I wanted to send big THANK YOU to PoppyTalk for featuring us in their Toronto City Guide today and Jen at Toronto Craft Alert who was so kind to come in last Friday to take some pics of the shop!
This summer, Kevin and I went to New York City, minus Alice for the first time in awhile. She had cousins, a suburban backyard complete with a swimming pool to keep her pre-occupied. From my brother's account, she ate like a horse (never happens), had a 2 1/2 hour afternoon nap (ditto) and was way too busy to miss us (sniff).
Still...to assuage my guilt for abandoning my only child, I was on the hunt for a pair of gold ballet shoes, at her request, all over the city in all the cool little kids' boutiques scattered around Manhattan. I gave up, headed to Macy's in midtown with an hour to spare before heading to the airport. Lo and behold...
Not gold, but these were a damn good find.
I'm afraid she acquired a taste for the bling a bit too early in life. The look on her face when I pulled these out was priceless.
Parental tip: if you need to keep your child pre-occupied during a car ride, these work like magic. When sunlight hits the jewel, your car roof becomes a disco.
New York City is known for its shopping. But in all honesty, I hate shopping there. It's overwhelming and either super pricey or super cheap. I like boutiques, for its edited versions of someone more knowledgeable than me, of what's cool. And if I wasn't so tired from looking at the gazillion products from the gift fair, I would love to roam the boutiques, especially in Brooklyn, where the vibe is more indy, than Park Avenue.
We had to settle for a stroll in the East Village, where we had lunch again at Cafe Habana. While we waited for a table I had a walk up the street to Steven Alan, where I coveted a great little swingy hooded wool coat. Then I ventured into Le Labo. For those of you unfamiliar with this parfumerie, it is the antithesis of what you would think a parfumerie would be. Think Commute Home meets Kiehl's.
The scents are not customized, but made on the spot for you, chosen from a small selection of edited scents. 
This is what I came home with: an atomizer of Neroli 36 labelled just for me.
With a hand-written card, encased in enviromentally-friendly packaging (I don't think it's intentional) that is so chic and cerebral at the same time.
As the kids head back to school, I thought I would do a post about some of our favourite children's books.
I love poring over books, especially art & design books. So it is great when this aspect of art & design spills over to children's books. I am very scrupulous about the books that I actually buy for Alice. There are so many great ones out there to enjoy. And I will admit, it's a little bit of selfishness on my part because if I have to read another Disney princess story...well...
Bruno Munari is a favourite. I picked up his copy of The Zoo and fell in love. Alice would repeat the sentences and in a few reads, she knew the book by heart.
"The parrot was born on a day with rainbow...
...Flamingos know they are beautiful and strange, and play at symmetry...
...A zebra is an animal in striped pajamas"...such eloquent prose for children.
His illustrations are also beautiful and vivid. The brushstrokes are broad and colourful.
I know I am going to kick myself for not picking up some hard-to-find copies of Munari's other books that I came across at Kid O in New York in August. They weren't really age appropriate (but they were so beautifully illustrated) and plus, I was on a mission for a pair of gold ballet shoes for Alice (more on that later). I'll be back for those for sure.
There are few out there who are not familiar with Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are. I distinctly remember the book as a child and the manner of illustration.
I can't wait to see how it will turn out as a feature film. Oh...to be the set designer on that one! But more so, I love the illustrations from In the Night Kitchen.
I have a particular fondness for the heavily lined illustrations and all the details of Mickey's kitchen. Also, I am such a sucker for great packaging - the old-fashioned labels on all the tins and baking supplies. I could picture them all neatly stacked row upon row in an old epicerie, sounds much more romantic than "grocery store".
Alice received this one as a gift from Pearl, Xenia and Steven.
It has such a fond place in our hearts because of all the trips we've taken with Alice to New York City.
I've really come to dislike these children's books authored by celebrities now-a-days, heavy on the morality and ethics of childhood. I don't really need a book to teach my child how to go potty or how to share - plus, they never worked. And the last time I checked, I believe that was part of my job description. Call me old-fashioned, but give me a book for the pure sake of being entertained, to keep my imagination engaged and my senses inspired.
For those of you interested in children's books, visit Eric Carle's philosophy on children's books. I still remember the day Alice, at the age of 2 1/2 years, recited, much to our surprise, the entirety of Brown Bear, Brown Bear. There is a reason many of these books have lasted decades and appeal to such wide an audience. I'm sure I will be reading them to my grandchildren...many, many years from now!
We have made a conscious decision to move away from children's items in the shop, or so I thought. I don't know if this is such a wise business decision, as EVERY shop out there has decided to carry baby items. In my quest for simplicity, I'm cutting back on product categories and streamlining.
However, I am always drawn to some children's items, or at least, child-like in nature, so you will be sure to find something suitable for a little one at the shop. I think it's the naivety of the products, but they always make me smile. The best products I have come across are the ones developed by parents themselves. They always come from a place of genuine love for our children.
I was drawn to Bruno Munari's Zoo book immediately wandering the children's section at Pages. I had never heard of him but loved his illustration style - the vivid colours and brushstrokes. (I will get some photos after I raid Alice's library, we are sold out of his books at the moment). The latest issue of the French children's magazine Milk included an article about Munari. In my high school level understanding of French, I learned that he developed his first books after his son was born in 1940. He went on to influence such beloved authors such as Eric Carle.
(sorry about the dark photo - really must learn photoshop)
So when I came across SweetBeets at the Stationery Show, I had to ask if the designer, Lisa Zuraw, was a parent herself. She was indeed, Lisa is a mother of two, and surprisingly, a fellow Canadian from Hamilton. The simple illustrations embody that certain naivety and innocence of childhood that we would all like to bottle up and keep close to our hearts. We are so happy to include SweetBeets in our ever expanding collection of stationery here at token!
Truth be told, I've been feeling so burnt out lately. Wearing so many hats in the business and family life is taking its toll. And being inundated with product after product, there is barely any room to be inspired. After a frightfully disastrous day in the rain wandering around Soho, we went to Plan B to pursue indoor endeavours at the museums and then realizing they were all closed!
We tried again the next day (sunny, of course) at the MET. After a quick tour around the European galleries, a gallery employee informed us of the Superheroes exhibit and the Jeff Koons exhibit on the roof top. The view totally made up for the rain!
I wanted to set up camp up there, or in this gallery surrounded by sunshine, marble and statues everywhere.
I don't go to galleries as much as I should, but if I lived in New York, I would definitely wear out my membership to the MET.
I'm much more a Classicist when it comes to art, although my appreciation for modern art (and I'm talking the last century, I still have Contemporary art to tackle) is definitely on the rise. Even before my fashion days, I wanted to study Fine Arts, and dabbled in Art History, eventually wanting to do a M.A. in Art Restoration. Funny thing, what paths our lives take. If I were independently wealthy, I would do nothing but study Art History.
But I discovered and rediscovered these artists:
Jean-Leon Gerome, a new discovery for me.
I wanted to absorb all the details in these paintings. And of course, the photos do not do them justice. They are not what you would call photo-realism, but the intimacy of the precision of details set among the slightly blurred backgrounds made the contrast that much more concise.
English portraitist, John Singer Sargent
The stoicism of these figures and the beauty of the fabric (all the folds, the sheen, the weave), and the sombre colours drew me to these life-size portraits by Sargent.
Again, I love the sobriety of this figure by Edouard Manet, His demeanor and clothing is a sharp contrast with the wonderful details of the patterned papers in the picture frame and botanical illustrations. I couldn't get over how modern this looked.
Same treatment as the figure above, but this Post-impressionistic take by Vincent Van Gogh.
Alice seems to have taken a liking to Rousseau. She kept returning to it. She was also obsessed with Rousseau's Sleeping Gyspy at the MOMA, luckily for her she was able to take that one home in a view finder.
I know still lifes are always a popular medium but this painting (I think by Pablo Picasso, the man was a genius in all the styles he mastered, so I'm having a hard time remembering) of a pair of shoes oddly reminded me of a Camper ad campaign in its stark simplicity and lack of other details with the exception of the details of the parquet floor.
I never had any aspirations to be a dancer, but these charcoal drawings by Edgar Degas may have prompted my love affair with fashion illustrations, line drawings and the illustrated human figure.
What an appropriate segue into the Superheroes exhibit (which unfortunately I was not allowed to photograph, too bad I didn't have a spy camera). Real costumes worn by Linda Carter in WonderWoman and Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman (my goodness, she is TINY), beautiful, fantastical creations by contemporary fashion icons.
Truly inspiring!
Mother's Day is approaching - Sunday, May 11th to be exact. So leading up to the day, I will conjure up gift ideas to inspire you, but in the meantime, here is some food for thought...
Mother's Day, for obvious reasons, took on a whole new meaning for me after my daughter was born. But really, the idea of being a "mom" took a really long time to take hold. You assume a whole new identity, and adopt this sense of selflessness that is very humbling.
One of the best pieces of mom advice I got was to pick up a copy of the Little Paper. It is a local paper and it is THE guide to activities, programs, services and resources for parents and children in the city of Toronto. You will always find a well-thumbed copy in our home. Some time ago, founder and publisher, Vicki Bell, started to include an editor's letter in each issue. April's letter pretty much summed up for me what it is like to be a parent and what every parent should aspire to. So with Vicki's permission, (Thanks, Vicki!) I have included an excerpt from her letter in today's post:
WE ARE URBAN PARENTS. City people. Our children are city kids. And, for many of us, our notions of neighbourhood and community changed forever with the birth of our first child. We became pedestrians, stroller pushers, the constant denizens of our local community centres, swimming pools and skating rinks. We met our neighbours in the playground, became involved in fundraisers in support of our communities, took on duty days at the nursery co-op or simply dropped a fin on raffle tickets at the local school fair.Becoming parents hasn’t changed our love of this city – its arts, music, museums, architecture, restaurants, markets and green spaces. Last month’s packed-to-capacity Family Jam at The Gladstone reminded me of this and of the need for us to share what we, as adults, love about Toronto with our children – whether it is the Sunday Bluegrass Brunch at the Dakota, a visit to the pasta man at The St. Lawrence Market, the delights of Casa Acoreana in Kensington or a trek through the wilds on the Don Valley.
The Little Paper tries hard to celebrate and to facilitate parenting in Toronto. We are urbanites and mothers
ourselves: the mom next door and the woman in line behind you at the library and we, like you, are
better citizens of our city because of the ways in which becoming parents has deepened our intimacy with our own little pockets of community within it.
Pick up an issue of the upcoming May Mother's Day issue and you will catch a glimpse of me and Alice in the shop - Thanks to Gillian and Anna!
This is the newest addition to a series of colouring books by Japanese artist Taro Gomi, Doodle All Year. We could never keep his other books in stock long enough for me to take a good look through them. But I gave one to Alice last night to keep her preoccupied at the shop while Kevin worked late last night.
We bought Alice her first art easel when she was only 9 months old. She would use it mostly to prop herself up and would open and close the caps on the washable (very important!) markers, then progressed to some scribbling.
She has always been a very neat child and that pertained to her colouring too. She always persisted on colouring inside the lines, even at a young age. In fact, she would get quite upset if she went outside the lines. She is much better at drawing free-form.
She also has the classic Mr. Potato Head toys, and yesterday, we were happy to put them away in storage as we went through the toys that she agreed she had outgrown. She would get so upset because the pieces were difficult to put in the tiny holes sometimes and Mr. Potato Head and family would ALWAYS have to look like they did on the packaging, you were not allowed to stray. I never liked this toy because I didn't think it allowed for much imagination, plus the smell of the plastic would make me gag. If you want a great alternative, check out the Zolo toys.
Upon first glance, the crude, child-like line drawings don't look like much fun to colour. But this is the beauty of them. It teaches children that not everything has to look perfect. There are simple instructions and requires interaction and thought and most importantly, imagination on the part of the child to build on the pictures on each page.
Maybe one good thing came out of all the mass-produced children's toys - what is the saying - Necessity is the mother of all invention?
Previous issues of Taro Gomi's colouring books, Doodles and Scribbles, that are equally fantastic! Get your colouring pencils out!
I know many stay-at-home parents and entrepreneurs who work from home will understand my day-to-day world. I wake up, try to get myself ready before Alice awakes, coffee with Kevin, breakfast, off to drop Alice at daycare, head to the shop. Being self-employed has its advantages. I've never been partial to office politics, I'm usually content being in a studio working away on a project and popping out to run errands, having a leisurely coffee on the way. My life now is far from leisurely and most days, I am tied up at the shop.
How do I stay connected to the great big world and beyond? The internet, of course. I've mentioned before I am a bit of a Luddite - but wow, how did we exist without having information at our fingertips accessible to us 24 hours a day?
I have a huge list of sites that have peaked my interest, but in all honesty, I don't look at them often, just have them jotted down for future reference. That said, I don't think I could pass my days during the week without having a peek at the following blogs:
Grace Bonney's Designsponge was my first foray into blogland after a sales rep recommended I take a look. I was hooked. What can be said about Designsponge that has not already been said? I've seen this blog evolve and shift it's focus from high-end interiors to a much more craft and entrepreneurially-minded site. This site shows how good design exists at all levels, from the high to low, and everything in between. Grace's efforts from her, now defunct, online shop to student bursaries, guest bloggers, design competitions to the Biz Ladies' nights are all a testament to her commitment to promoting independent design. We have had the honour of being included in her Toronto guide. And a thank you goes out to Toronto writers, Meaghan Clark and Waheeda Harris, who were kind enough to include token in their guide of the city!
I thought my love of all things fashion-related had waned until Xenia Taler tuned me into the world of Scott Schuman's The Sartorialist. I have to admit I used to love looking at the pages in fashion magazines where they would photograph models or celebrities in everyday shots, or the Do's and Don'ts in Glamour Magazine (do they still do that?) The Sartorialist totally satiates my guilt-ridden love of fashion. His eye for detail is incredible and elevates fashion to a new, dare I say, intellectual level.
Carina Schott hit the nail on the head when she chose the name for both her online shop and blog, of the same name, Nonchalant Mom. Carina's background is also in fashion and is the designer behind the ever popular and adorable Lucky Wang children's line. Her online shop has everything a parent in the know would want from clothing, to housewares to children's toys. She maintains this air of nonchalance (hence the name) when it comes to the art of motherhood, without buckling to the whole baby trend that has infiltrated popular culture. My favourites are her posts on health issues- they are dealt with in a natural way without sounding too new-age-y or too granola-y. This is my go-to guide for EVERYTHING in my mom existence.
Many of you will be familiar with Irene Hoofs Bloesem. I had a lovely chat with Irene the day she walked into my shop during her time in Toronto. I am so glad she decided to start writing her blog in English. Her finds are always nothing but amazing - a lot of European content that we may never get to see on this side of the pond. If you want eye-candy, you will not be disappointed.
Irene's new blog Bloesem Kids is also a visual treat. Raising kids has probably never been so fun for parents!
And last, but not least, I must mention Lena Corwin's blog and shop. Lena is a textile artist and illustrator residing in Brooklyn, NY. Her blog is a true "journal", as it records all her daily inspirations. It's as if we entered her studio and saw her inspiration board posted up on the wall. Lena also has a background in fashion...hmm, I'm seeing a pattern here...
These are the few sites I like to visit on a regular basis. I have so many great finds that I may post. If anyone wants to let me know of their finds, or sites that you think I should visit, you can send me an email at token@bellnet.ca.
Call me a cultural neanderthal - I have not seen one movie on that Oscars nominee list. One of these days Kevin and I will have to plan that date night...
However, the Oscars always peak my interest when it comes to the red carpet fashion. It was a sea of classic Hollywood glamour, and all the stars looked, well...lovely, but my favourite was Cate Blanchett. She was stunning in her beautiful Dries Van Noten (love him) gown in all her pre-natal splendor!
