana who enjoys the personal satisfaction she gets from industry recognition but has no desire to be a big name in the business. This year, representing Flaunt for the first time, she has been nominated in five categories, including Canadian Stylist of the Year. If she wins (she’ll find out in October), she plans to have her mom up on stage beside her. Adriana left Bloor Street for a premium Forest Hill salon in 2006 and joined the Flaunt team in 2012. “I needed a change. I knew this was a little avant-garde and I wanted the chance to be more creative.” It was a good decision. “This is the best place I’ve ever worked,” she says. “We all get along and we make it fun for our clients. And Ivan gives us our freedom.” As for the work, “I love the challenge. The transformations,” says Adriana, an honest professional who would rather turn people away than damage their hair. “The most wonderful thing is when a client jumps on my neck and says, ‘I love you. You’re the best.’ I will never take that for granted.” Twenty-two years after “my mom dragged me into it,” Adriana says, “I love what I do. It’s not just a job. It’s my life’s work.”

a e l a B a n a i r Ad

Hours: W-S 11am-7pm

Flaunt Boutique 260 Carlaw Ave., Suite 101B • 416-469-4826 • flauntboutique.ca bookings@flauntboutique.ca • info@flauntboutique.ca Like us on Facebook at FlauntBoutique-Toronto. All the cool kids are doing it! www.neighbourhoodliving.com

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gift guide

All natural handmade soaps and body

products featuring our Ayurvedic line. For those who are aware of their Atman or inner self, we have crafted three individual Ayurvedic Soaps - a beautiful blend of essential oils.

Sweet Pea Boutique

3091 Kingston Rd at Fenwood sweetpeasoapcompany.com

BEADWORKS Create your own Accessories Jewellery Making Workshops Custom Jewellery Jewellery Repair Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Birthday Parties Party Space For Rent 2154 Queen St. East 416.693.0780 20

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www.beadworksjo.com

Neighbourhood Source Guide w 4Cats Art Studio

w Dorly Designs

w Parade Clothing Boutique

2138A Queen St E • 647-345-4300 • 4cats.com/thebeaches

1173 Queen St E • 416-778-0009 • dorlydesigns.com

The Best, Most Fun Art Studio Ever!

Indie Boutique for Trendsetters

261 Danforth Ave • 416-461-8833 Parade315@yahoo.ca • Paradeonthedanforth.blogspot.ca

A quality arts education can make a dramatic difference in a child’s life. We use professional artists’ materials to create a variety of projects, including silkscreening, clay, sculpture, drawing, painting and stop motion animation. Messy, informative and fun. Art is good! Classes, parties, workshops and camps for ages 2 to adult.

Jewelry, clothing and eco-friendly accessories designed, created and produced in Toronto. Staff show you how to accessorize, style and complement, for a look that is enviable and unique. Custom orders and design services available.

w Aroo 320 Danforth Ave, Unit 4 • 416-463-7690

Natural, Fashionable Styles

w El Pipil 267 Danforth Ave • 416-465-9625

A Danforth Fixture For More Than 20 Years

We are a family business providing natural, fashionable clothing for the neighbourhood woman. We support Toronto designers, including May Aruj, Shwing & Animale, and offer personalized service to help clients discover their fashion flair.

El Pipil is a one-stop shop offering everything from accessories for the home, to women’s fashions and jewelry. Great brands, including Tribal clothing, French Dressing Jeans, Espe handbags and Tashi jewelry. Open M-F 10am-7pm, Sat 10am-6pm and Sun 12pm-5:30pm.

w Beach Business Hub

w Everywhere Garment Co.

2181 Queen St. E., #301 • 647-748-1311 info@beachbusinesshub.ca • beachbusinesshub.ca

793 Broadview Ave (north of Danforth Ave) • 416-466-6202

Coworking for entrepreneurs and freelancers.

Manufactured on location. 100% Canadian quality. Always new designs. Custom fitting available.

We are the number one neighbourhood resource and networking hub for small business owners east of the Don Valley. Affordable workspace and meeting rooms when you need it, plus networking with other creative small-business owners. Contact Martina for details.

w Birthia 1882 Queen St E • 647-342-7894

Handmade by Local Designers Handcrafted kids’ clothing and accessories and home décor, made with love by 17 GTA designers. We also carry recycled products, including duct tape wallets and purses.

w Boa 2116B Queen St E • 416-694-6867 • theboaroom.com

Stylish, Unique and Affordable If you dread being seen in the same dress or top as someone else, then you will love Boa! Our in-store stylists will help you find the right fit for your body.

w BMA Cleaning Services 647-206-1053

22 Years Experience Cleaning Houses, condos, stores, salons, clinics and help with parties (day or night). Reliable Maria is honest and responsible. References available on request.

w Claire Watson MS, Psychotherapist 1395 Bayview Ave • 416-559-5537 • leasidetherapycentre.com

Parent Child Psychotherapy (birth to four) Attachment-based therapy for parents who have difficulty forming a bond due to depression, marital problems, unresolved grief/trauma or because their infant has medical, adoptive or developmental needs. Loving relationships lead to confident parents and resilient children.

Activewear, Swimwear, and Leisure Clothes

w Flying Yogi 007-245 Carlaw Ave • 647-993-9644 • theflyingyogi.ca

Super fun workout for the entire family The Flying Yogi, offers classes in Suspension Yoga with the revolutionary OmGym Suspension System, combining traditional yoga poses with resistance training and aerobatics.

w Incanto 275 Danforth Ave • 416-778-5978

Fashion Clothes for Women Wanting to Dress Up For women who see clothing as an investment and enjoy looking good. Quality French and Italian clothes and many unique pieces. We also carry Canadian manufacturers. Cartise dresses, tops and pants.

w Jexy & Jax 375 Danforth Ave • 416-465-5557

Unique Apparel Made in Canada Jexy & Jax carries two of its own unique in-house designer labels, and boasts a selection of lifestyle apparel appropriate for casual and formal wear. Our mens’ and ladies’ attire is sourced, designed and manufactured in Canada.

w Mira & Sons 2238 Queen St E • 416-699-4005

One of a Kind Fashion and Consignment Shop Designer names and vintage. Second hand – nearly new. End of the line – new. Custom-made draperies and curtains, alterations. Vintage and new jewelry, fascinators, shoes and designer handbags.

Since 1975 “When you don’t think like everyone, you don’t have to dress like everyone.” From film and advertising execs to teachers, real-estate agents and moms, Parade offers fashions by Susana Monaco, Bailey 44, Alexia Admor, Fine Collection, Michael Kors and more. “Only by supporting local business can we ensure our creative survival.”

w Pert Lingerie 1817 Queen St E • 416-230-8826 • pertlingerie.ca

New Local Lingerie Boutique We want our customers to feel comfortable and fabulous every day. Inside this charming, boudoir-style boutique, you will find a tasteful selection of basic, higher-end lingerie, nightwear, loungewear and hoisery from a variety of European and North American labels.

w Snob 388 Carlaw Ave #202F • 416-778-8778 • snobstuff.com

Unique and Innovative Pieces Owner Denise Zidel returns from her monthly travels to a dozen African countries with authentic African furniture and accessories embellished with ostrich feathers, zebra skins and horns.

w Spiros Custom Tailors 335 Danforth Ave • 416-466-6646

Men’s & Women’s Custom Suits for 35 Years Hand measured, hand fitted, fully customized to the individual in any style that the customer prefers. Up-to-date on the latest fashion trends.

w Tilt Fitness 416-561-1013 • andrew@tiltfitness.net • tiltfitness.net

Group Training Great for friends, family or co-workers with common goals. Workout is drill-based and class size is kept to a maximum of 8 participants for more personal attention. Contact us and start your own group class today!

w Yoka 2115J Queen St E • 416-686-0836 • yokafashions.com

Your Local Beach Fashion Boutique For individuals seeking unique and interesting everyday pieces. Specializing in European brands with a classic twist: men’s and ladies’ clothing, footwear, bags and everything in between. Let our staff dress you from head to toe! Check in store for current promotions or discover us on Facebook.

Want to introduce yourself to the neighbourhood? Call 416-402-4283 or email: b5@sympatico.ca to find out how! www.neighbourhoodliving.com

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food + celebration

Brussels Bistro the next chapter in a fine French tradition

by Tracey Coveart

Like many young men, Roger Stefan Wils got his first on-the-job training in the Navy. But this would-be soldier – with his arsenal of culinary skills and cooking implements – was destined for the kitchen, not for combat. The executive chef/owner of Brussels Bistro in The Beach started cooking in 1979 when he enrolled in a culinary program at Vancouver Community College to learn the basics. He also took naval cooking courses to understand how to prepare food in large quantities. “I learned to cook aboard a ship,” says Roger, “and in a hospital setting where I was preparing meals for patients with dietary restrictions.” He also volunteered his time in the kitchen at restaurants in Victoria, working for free to gain valuable experience. It paid off. While still a student at VCC, “I was awarded a gold medal in the Victoria

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Chefs de Cuisine competition, and that gave me the opportunity to work with some very well-known chefs in the city.” But it was a trip to visit his family in Belgium in 1983 that hooked Roger on European cuisine. Working as a pastry chef by day and a chef in hotel restaurants by night, Roger gained the skills and the self-confidence he needed to open Café Brussel in Toronto in 1985 at the ripe age of 22. “It started as a pastry shop,” he says, “but I quickly added lunches, then brunch. In 1987, with the lunch business picking up speed, I opened for dinner.” That’s when Roger discovered his true calling: classic French-style fine dining. “Visiting my family in Belgium and my grandmother in Germany I learned how to cook the old-style way, and I fell in love with French cooking.” It was the beginning of a lifelong love affair.

“I missed the restaurant business too much. I loved my customers; I loved to talking with them and watching them have a good time.” In 1989, “I converted the pastry shop into a small cafe on Broadview Avenue that kept growing and growing. By the time I got my wine, beer and liquor license, Café Brussel was well on its way to becoming a full scale restaurant operation, which is what I had always wanted.” With no money for a restaurant startup, an irresistible opportunity came knocking. “I had the chance to buy an existing pasty shop. It was old and run down and almost everyone I knew told me not to do it, but I bought it anyway.” He bought a building on the Danforth and left his second Broadview location in 2000, and Café Brussel instantly grew to five times its former size. “We had a good run, but then the SARS outbreak hit Toronto and it was difficult for us to recover.” Roger took a forced break from the restaurant business, starting a company that made prepared stocks and soups, but his heart was not in it. “I missed the restaurant business too much. I loved my customers; I loved to talking with them and watching them have a good time.” He was surfing the web looking for a suitable site for a Brussel reincarnation, when he came across a ready-made space close to home. “I always wanted to have a place in The Beach. I live on the Bluffs and it

was always challenging to find somewhere to eat other than a pub.” He took over the space at 1975A Queen Street East in May of this year and opened Brussels Bistro, reclaiming a lot of his former clientele by resurrecting half of his restaurateur identity. True to Roger’s early European experience, the cuisine at Brussels Bistro is Classic French with a Belgian twist – more beer instead of wine! His lamb and duck come from Quebec, his steaks from PEI and his seafood from both Canada’s east and west coast. One of the house specialties is Roger’s bouillabaisse, and his exquisite canard confit “looks so nice on the plate.” Evenings off are few and far between but, for a night out in the neighbourhood, Roger and his wife favour the Queen Street East bistro scene, savouring the fare at Sauvignon Bistro, with visits to Cinamon Indian Bistro and Velouté Bistro planned for the near future. For Roger, whose passion for food is even more intense than it was in his early days in the Navy and his tasting trips abroad, the restaurant business – and his customers – are one of life’s greatest pleasures. “I love it when people tell me how much they love my food, and I can’t wait to see them again.”

Brussels Bistro • 1975A Queen Street East 416-694-0004 • brusselsbistro.ca • info@brusselsbistro.ca www.neighbourhoodliving.com

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Pippins is proudly Canadian Pippins Tea Shop, a well known Beach establishment, offers an assortment of ALL THINGS TEA and an eclectic mix of GIFTWARE, SWEETS and TREATS AND CHINA. The shop – founded on its more than 150 specialty premium loose leaf teas – has become a local, Canadian and international destination for tea lovers, as well as the go-to store for folks who want to treat themselves or find a gift for someone special. Pippins proudly offers MADE IN CANADA goods from local and Canadian artists.

Hides in Hand One of the remaining leather manufacturers from the historic region of Rockwood, Ontario, Hides in Hand is proud to create 100% Canadian handcrafted products.

Heirloom Creations Yes, Pippins sells jewelry, but each piece is made from teacups by Mary Donovan of Lyndhurst, Ontario, who has been designing and making jewelry since 2008.

The Beach

Tea Cozies by Honeysuckle Cottage Sales

Pippins also carries an eclectic mix of Beach merchandise and memorabilia – including cards, magnets, night lights, art, books, sweat shirts, hoodies and car decals – all produced in Canada and featuring the work of local artists.

Founded in Victoria, BC, in 1988 by Penny Latham, Honeysuckle Cottage Sales is a small home-based business employing 12 seamstresses committed to excellence and quality.

Beach magnets, night lights and canvas by Norman Stiff, Elora, Ontario.

THE BEACH 2014 CALENDAR

The Beach 2014 Calendar, created by Michael MacLaerty with Gerrie Burnett, The Beach, Toronto.

Created by

Michael Maclaverty TheAccidentalPhotographer.Ca With

Gerrie Burnett GerrieBurnettPhotography.Com

Bee By The Sea Bee By The Sea natural skincare line - specifically formulated with Sea Buckthorn fruit, seed, pulp oils, honey, royal jelly and other healthy ingredients to nourish your skin - was founded in Ontario in 2008 by Andrew Wingrove.

The Beach, by Glenn and Jean Cochrane – an illustrated history of The Beach, from Lake Ontario to Kingston Road. Their personal account of the life and history of this unique area of Toronto. Beach sweat shirts, hoodies and car decals made in Canada by the original label Overkill.

Canadian-made Sweets and Treats

Fraktals Greaves

Aurora, Ontario

Rogers Chocolate

Victoria, British Columbia

Turkey Hill Sugarbush Waterloo, Quebec

Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario

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Get the freshest fish from Marilyn and Lorne and how to cook it best!

R E S E R V E YO U R

“Insider’s Guide to the Neighbourhood” Contact or visit our advertisers today to reserve your ‘Insider’s Guide to the Neighbourhood’ Neighbourhood Living presents the ‘Insider’s Guide to the Neighbourhood,’ a limited edition, full-colour magazine with tips on shopping, dining out, having fun and enjoying life in the neighbourhood. Guides are available exclusively through our advertisers, and will be ready for pickup by January 2014.

1101 Victoria Park and St.Clair • 416-755-9960

S h o rt b r e a d f o r a N Y S e a S o N , a N Y r e a S o N Mary Macleod’s delivers sweetness—anywhere!

639 Queen Street eaSt

Order online or shop in person

416.461.4576 www.marymacleod.ca www.neighbourhoodliving.com

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Executive Chef Fawzi Kotb is proud to bring fine French cuisine to The Beach He was once a personal chef to a Saudi prince. Today, executive chef Fawzi Kotb brings fine dining and a most impressive resume to his cozy Queen Street East restaurant, Velouté Bistro and Catering. Egyptian-born, French-trained Fawzi runs the kitchen, while his wife, sommelier Alise Matos, runs the front of house. It’s a perfect marriage. “I care about your food experience and Alise cares about what you are drinking and how you are welcomed,” explains Fawzi. “It’s not about money. It’s about making sure you enjoy your meal and it’s about our relationship with people. When you come to Velouté, you are not a customer

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in our restaurant. You are a guest in our home.” Many of those guests have become family in the two years since Velouté opened its balcony windows. They come to eat and drink, but they also come to be merry. To chat with Fawzi and Alise. To relax. To enjoy. To belong. Fawzi has been in Canada, cooking exquisitely, for 11 years. He studied in Egypt and Switzerland from 1986 to 1988, taking a job at the Sheraton Cairo Hotel when he graduated. “I was the night chef, and one evening an envoy of the Saudi Arabian royal family came to the restaurant and asked me to make him something special.” He was so impressed he asked to meet Fawzi, then

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offered him a job: as personal chef to one of King Fahad’s brothers in his Paris home. “The Prince had a Saudi chef, but he wanted a French chef as well.” Fawzi accepted. He was 20 years old. It was an exciting time for a young man. Fawzi spent most of his days in Paris, with a month each year in Rome, Egypt, Morocco and Cannes. “We stayed in hotels, but the prince always had a small, private kitchen.” The work was gruelling – “I prepared eight dishes every day and I was not allowed to repeat a dish for at least two weeks” – but the money was hard to refuse. Fawzi was making $10,000 a month, and spending every penny.

He worked for the prince until his death in 1994, then stayed on in Paris as a part-time chef for the Saudi Embassy and the Saudi Minister of Defence. He took a step back to work as an apprentice at Auberge du Pont de Collonges, where he fell in love with sauces. (Velouté is one of the five mother sauces in French cuisine.) He helped to open the Paris Marriott Hotel ChampsElysees in 1996, then Sofitel Bercy Hotel in 1999, before immigrating to Canada in 2000 at the age of 34. “It was a beautiful life in France, but I was never able to save any money. I thought it was time to grow up, get married, and move forward with my life. I couldn’t do that in Europe.” After months without work, a chance encounter with Michael Lyon – and a job at the salad station in a busy downtown restaurant that seated 500 – launched Fawzi’s Canadian culinary career. He was soon working at some of Toronto’s finest restaurants with some of the city’s greatest chefs – Davie Lee and Marc Thuet – and owner Michael Smith (who took Fawzi’s lobster tempura with avocado to the Iron Chef America competition). At one of those restaurants, Fawzi met his future wife: a woman who had grown up on a vineyard in Portugal and had years of restaurant experience. She encouraged Fawzi to accept the position of executive chef at Peppinos on The Beach, below the Queen Street East apartment where she lived when she first moved to Toronto (the current home of Velouté). The couple was married in the restaurant, and Fawzi stayed on for two years. In 2010, he converted the garage in the couple’s upper beaches home to a kitchen and opened Velouté Catering and, in 2011, when the Balsam Bistro moved out of 2343 Queen Street East, Velouté Bistro and Catering moved in. It took six months, but gradually the neighbourhood started to take notice that fine French cuisine had come to The Beach. Now, regular guests visit weekly to sample Fawzi’s finest – all paired with wines hand-selected by Alise to complement her husband’s creations. (“If you’re going to open a restaurant,” he says with a chuckle, “marry a woman who knows about wine!”) And if you’re not hungry enough for a meal, guests are invited to drop in for a glass of wine, with or without a little cheese or dessert. Fawzi does almost all of the shopping for Velouté in the neighbourhood. The beef and chicken comes from Rowe Farms. The ice cream is Ed’s and the chocolates are by Wickerhead. Carload provides the fresh fruit and vegetables, the cheese comes from Alex Farm, City Fish Market ponies up the seafood and three generations of Italian bakers at North Pole Bakery on the Danforth make the biscuits. Baguettes come from Bonjour Brioche, while gluten free products are purchased from Yochi’s Sweets. (Fawzi plans to start baking his own bread in-house sometime in October, and one of the sous-chefs in his kitchen makes a mean gluten-free cheesecake from an old family recipe.) “We grow our own herbs outside – rosemary, sage, oregano. We make our own pesto from the

basil in our back patio gardens, and Alise tends fresh mint for her Mojitos in pots on the front patio.” Chives, lettuce, tomatoes, zucchini and even blackberries come from the gardens at home. Every sauce, marinade and vinaigrette is made in-house from scratch – as is the tiramisu, the flourless chocolate torte and the awardwinning vanilla bean crème brûleé – and meals are always made to order. “We cut our potatoes when you order frites,” says Fawzi. “If you want risotto, you have to wait 25 minutes because that’s how long it takes to make.” It’s that kind of commitment to freshness and quality that has gained Velouté a loyal following. “We have a customer who comes in once a week for filet minion and fresh-cut Yukon Gold fries, and an 80-year-old Italian gentleman who drives in from Woodbridge every other month for my Melokhia (an Egyptian herbed rabbit soup).” The Moulard Duck Magret (crispy skinned duck with a porcini truffle demi glace and seasoned vegetables) is a guest favourite, while the popular 48-days aged, two-and-a-half pound tomahawk steak for two is so tender it can be cut with a butter knife. Fawzi changes his specials menu every two to three days and his regular menu seasonally, but the last week of every month is reserved for wild game: venison, bison and wild boar from Montreal. “We do not cater to tourists,” says Fawzi, who offers the same fine cuisine, superior ingredients and excellent service year-round so residents can enjoy a delicious meal out summer, winter, spring and fall. “In fact, we are the only restaurant in The Beach to be included in both Summerlicious and Winterlicious.” And in contrast to many French restaurants in the city, “where meals are more like something from a tasting menu,” the portions at Velouté are generous, “like you would serve at home,” says

Fawzi. The prices are reasonable – far less than you would pay in a fine dining establishment downtown – and, at $36, the three course prix fixe dinner is an excellent value, with selections straight off the menu. And the eat in/take out Thanksgiving Turkey Dinner (Oct. 12-14), which includes organic maple roasted pumpkin soup topped with nutmeg whipping cream, dinner promises to be spectacular. A new feature at Velouté is the weekend ‘Dinner and a Movie’ feature. A few Saturdays ago, guests watched Casablanca on the secluded back patio. “The movie started around dessert time and people just sat back with a glass of wine, relaxing and watching Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman,” says Fawzi. “It was an amazing night.” More Dinner and a Movie evenings are in the works, and when the weather gets too cold for the patio heaters, Fawzi and Alise will move the popular event indoors. While Velouté currently enjoys a bit of a niche in The Beach, Fawzi welcomes more high end restaurants—like Brussels Bistro—to the area. “A larger fine dining presence would be good for the neighbourhood and good for business,” says Fawzi. “And Alise and I would have a place to go on our night off!”

Velouté Bistro and Catering 2343 Queen Street East • 416-696-7392 • veloute.ca www.neighbourhoodliving.com

Neighbourhood Living

Pests don’t stand a chance in this neighbourhood! Do you have a pest problem? Help is just around the corner, and it’s been here for more than 40 years. Operating at 1828 Danforth Avenue since 1975, Aetna Pest Control Ltd. is one of the city’s longestestablished and most trusted pest control companies. That’s because Aetna’s team of professionals never fails to identify and establish safe and effective strategies to treat their clients’ problems. “Our technicians understand how unsettling and unnerving the discovery of a pest infestation can be,” says Richard Murphy, owner of the neighbourhood business. “No one wants to face the reality of having rodents or insects in and around your home, but it’s something you can’t afford to ignore.” Aetna Pest Control is dedicated to discovering and eliminating the source of a pest problem. Staff even offer over-the-counter identification of structurally invasive insects at their storefront on the Danforth, where they are glad to discuss any necessary professional services and even potential do-it-yourself options. Of course, some pest problems are more serious than others and

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require professional treatment. “Unfortunately, termites are an issue in our neighbourhood,” says Richard. “A thorough inspection by an experienced and licenced termite control specialist is essential to protecting your homeownership investment and your rights as a buyer.” And it’s not just termites that can have a negative impact on your property value. “We also treat cockroach infestations, bed bugs, carpenter ants, rodents, and many more pest problems,” Richard says. If the home inspection uncovers a problem or you discover an unwelcome house guest, Aetna has the solution, from one-time treatments to monthly prevention and maintenance programs – solutions that homeowners and businesses have entrusted to Aetna’s specialized technicians for decades. If you’re being pestered, call the professionals at Aetna at 416-469-4111 or drop in to the store, located on the north side of the Danforth, between Woodbine and Coxwell. “You can’t miss us,” says Richard, “we’re the one with the neon cockroach and mouse in the window!”

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Aetna Pest Control Ltd. 1828 Danforth Avenue 416-469-4111 aetnapest.ca info@aetnapest.ca

If you’re concerned about your financial future, you need to ask yourself these questions:

Do you have a written financial plan, and has it been reviewed within the past year?

Has your financial advisor explained to you the two key risks to a financially sound retirement?

Have the benefits of ‘Estate Bypass’ been explained to you?

Has your financial advisor discussed the options available to you to mitigate these risks?

Are you happy with the level of service you are currently receiving?

If you answered ‘no’ to any of these questions, please call me for a complimentary, no obligation consultation. You have everything to gain and nothing to lose.

• More than 25 years of financial experience. • Proudly serving The Beach since 2005. Edward Jones has been ranked ‘Highest in Investor Satisfaction with Full Service Brokerage Firms’ according to the J.D. Power 2013 Canadian Full Service Investor Satisfaction Study. Edward Jones has always believed our way of doing business makes sense for our clients. It seems they agree.

A very big thank you to our clients!

When you’re happy, we’re happy. Nadine De Palma Financial Advisor Edward Jones 2146-B Queen Street East 416-686-5470 Nadine.DePalma@edwardjones.com

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Protect yourself against disability by Karie Johnston

Disability – whether it is short-term or permanent – can be devastating, not only physically and emotionally but financially. Disability can be caused by illness, such as survivable cancers, heart disease or stroke, or by injuries that can happen anytime, anywhere – at home, work or play. Both illness and injury can affect your ability to earn the income that pays for your food, shelter, clothing, transportation, recreation, utilities, childcare and any other monthly bills and expenses. According to statistics, we are two to three times more likely to become disabled – about a 50 per cent chance for a 35-year-old – than to die prematurely, and the average length of disability is approximately 2.5 years. “It’s a stressful life event to experience an interruption in your income, either as an employee or as a self-employed business owner,” says Karie Johnston, a nurse for 30 years and now an insurance/mutual fund representative with World Financial Group (WGF). “You need to focus your time and energy on rehabilitation and getting back on your feet, not worrying about how you and your family are going to stay in your home.” People who are injured or ill and have coverage under their employer’s long-term disability plan generally receive about 65 per cent of their monthly paycheque, but many are struggling to meet their

financial commitments on their full salary, says Karie. “If you can’t meet your obligations now, what are you going to do if you become disabled and receive less than half the income you really need?” The answer is usually the same: borrow or – if her clients are lucky enough to have a nest egg – deplete their savings. “Whether you finance your disability with credit cards, lines of credit, savings (like RRSPs) or loans from friends and family, ultimately, you are left with a big debt to service.” Part of Karie’s job in assessing household financial health is helping her clients to identify the need for further protection in the event of income reduction or loss. “For employees, understanding how your disability coverage at work would be applied in certain scenarios is an important part of planning for the unexpected,” she says. “For the self-employed – people who are often completely reliant on the monthly income stream generated by their own efforts – having a solid individual disability plan in place to replace lost income can avert dire consequences. “People are afraid that disability insurance is too expensive, but it’s more affordable than you might think – and the risk to a family’s acquired assets is too great to ignore.” Karie’s advice? “Get the conversation started. Understand your options. Being proactive and prepared is the best way to keep you and your family safe should the unthinkable happen.”

Karie Johnston, Insurance/Mutual Fund Representative Transamerica Securities Inc. WFG Securities of Canada Inc. 905-264-6949 (office) • 647-883-7799 (cell) worldfinancialgroup.com • kjohnston21rpec@wfgmail.ca

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Home & Garden

Fall 2013 www.neighbourhoodliving.com

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Rob Croxford takes a ‘spoonful of sugar’ approach to artistic activism by Tracey Coveart

Rob Croxford, mixed media artist, is a stealthy activist. His iconic 50s inspired vintage-look art is beautiful to behold, but the provocative quotations he cleverly inserts in each piece have a way of getting under your skin and pricking your social consciousness with little needles of awareness. Originally from London, Ontario, Rob moved to Toronto 20 years ago “mostly to escape. London was very restrictive. I knew I didn’t belong there, but I didn’t understand why until I came here. Suddenly I was in this big wide city with all its diversity and I remember thinking, ‘So this is what it feels like to be allowed to be different.’” Rob took a stab at interior design but quickly found his home in the Theatre Technical Production program at Ryerson University. “I had always been an artist, somewhere, but when I moved here I fell in love with the whole idea of creating a different environment that people can escape to. For me, art is all about escape and hope. It takes you to places you’ve never been; places where things have the potential to be better.” After graduation Rob worked as a Scenic Artist for the stage and film, painting drops and scenery for hundreds of shows across southern Ontario and working for such organizations as the Shaw Festival and the Canadian Opera Company, as well as the movie industry. “When I was working on films, I would hang around for 16 hours a day, waiting to touch up a bit of paint. But it was when I was standing at the top of a hill in a rainstorm in Mississauga painting a portapotty with dirt—I’m not actually sure that’s even painting—that I thought, ‘Hey. Maybe there’s something else I can do with my life. At least if I’m standing in the rain I’ll be standing in the rain in front of my own work.’” Tired of poverty, he took a job painting murals for casinos to pay off his massive student debt. “I kept hiring artists who were having their own shows in galleries around town,” recalls Rob. “I figured if they could do it, so could I.” He approached the owner of a Church Street restaurant that displayed the work of local artists. “I went in and told him I had my own work and I would love to hang it there.” It wasn’t true but the owner agreed. The show was in a month and a half and Rob didn’t have a single painting. “I went home and stapled canvas offcuts to the wall, primed over them and started painting. I think I had finally figured out that you can only paint someone else’s vision for so long.”

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Looking back at that body of art decoinspired early work, including a cancan dancer and an old pulp fiction cover, Rob admits that “they’re pretty much the worst things I’ve ever seen. But I sold 10 of 12! If I hadn’t I would have been a lot less likely to keep going. I’m a pretty practical person.” He followed up that first show with a fairy tale series, lifting text out of classic stories. “It was great for the gay community, but they weren’t the only stories I wanted to tell. It took me a while to distill what I wanted to say and how I wanted to say it.” Conceptually they were good pieces, he says, and he has recently fine tuned one of those early works to make a statement about Russian homophobia. “My skills have gotten so much stronger, and I can tell those stories so much better.” He jokes – sort of – that it’s only taken him 550 paintings and nine years to get to the point where he really understands the palette and the formula. Now 41 and a full-time self-employed artist, Rob lives in the upper Beaches with his husband and has a studio in Leslieville. And even when times are lean, “I know how lucky I am. There is something fantastic about doing this as a career and there is so much opportunity for me to share my vision.” With his background in theatre technical production, “I have a brain for the hard work of art. I put in at least eight hours a day, six days a week. The more I challenge myself the better my painting skills become.” It sounds gruelling, “but I love it. Each painting leads into the next and my voice just keeps getting stronger.” The work itself has a distinct vintage flavour. “I have no idea how I got there,” admits Rob, who has a fascination with the 50s, “but I love that aesthetic. On the surface, it was a simpler time – a time of hope and promise – but there was this whole subversive culture of oppression underneath; all the hate and fear of things that were different.” It is this juxtapositioning of the cheerful with the menacing that makes Rob’s work

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so intriguing. “I take the ‘spoonful of sugar’ approach to activism. I don’t hammer people over the head. I put my message out there in a pretty and appealing way.” Like his new piece on the upcoming Russian Olympics and the recent bill that makes homosexuality illegal in that country. “I wanted to address the issue in a fun way. I wanted it to be light enough that people would say, ‘Oh, that’s cute.’ And then have them walk away and think, ‘Oh, but it’s kind of true.’” Perhaps Rob’s light-handed approach is due to the fact that he wasn’t drawn to activism on a conscious level. In fact, the inspiration for his first series came from an old book on etiquette for women that he just happened across. “It was awful. And I decided to use my art to make a point about women’s issues. Of course, now that I have a platform there are so many things I’d like to make a point about.” A self-professed “smart ass who tries to find the humour in everything,” Rob uses ambiguous quotes that can have a number of different meanings to take an understated jab at society. “The imagery in my paintings tells a story, but the quotes really put the point on it.” As for the source of his remarks (credited on the back of each piece), “I usually use dead people: authors, philosophers. There are so many smart dead people. It’s easy to liberate their wisdom.” Only on two occasions has Rob used a quote of his own. One—‘Worth can’t always be measured in dollars and cents’ —is on a painting of Ontario Place, which is falling into decay. The other—‘Sometimes age and beauty are not mutually exclusive’—is on a painting of the Gooderam and Worts Distillery District. Living in this city, you forget all the beauty and uniqueness that is here. I’m creating a visual catalogue of the highlights of Toronto before they disappear in a sea of condos.” (Rob donates a percentage of his sales at outdoor shows to Evergreen.) This sense of loss in Rob’s artwork is balanced with a sense of hope. “I can’t watch much news

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anymore. Sometimes a lot of information is just a lot of information. I can’t stand to be bombarded with bad things all the time. But there are a few ‘good news’ websites out there and that keeps me from feeling hopeless. Like the news, my art is about issues, but like the good news websites, I try to keep the bad news out of it. I still address the issues, but in a lighter way. It works for me.” And for a growing number of others, too. “It’s challenging being different. There is a bit of a ‘Group of Seven’ mentality in Canada and people have a very definite idea of what art is and is not. My work is not for everyone, but the people who like it like it a lot.” Which is a very good thing, Rob says, “since I don’t have any other skills. There is no Plan B! I come from a

long line of teachers, mechanics and farmers. I’ve always been this strange, weird unicornlike creature. But I believe if you really love what you do, there’s room for it in this world. There’s room for everybody.” Of the 550 paintings Rob’s done, he’s sold about 400. “It’s more difficult with this kind of work because there are so many components – someone might like the imagery but not the quote or like the quote but not the imagery – but each piece eventually finds the right home and that is very exciting.” And to make his work more widely available – “I realize that not everyone can afford a $1,500 painting” – he is working on a set of 10 limited edition prints that will range in price from $30 for a small to $125 for a near-fullsize reproduction. “They look like old posters. And vintage is back in again. I just got on the train a little earlier than Mad Men.” Looking to the future, “I still have a thousand ideas,” says Rob, who considers himself a member of the counter culture that is pushing against some of the most troubling issues of our time. “We have to keep our voices smart. We have to keep propelling the world forward. I’ve never considered myself to be a political person, but there is so much in the world that we need to talk about. If my pieces can plant a seed – of hope, of change – in the back of someone’s brain, then they’re worth painting. The trick is keeping the work appealing so that people don’t get overwhelmed by the message.” Does he have a favourite painting? A favourite message? “My absolute favourite piece is always the last one I did. That was the BEST idea ever.”

Upcoming shows: Fall Home Show – October 7-9, 2013 Untitled solo show at Miles Nadal JCC – January 2014 The Artist Project – February 2014

Rob Croxford

756 Queen St. E. (basement) (by appointment only) robcroxford.com robcroxford.blogspot.com www.neighbourhoodliving.com

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Decluttering made easy at Howards Storage World The sad truth is, clutter is unavoidable. Despite our best intentions, it slowly, stealthily finds its way into our homes and into our lives. The good news is, help is just around the corner. Werner Wehmeyer and the personal organization team at Howards Storage World at 2060 Queen Street East have all the storage tips, tools, systems and gadgets you need for clearing away the mess and keeping clutter at bay. “We call it ‘clutter detox,’” says Werner, who understands that it takes planning and a good, solid infrastructure to support long-term solutions that adapt to your changing needs. It also takes some serious consideration when it comes to creating systems that will work well for you and your family. “We know. We’ve all been there,” he says. “That’s why we really are your in-store experts.” Whatever your organizational or storage challenges, Werner and the Howards staff are there to offer an experienced hand. And if they don’t have the solution at their fingertips, they will find somebody who does. Like de-cluttering expert Julie Hagan. Howards has teamed up with this registered professional organizer to offer free clutter detox workshops. And everyone who attends gets $10 off their Howards purchase of $40 or more. Julie, who is registered with the Institute for Challenging Disorganization, will offer her tried and true tips and tricks to help you live a more organized life, then open up the floor for a Q&A so you can find solutions to your specific clutter challenges. To register for the next workshop on October 24, from 7-8pm at the Queen Street storefront, just log on to https:// howardsstorageworld.eventbrite.ca/. Bring along your eventbrite invitation and automatically receive your discount at the till for great merchandize that will make your life a whole lot neater and a whole lot easier. Declutter, de-stress and feel like new at Howards Storage World, where Werner and the team make organization simple. TC

Howards™ Storage World 2060 Queen Street East 647-748-5517 howardscanada.com

Neighbourhood Living

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1. 2. 3. 4.

Keep clutter out to begin with. Create a habit of throwing out two items for every new item you bring home. Create a chart with goals on it – like decluttering three times a week. You’ll feel a sense of accomplishment as you cross off each goal.

If you’re unsure about an item, put it in a box in the garage. At the end of your tidy, seal the box and write a date on it one year in the future. If the box is still sealed when that date rolls around, throw the box away without opening it.

Put on music and make cleaning fun to enthuse both you and your kids. And invite a friend to help. Friends have a dispassionate view of your stuff and can help decide what’s worth keeping and what can go. Design a system to stop clutter build-up. There’s a reason you have stacks of paper or big piles of toys, books and clothes. Place, chuck or store everything you accumulate – as you accumulate it.

10 simple ways to declutter 5.

Start by the door and move around the room, doing the superficial items first – surfaces, bins, etc. Repeat, but go deeper the second time around by opening cupboards, doors and drawers.

6. 7.

When boiling the kettle for tea, tidy up the kitchen. If the kitchen is clean, tidy up the next room – it’s only three minutes, but it keeps you on top of things.

If you have too many clothes, put all your hangers the same way round. Every time you wear something, put the hanger back in the wardrobe the opposite way. In a few weeks, you’ll be able to see at a glance what you wear and what you don’t. Find a new home for anything you don’t.

9. 10.

When you tidy, try to make really quick decisions. Have a trash bag on one side and a give-away box on the other. Ask yourself three questions for each item: throw out, give away or keep? Don’t think long and hard about your answer. Just do it!

Celebrate when you’re done! This is actually a general rule in life: always celebrate your achievements. Even if you just decluttered one drawer, give yourself a pat on the back for a job well done!

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Al Sinclair has The Beach covered – on and off the air by Tracey Coveart

Al Sinclair was a 26-year-old regional manager in Canadian Tire’s petroleum division when a few of his friends bought their first investment properties in Toronto. It seemed like a better way to make money than being on the road every day, so in 1985, Al borrowed $15,000 on his line of credit, found himself a real estate agent and bought two homes on his first evening out. He pyramided those two properties into 10, then into 48. In the next five years, he purchased 90 homes and turned his initial $15,000 investment into $3 million, quickly becoming one of Toronto’s most successful investors and landlords – and earning his agent a tidy $600,000 in commissions along the way. Then, in 1987, he bought a house in North York that just happened to be owned by his agent’s lawyer and another client. After the deal closed Al found out he had paid $100,000 more than the bank appraisal. He had been ‘buried’ – real estate speak for ripped off – by an agent he had trusted. Al knew he needed another agent, but rather than shop around, he opted to do the job himself. “I decided to put my experience to work and become the kind of honest and ethical realtor I would want working for me.” His real estate career started the next day in the classroom, and a few months later he received his licence. “For the sake of one business deal, my agent ruined a good and profitable business relationship. I swore I would not make the same mistake, and I actually owe him a lot. He gave me great training, great insight, and most importantly, he taught me how much you stand to lose when you get greedy.” The latter is a lesson Al has never forgotten, and in 25 years on the other side of the desk, he has never broken the sacred trust that exists between a realtor with integrity and his client.

A team player

Fully licensed by 1987 – primarily to service his own real estate needs – Al quickly became the agent of choice for many other investors because of his attention to detail, his honesty and his experience with multi-units and house flips. After building his own home in 2001, his experience with

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renovation and new construction caught the eye of several large scale builders in the GTA. (He remains a favourite among builders from Ajax to Woodbridge.) Al was a natural. By 1989, he was the number one sales agent at Sutton Group in The Beach. He remained at the top until he decided to start his own team in 2005. “At first I thought I could do it alone,” he admits. But he soon realized that to truly serve the needs of The Beach market and beyond, he would need to put together a crack team of real estate professionals. Today, all 10 of his buying agents, including wife Janet and eldest son Buckley, are university graduates who share Al’s commitment to customer service. The team—which boasts two law clerks, a property manager, an investment consultant, a builder/landscape architect, two marketing majors, an on-site broker, a technical adviser and a real estate lawyer—is rounded out with three assistants and a team of home stagers that work exclusively for the brokerage. “Our team is the best in the business,” says Al. “We are consistently ranked in the top 10 in Canada and top 20 among ReMax Realty teams worldwide.” Team play comes naturally to Al. Captain of the varsity hockey squad at York University where he studied economics, he brings the same values to his work in The Beach as he did on the ice. Including a desire to give back. “This community has been good to my family and I want to be good to the community.” A member of the Balmy Beach Club for more than 25 years, Al sponsors the club’s lawn bowling league, and even a recent trip to Australia for the bowlers. As a former semi-pro hockey player who understands the importance of sports for children, Al also sponsored a scholarship program at Ted Reeve Arena for financially disadvantaged kids, and was an ardent supporter of MTHL teams for 15 years while his sons were playing hockey. “Giving back is important to me,” says Al. “When I was growing up and playing hockey, people were good to me and sponsored the teams that I was on. I always thought that if I was in a position to do the same thing, I would.”

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Al still plays organized hockey three times a week at Scarborough Gardens. He encourages local youth and adults to come out to this very competitive, nobody checking skate, which, in the summer months, usually includes eight to 10 current NHLers who live in the east end.

In the spotlight

Al’s vast knowledge of the business and the market, his remarkable success and his consistent delivery of the straight goods—as well as his affable nature, easy laugh and boyish good looks—made him a shoe-in as the real estate expert on ‘Hot Property,’ a highly rated, prime time (Thursdays 7-8 pm) CP24 call-in show that he guest-hosts with Ann Rohmer. He has been working on the show—which reaches 1.4 million people across Canada each week—for the last five years. “When I started appearing on air, we were one of the top real estate teams in Toronto. The show moved us to the top.” He and Ms. Rohmer discuss the intricacies of the real estate market—current trends, buying and selling, mortgage rates and legal issues—and each episode features a number of the Al Sinclair Team’s listings. “It definitely gives our properties an advantage,” he admits. “When one of our homes goes on the show, it’s pretty much a slam dunk, especially in The Beach and surrounding areas.” One thing always leads to another in this life, and a few years ago a publisher approached Al about writing a book. ‘Closing the Deal the Al Sinclair Way: Real Estate Made Easy’ hit the shelves in 2012. The book, now a Canadian best-seller that helps firsttime buyers navigate the real estate waters, is available in Chapters, but anyone who drops in to the Queen Street offices can pick up a copy for free. “It’s a first-hand account of my experiences and my personal take on the real estate industry,” explains Al, who is proud of the fact that other realtors now call him for advice. “I love it. And I love the fact that a lot of agents call me to congratulate me on how I represent the agency – and the industry. They tell me I don’t come across as someone trying to sell myself; that I’m very honest. That’s the biggest compliment they can give me.” Clients love it, too. “When people realize

you’re on TV and you’ve written a book, it gives you credibility. I’m just Al Sinclair, real estate agent for The Beach, but it’s kind of nice to be a bit of a celebrity! And it’s really helped our brand catch on.”

Location, location, location

So has the office location. Seven years ago, Al and Janet purchased the landmark building at Queen Street East and Hammersmith, one of the most popular corners in The Beach and situated on the strip known as ‘Queen Street Bay Street.’ They’ve never looked back. And although he is well known outside of The Beach and even across Canada thanks to Hot Properties, Al prides himself on being part of the beach community, selling everything from starter homes to high-end properties. “One of the misnomers is that we do a lot of new development,” says Al. “The truth is, developers have chosen to use our team because nobody markets properties better or has more knowledge of properties in The Beach than the Al Sinclair Team. We consistently have two or three projects, but the resale home market has been our bread and butter for more than 25 years and that will never change.”

Practicing what you preach

There is a lot of fear surrounding the condominium market in Toronto, “but the condo market in The Beach has nowhere to go but up,” assures Al. “Because of zoning bylaws, we’re very restricted in what we can build here. Baby boomers are looking for bungalows, but there are very few in The Beach. Condos are the next best thing because you don’t have to worry about stairs. The condo market in The Beach is very solid and it will remain solid forever due to the lack of supply.” Condos may be controversial in The Beach, but they are here to stay, and Al and Janet have purchased units in a number of developments: Kew Beach Living on Kippendavie Avenue south of Queen Street, Beach Club Lofts on Kingston Road, Bellefair Kew Beach Residences at Queen and Bellefair, and the new condo at the corner of Kenilworth Avenue and Queen, the former location of Licks. “We believe strongly in The Beach condo market. We have invested. We practice what we preach,” says Al, who previously owned a house on Rainsford Road near another new condominium development. For Al Sinclair, it’s all about leading by example. “You have to believe in something to be able to sell it. You have to have faith in the market your clients are buying into.”

The Al Sinclair Team RE/MAX Hallmark Realty Ltd., Brokerage 2237 Queen St East 416.699.9292 alsinclair.com al@alsinclair.com

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Kevin Karst Design Inc. brings a lot to the kitchen table Building? Renovating? Remodelling? From walk-in closets to organized office spaces to new kitchens, Kevin Karst Design delivers quality, efficiency, beauty and durability to every project. With Kevin, you can count on: • Fine cabinetry and custom millwork. • Contemporary styling. • Fine woods that are custom veneered for each project. • Innovative use of quarter-cut veneers. • Custom finishes, all water-based, low VOCs, applied with the highest quality spray equipment. • Parapan fronts - the ultimate in rugged waterproof high-gloss solid acrylic. • Finest quality European drawer systems and interior fittings. • Sheet goods that feature no added urea formaldehyde for superior indoor air quality. • A fully equipped studio/production shop conveniently located in Leslieville.

Serving Toronto since 1994, Kevin brings a rare combination of skills and expertise to your custom woodworking needs: KK_Design_INC_Card_rev:KK_Design_INC_Card_final

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• Seasoned designer with a Bachelor of Industrial Design from Carleton U (1988). • Certified as a Journeyman Cabinetmaker with close to 40 years of experience in custom woodworking.

Kevin Karst

Kevin Karst Design Inc. P.O. Box 9, 388 Carlaw Avenue, Unit W22 Toronto, ON M4M 2T4 647.206.9002

647.722.4165

www.kevinkarst.com

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647.477.6048

design@kevinkarst.com

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• Collaboration experience with many accomplished architects and designers on projects large and small. • Expert installation by Kevin, with meticulous attention to detail.

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Neighbourhood Living

NEIGHBOURHOODWalking Chinatown East Culinary Stroll by Carolyn Tripp

The smaller, more quaint eastern cousin of the behemoth that is Spadina and Dundas Chinatown West, Chinatown East is an incredible neighbourhood in the heart of Riverdale. Start your stroll a bit to the north to get some fresh air in [1] Riverdale Park East (west end of Broadview Ave.). [2] The Rooster Coffee House (479 Broadview Ave., north of Riverdale Ave., 416-995 -1530) serves up delicious pastries and fresh, organic coffee. Their patio, which is fun even in the chillier weather, has an amazing view of the park. Open from 7am to 7pm every day, it’s great a great place to relax before taking a stroll south. Be sure to check out the twin lion statues at the [3] Eastern Gates, which guard the entrance to East Chinatown at Gerrard Street East and Hamilton Street. Head east, then south to [4] Ka Ka Lucky Seafood and BBQ at 349 Broadview Ave. (416-461-3811), where you’ll find friendly service and incredible prices for Chinese dishes. The steam table is always stocked with sweet-and-sour pork, tofu and veggies. Ka Ka Lucky is the long-time darling of East Chinatown, and if you’re looking for an authentic, delicious Chinese food experience at a great price, look no further. Start your grocery shopping with fresh fish and lobster from [5] Bill’s Lobster at 599 Gerrard St. E., (416778-0943, www.bills-lobster.com). With more than 10 years of business in East Chinatown underneath their belts, Bill and Judy offer the catch of the day, including lobster, oysters, salmon, mussels and seasonal seafood delicacies. If you’re still hungry, pop in next door to Rose’s Vietamese Sandwiches at 601 Gerrard St. E. (416-4069906). With great food and friendly service, they serve up Banh Mi sandwiches featuring a variety of fresh meats and veggies. Try a different one every time you visit. You won’t be disappointed!

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In the mood for something sweet? Make sure that [6] Phoenix Bakery & Restaurant at 613-615 Gerrard St. E. is your next destination. Doubling as a restaurant, Phoenix Bakery is known for its Chinese donuts ($0.70), translated into English as, ‘deep fried oil sticks.’ The incredible egg tarts are also incredibly priced, so be sure to pick up a bag to take home for the family. Even with so much selection, these confections go fast. Show up earlier in the day for the best pickings. For dinner, [7] Pearl Court Restaurant is your answer. Located at 633 Gerrard St. E. (416-463-8778, (www.pearlcourt.ca), Pearl has the very best dim sum, dumplings, hot pork soup and more. Try the deep fried bean curd with spicy sweet garlic sauce and coriander on your next visit. Open from 9am to 2am, this is a great place for traditional Chinese fare in a traditionally decorated, upscale venue. If you’re looking to impress a date who loves all things Chinese, this is the place to go at any time of day or night. For dessert, stop in at [8] Andrea’s Gerrard St Bakery at 635 Gerrard St. E. (416-

465-4567, andreasbakery635.com). You can’t go wrong with this western-style bakery. Andrea’s serves delicious cakesto-go and pastries, including delectable butter tarts ($3.00), chocolate chip and spiced ginger cookies ($1.75) and her signature cheesecake made with Monforte chevre cheese ($6.00). After Andrea’s, be sure to stock up on fresh fruit and veggies at [9] Fu Yao Supermarket, 643 Gerrard St. E. (416-7781920, fuyaosupermarket.com), before taking a quick detour to find your personal beast on the [10] Zodiac Charts at the 653 Gerrard St. E. car park. [11] Maple Garden Flowers at 673 Gerrard St. E is your last – and only non-food – stop on this epic journey of all things edible. Pick up a bouquet of fresh cut flowers for yourself or a loved one on your way to Thanksgiving dinner. Hope you saved room for turkey!

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Neighbourhood Living

New Kids At Home store is even more fun than before!

Are you and your kids tired of their outdated bedrooms? Furnishings looking a little worn? Lots of toys and nowhere to put them? You need to visit Kids At Home, a unique boutique that caters to kids of all ages. For nine years, owner Marg Gillespie and her team have been assisting children and parents create that special room, integrating both style and practicality. Marg will even come to your home, sit down with you and your child, and help you to create something completely original that reflects your family’s unique tastes. “We have the privilege of working with parents and their kids to come up with a space that reflects the personality of the child and gives them a special room that is all their own,” explains Marg. “We love to hear about the important components that make a bedroom or playroom a welcoming place that children can’t wait to show off. Many of our customers come to us initially looking for assistance in designing a nursery – and several years later they’re back to replace those cribs with stylish beds, dressers and desks!” Marg spends a great deal of time researching trends, colours and products. Her outstanding commitment to her carefully selected lines and her customer service excellence makes purchasing at Kids At Home a rewarding experience every time. Marg makes sure that all of the products in her store are of the highest quality, and the vast majority of the furniture is manufactured right here in Ontario. With all of the condo development in the area, more adults – or ‘big kids’ as the staff at Kids At Home fondly call them – are looking to Marg to help them furnish their new bedrooms. “Since we have access to all of the adult collections from our furniture manufactures and linen companies,” says Marg, “we are the natural choice for people who want to stay in the area and shop local.” Kids At Home also carries many special books, toys and playthings for children of all ages. If you are looking for that special gift – whether it’s for a newborn or an older child’s birthday – make sure to peruse Marg’s selection of unique gifts of quality. For a fun and fabulous shopping experience, whatever the occasion, drop in to Kids At Home at their new location at 2130A Queen Street East, beside Mastermind Toys and just a few blocks east of the old storefront. You won’t be disappointed!

2130A Queen St. E 416.698.9726 kidsathome.com kidsathome@bellnet.ca 44

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GROW YOUR

OWN FOOD

Empowering you to grow fresh produce inside your home and out, all year round

All-season hoop-house

BACK OR FRONT YARDS, BASEMENTS, SPARE ROOMS, WALLS, ROOFTOPS, BALCONIES, WINDOWS, KITCHENS, GARAGES, ETC... We are urban farmers, here to help you Grow Your Own Food. Our team will come to your home or restaurant and create a custom farm plan showing you all the ways to convert your space into an urban farm. Farm plans are mapped out to meet your budget and goals from installing a windowsill herb bed to a five-year plan to eventially retrofit your roof with a off-the-grid greenhouse, we can do it all.

Backyard greenhouse

HERBS, SPICES, SPROUTS, LEAFY GREENS, MUSHROOMS, VEGETABLES, FRUIT TREES, LIVESTOCK

Dutch bucket system

Mixing traditional growing methods, modern technology and innovative design, we make growing food easy, fun and stylish. We specialize in using soil or soilless growing mediums, including aquaponics: a symbiotic process that uses aquaculture (fish) to provide nutrients for your plants, while the plants purify the water for your fish.

Fill out our farm intake form on-line or contact us to have one of our urban farmers come out for a free on-site consultation.

Front yard raised bed

Build your farm in the fall and get an early start for next spring! Or move inside for 365 days of growing.

(647) 799-0679 - farming@trulylocal.ca 245 Carlaw Ave. Unit 4, Toronto, M4M 2S1 www.trulylocal.ca

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Kitchen counter growbed

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Photo Credit: @KristinaRaimi

Unique pillows and home decor items at affordable prices. Pillow Shoppe brand pillows are all made in Canada

ToronTo STore

HeAD offiCe & SHowrooM

1434 Danforth Ave., Toronto, on M4J 1n3 (between Greenwood Ave. and Coxwell Ave.) tel: 647-748-8890 email: danforth@thepillowshoppe.ca

10 Canfield Dr., Markham, on L3S 3J1 (off 14th Ave. between Markham rd. & McCowan rd.) tel: 905-471-8500 email: info@thepillowshoppe.ca

Store Hours: Tue.Wed.Sat 10-6 / Thu.Fri 10-8 / Sun 12-5 / Mon: Closed

Store Hours: Mon-Fri 9-7 / Sat 10-6 / Sun 12-5

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