Toronto Life articles from June 2005

Toronto Life archives from June 2005

Your coke dealer is spoiled and selfish ["White Nights," May].(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
June 1, 2005... Your coke dealer is spoiled and selfish ["White Nights," May]. He got a student loan to attend McGill, then had a $50,000 salary and a company car--but quit because he hated the conventional working world. Where does he think money for student...

Usual suspect.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
June 1, 2005... I can only surmise that you have not met many coke dealers. Most of them are a lot like Adam; easygoing, not too bright and in need of fast cash. Otherwise, why would they risk their lives selling drugs? I am further amazed at Adam's naivete...

Doctors in the house.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
June 1, 2005... Regardless of Christopher Shulgan's derogatory tone about private clinics like Medcan ["Let's Get Physicals," April], it sounds as though Australia, with its mix of fully funded public health and subsidized private care, has got it right. Here...

Emergency reading.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
June 1, 2005... Your photo feature that took readers inside the doors of the emergency department at St. Michael's Hospital ["Night Shift," April] certainly captured the feeling of a bustling downtown medical facility. All too often, the hard work of emergency...

Mr. Roger's.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
June 1, 2005... Every time I drive by the former SkyDome, which now has a big Rogers Centre sign, I feel sad ["The Highs and Lows of City Life," This City, April]. Wasn't it named SkyDome after a city-wide contest? Not only does replacing SkyDome with a...

Size matters.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
June 1, 2005... I was glad to see that you are still running articles of considerable length in your redesigned magazine, though they look out of place; the rest of the new Toronto Life is packaged in short, shallow, materialistic, cynical bits that are...

Oops.(Letters)(Correction Notice)
June 1, 2005... The photograph of the Fairmont Royal York's water sommelier, Christophe Le Chatton [Restaurants, May], should have been credited to Regina Garcia. We regret the error.

The father of modern polling was an adman.(This Issue)
June 1, 2005... In the early 1930s, George Gallup, a vice-president at Young & Rubicam in New York, discovered the power of sampling. His mother-in-law was running for public office in Iowa, and based on a poll of a few hundred voters, he accurately predicted...

A fine romance: how two devoted aesthetes from disparate backgrounds formed a union of love and art.(PROFILE)
June 1, 2005... ON THE AFTERNOON OF MY RENDEZVOUS with Bruce Kuwabara and Victoria Jackman, spring clouds spread across the sky like freshly laundered linen, a fitting backdrop for the couple's beautifully renovated 19th-century Victorian on Admiral Road....

Estates evidence.(URBAN DECODER)(Column)
June 1, 2005... Dear Urban Decoder: Planted along the Broadview Avenue edge of Riverdale Park are 20-odd numbered green posts. What are they? DAVID MACKAY, RIVERDALE Riverdale Park was once a verdant homestead owned by John Scadding, manager of...

Altar egos: "I dos" of the city's busiest wedding planners.(ROUNDUP)
June 1, 2005... The average, run-of-the-mill perfect day now costs up to $50,000 and requires the organizational savvy of a D-Day commander. So it's no surprise that busy Toronto dyads are divorcing themselves from cumbersome flow charts and letting a wedding...

Gone to the dogs.(TELLING TALES. The 'Purina Celebrate Pets' Weekend Gala fashion show at the Holiday Inn on King)
June 1, 2005... Dog fashion shows are an easy target for those with a satirical bent. You might even say that the genre is overdetermined--after a film like Best in Show, there's not much left to lampoon. Then again, let's say you'd attended the Purina...

A woman of many hats: CanStage's tribute to arts philanthropist Bluma Appel was full to brimming.(CAMERA)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... 01 Sean Cullen, Jackie Richardson and Jessica Holmes 02 CAW president Buzz Hargrove and mediator Denise Small 03 Developer Murray Frum and Science Centre chair Nancy Lockhart 04 CBC host Valerie Pringle 05 Bluma Appel and Ontario Conservative...

The highs and lows of city life.(BEST & WORST)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... BEST WEEKEND STRIKE BUSTING While TTC workers prepared to strike and commuters scrambled to find rides to the office, David Miller placed an 11th-hour phone call to TTC union honcho Bob Kinnear, ultimately averting a colossal...

A happy outing: today, Pride Week attracts nearly one million people, but it all started with a small gathering on the Island.(FOUND)(Column)
June 1, 2005... THIS YEAR MAY MARK THE OFFICIAL 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF PRIDE, but the story goes back a little further than that. It goes back, at least, to August 1,1971, the year of the first organized gay picnic, for which this poster, haphazardly plastered...

Market forces.(TELLING TALES)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... On a sparkling Saturday in April, a crowd is gathered on the patio of the Bellevue Diner in Kensington Market, nursing cold pints to the bluesy rhythms of Madame Hair. Nassau Street regulars in ripped jeans and T-shirts flow by while Bellevue...

Track record: the TTC's new streetcar rails promise a smoother, quieter ride.(HERE'S THE THING)
June 1, 2005... This year, the TTC will spend $35 million to block roads, cripple transit arteries and make egregious amounts of noise. In other words, it's time to upgrade streetcar tracks again--this summer on Queen, St. Clair and Bathurst. The good news is...

Chronic fatigues syndrome.(TASTE POLICE)
June 1, 2005... SUSPECTS: Students at George Brown, Ryerson, U of T SCENE OF CRIME: On campus, in Queen West bars and the entertainment district CHARGE: Civilians outfitted in camouflage fatigues EVIDENCE: With the 2001 war in Afghanistan at a...

Country club: a hedonist's playground in horse country.(HOT PROPERTY)
June 1, 2005... Where: Caledon Size: 10,000 square feet on 97 acres Bedrooms: five, all ensuite Bathrooms: six Asking Price: $4.5 million The Sellers: Jeremy and Rebekah McIntosh, a stylish 30-something couple with three children. He's...

Union Jack.(TELLING TALES. Jack Layton.)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... The whole point of renovating your house, as any Toronto homeowner with a maxed-out line of credit will tell you, is to get the neighbours talking. But if you happen to be NDP leader Jack Layton or his wife, city councillor Olivia Chow, what...

Trail blazers: Christie Smythe and Andrea Lenczner have figured out what no other designer has: jackets are the new jeans.(Fashion)
June 1, 2005... IT WAS THE FRIDAY AFTERNOON of Labour Day weekend 2004. The sun was shining, strollers were scooting, and there was no end of Starbucks-toting husbands being led along the Bloor Street strip by their wives. The usual scene, in other words. At...

Talking to Americans: Clifford Krauss, the Canadian correspondent for The New York Times, is fascinated by our self-deprecation and freakish levels of tolerance. He's learned more about our culture in three years than most of us do in a lifetime.(Media)
June 1, 2005... IN MANY PLACES where The New York Times posts foreign correspondents, the big news stories choose themselves. If a car bomb in Baghdad kills a dozen people or if Argentina's economy collapses, a reporter can be sure that the editors in New York...

God is in the details; with their enviable locations and soaring spaces, downtown churches have become more attractive to condo dwellers than to congregants. Fitting, perhaps, since real estate is the city's most obvious form of worship.(Design)
June 1, 2005... WE ONLY COME TOGETHER in ceremony or in death these days. Toronto's churches are filled for communions, weddings and funerals, but regular services are often sparsely attended. In 1946, 67 per cent of Canadians attended religious services; in...

The Heather & Gerry show: she's the high-wattage, high-octane "chief booklover" of the Chapters-Indigo chain; he's the country's undisputed leveraged-buyout king. Together, Reisman and Schwartz add up to a formidable pair whose very names can send tremors through boardrooms from Bay Street to Parliament Hill.(Cover Story)
June 1, 2005... ON A MAKESHIFT STAGE in the Bay and Bloor branch of Indigo Books, Heather Reisman is playing Oprah Winfrey. Microphone in hand, she strides the dais in a sleek black pantsuit and four-inch heels to introduce her guest, Peter C. Newman, the...

The marriage question: to wed or not to wed: for gay and lesbian couples in Toronto, the subject is suddenly unavoidable. Some are getting hitched lavishly, but others find the notion too hetero for words. An intimate look at the politics of love, romance and family in the era of gay marriage.
June 1, 2005... TORONTO IS THE GAY MARRIAGE CAPITAL OF NORTH AMERICA. More same-sex couples have tied the knot here than anywhere else on the continent: at press time, 2,233 since June 10, 2003, when Ontario expanded the province's definition of marriage to...

Thirteen years in hell: in the rural community of Blackstock, the brothers seemed ordinary enough. They went to school every day in clean clothes. They brought a lunch. They did their homework. They had regular checkups. No one--not their neighbours, not their teachers, not even their doctors--had any inkling of the horrors that were going on inside their house.
June 1, 2005... On the evening of June 29, 2001, two social workers and four police officers drove out of Blackstock, near Port Perry, to investigate allegations of child abuse too far-fetched to believe. Because the Durham Children's Aid Society workers had...

Michael "pinball" Clemons: how the unstoppable Argos coach would spend a single perfect day. Toronto on an unlimited budget.(24 HOURS WITH)(Interview)
June 1, 2005... I'd start the day at home with my wife, Diane, and my three daughters: Rachel, who's 10, Raven, who's seven, and Rylie, our two-year-old. After our morning devotion, Diane would be ushered off to Stillwater Spa (4 Avenue Rd., 416-926-2389) for...

The City's best loot.(Super Shopper)(Advertisement)
June 1, 2005... ASSET MANAGEMENT Tired of seeing your favourite jeans on, well, all mankind? Make room in your walk-in for Fidelity, a new Canadian denim line that does more for your curves than spin classes ever did. $130-$160. Over the Rainbow, 101 Yorkville...

Roncesvalles.(On the Block)
June 1, 2005... Once considered a conveyor belt of sauerkraut-slinging Polish dells and time-worn tailor shops, the west end strip shows all the signs of an urban renaissance--warehouse condos, yoga studios, wine bars and dog walkers--without any downtown...

The Fifth sense: first came Didier Leroy, then Marc Thuet and now J.P. Challet. Their kitchen styles have differed, but the chefs of The Fifth have one thing in common: they cooked the best meals of their careers for owner Libell Geddes.(Dining)
June 1, 2005... TONIGHT, DUM-DI-DUM, I'm dressing up to go out to dinner, feeling like Fred Astaire, doo-di-doo, puttin' on my top hat, tyin' up my white tie (or modem equivalents thereof), brushin' off my tails. I'm not flying down to Rio. I won't be meeting...

Short and sweet: the mad dash for Ontario strawberries begins.(Food)
June 1, 2005... AFTER A WINTER OF WAITING, epicures stalk June strawberries with the single-mindedness of bloodhounds, heading north to pick their own or to scour the wild. Melting on the vine, fresh strawberries instantly gratify with a fragrant burst of...

One fish, two fish.(Food)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Avenue Seafood, one of the city's more sophisticated ma-and-pa fishmongers, is opening a second location six blocks north of Pusateri's. Its friendly, advice-offering owner, Wilson Shao, is a former sushi-making instructor, and his wife, Winnie...

Big, fat Greek recipes.(Food)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... (new) Chef Aristedes Pasparakis, creator of Ouzeri--the flaming Ouzo-swilling spot at the heart of Greektown--has immortalized his dishes in a new cookbook. Recipes such as aromatic rabbit stiffado and taramasalata with white roe are...

Blade runner.(Food)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... We spend astronomical sums on chef-quality knives, then wreck our blades on cheap sharpeners or fancy ones we don't know how to use. The Furi Tech Edge was developed for Australian chefs but is straightforward enough for home use: "fingers"...

Film noir: pinot, the real star of Sideways, has been a New Zealand celebrity since the '70s.(Drink)
June 1, 2005... LONG BEFORE THE MASSES WERE AWAKENED to the pleasures of pinot noir, this iconoclast had landed a starring role in New Zealand. There, it has proven that all reds need not be muscular Schwarzeneggers; that one bottle can match recipes from the...

Fairview 2003 Goat-Roti.(picknada)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Fairview 2003 Goat-Roti **** $19.95 | Western Cape, South Africa From a winery that gets France's goat by parodying Rhone appellation names. This delicious shiraz-based blend (with four per cent viognier) skewers Cote-Rotie. Very appealing,...

New releases.(Drink)
June 1, 2005... WHITE Peninsula Ridge 2003 Chardonnay Reserve **** $24.95 | Niagara Peninsula Jean-Pierre Colas makes Niagara's best whites. This one offers complex, inviting aromas of pineapple, tobacco, almond, apple butter and fresh-cut...

Noodle western: forget wings and fries--the new bar food is Japanese.(OPENING)
June 1, 2005... "Izakaya" is cropping up on menus (think Tempo and Supermarket) as a synonym for tapas. But in Japan, the word is used to describe a family-run tavern where colleagues drink after work--and also a trendy, high-end version of the same, with...

Restaurants.
June 1, 2005... A LA MODE (new) BISTRO GRANDE ** Kosher goes upmarket, bringing an airy design of blond woods, cream banquettes and a convivial bar and open kitchen to the millennia-old diet. Here, kosher means eschewing meats in favour of pizza,...

Psychedelic sundae: at Dutch Dreams, the baked Alaska never went out of style.(THE DISH)(Dutch Dreams)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... For 20 summers, lineups for cones have been stretching out the front door (with its comically ugly papier mache ice cream cone), past the one-eared purple wooden cow and her entourage of brightly painted milk cans. Inside, customers peruse 36...

Club rules: a culinary dialectic that would make Marx proud.(HIGH-LOW)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Originally a simple sandwich of chicken, bacon, lettuce and tomato, the club morphed into a double-decker version--now the standard at humble diners and haute lunch spots alike. People's Foods (176 Dupont St., 416-972-0195) delivers a textbook...

Loved triangle: veggie samosas make the perfect cash-and-carry meal.(QUEST)(Directory)(Illustration)
June 1, 2005... Samosas have migrated from the streets of India to every South Asian restaurant, grocery and health food store in the city. And why not? They are the perfect cash-and-carry--starch, spice and fat all encased in a crispy pastry. Biting into...

Cause celebs: cooking--and eating--to feed the hungry at Toronto Taste 2005.(EVENT)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Competition breeds excellence. The Second Harvest fundraiser isn't a formal contest, but the 70-odd chefs who participate all have an eye on their neighbour's foie gras (whether served as a BLT, torchon or en croute). Last year, Mark McEwan...

Raising the bar: OverJoy takes an old 'hood to new heights.(IT SPOT)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Degrassi's spectacular revival has returned the spotlight to south Riverdale, and bars are responding in kind: first came Barrio, then Kubo Radio and now this new nightspot above Joy Bistro. The sociable 30-something professionals and creative...

Toronto life calendar.(ADVERTISING & PROMOTION EVENTS & OPPORTUNITIES)(Calendar)
June 1, 2005... The scoop on this month's events and promotions from advertisers: CHOCOLADA Celebrate summer in Bronte Village, as Chocolada unveils its new location (2266 Lakeshore Rd. W., Oakville). Enjoy a new summer menu: sandwiches, salads, iced...

Theatre.(This Month)
June 1, 2005... OPENING BLUE MAN GROUP. It began as a performance piece on the streets of New York in the late '80s. With subsequent productions off Broadway and in Las Vegas, Chicago and Berlin, the show's progenitors, Matt Goldman, Phil Stanton and...

Shakespeare & Co.: a look at the many incarnations of Stratford's As You Like It, from prim Brits to hippie chicks.(ONSTAGE)(Illustration)
June 1, 2005... One of Shakespeare's greatest comedies, As You Like It tells the tale of the mischievous young noblewoman Rosalind. Banished from her father's dukedom, she disguises herself as a shepherd boy and forges a friendship with the unsuspecting object...

A new McCarthyism: eighties brat packer Andrew McCarthy makes his directorial debut.(INTERVIEW)(Brief Article)(Interview)
June 1, 2005... Andrew McCarthy, who played Blane in Pretty in Pink and Kevin in St. Elmo's Fire, was the perfect blue-eyed '80s pin-up--his golf shirts and pastel blazers hid a vulnerable heart. But McCarthy is now braving weightier territory. The 42-year-old...

Aving it all: pioneering Canadian art dealer and impresario Av Isaacs gets a multi-venue retrospective.(IN THE GALLERIES)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Whizzing on his bike down Spadina to his office at 401 Richmond St. W., Av Isaacs--now in his late 70s--is a man in perpetual motion. The owner of a series of landmark Toronto galleries, Isaacs was the first dealer to champion then little-known...

French twist: smooth-voiced chanteuse Keren Ann has critics in a lather.(IN CONCERT)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Despite her inclusion at the Downtown Toronto Jazz Festival, Keren Ann doesn't have much to do with hot sax solos or swinging tempos. More in the vein of a French pop chanteuse a la Francoise Hardy, Keren Ann has inspired a sound of a different...

Classical.(This Month)(Calendar)
June 1, 2005... CHAMBER AND SOLO CANADIAN SINFONIETTA. Concertmaster Joyce Lai brings together a group of string players with pianist Michael Esch and clarinetist Stephen Fox for an evening of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Johannes Brahms and York Bowen, a...

Pop.(This Month)(Calendar)
June 1, 2005... ANTIBALAS AFROBEAT ORCHESTRA. This 14-member funk machine is out to create one world under a groove. Formed in 1998 in Brooklyn, Antibalas's diverse crew of musicians was directly inspired by Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, the revolutionary Nigerian...

Jazz.(This Month)(Calendar)
June 1, 2005... NATIONAL JAZZ AWARDS. This annual presentation is the brainchild of Bill King, editor of Jazz Report magazine and artistic director of the Beaches International Jazz Festival. An Internet poll gathers the votes for favourite musicians and CDs,...

Art.(This Month)(Calendar)
June 1, 2005... (free) BARBARA PROBST AND PASCAL GRANDMAISON. Not every novice gallerist has the credentials or the experienced eye of Jessica Bradley, former curator of contemporary art at the AGO and the National Gallery of Canada. Her new storefront gallery...

Dance.(This Month)(Calendar)
June 1, 2005... BUSTIN' OUT. Licorice Lloydd of the Fantastic Poppers brings street dance inside with a b-boy and funk extravaganza. Urban dance is a mother-lode of styles: this evening features such exotically monikered moves as popping and lockin', and...

Kids.(This Month)(Calendar)
June 1, 2005... BLACK CREEK PIONEER VILLAGE. Forget soap on a rope: there's nothing like a booming cannon to release Dad's inner boy. This Father's Day weekend, march the troops down to the 19th-century encampments at Black Creek Pioneer Village, and take in a...

Diversions.(This Month)(Calendar)
June 1, 2005... BARBADOS ON THE WATER. Calypso stars the Mighty Gabby and John King headline a celebration of Barbadian culture that also includes the ILF Dance Company's 25-member musical theatre troupe and the Left It Off comedy troupe. Plus, a fish fry,...

Traditional.(FURNISHINGS. )(Directory)
June 1, 2005... Alteriors After nine years in home furnishings, Wendie Cohen knows a thing or two about setting a stage: her furniture and accessories are all arranged in alluring vignettes. Sleek resin vases and bowls ($120) by Vancouver designer Martha...

For the birds: throw a garden party and invite your feathered friends.
June 1, 2005... The prettiest garden furniture is of the winged variety. Not only do birds provide a soothing soundtrack, they bring a touch of country to the city. To turn your garden into an avian five-star hotel, head to BIRDWATCH (1907 Avenue Rd.,...

A weekend in New England: the old boys' network never looked so good.(Advertisement)
June 1, 2005... Just as Moral Majority Republicanism is back in vogue, Waspish influence in making strides--albeit cheerier ones--in interior design. The collegiate preppy look is a blend of Ivy League crests and dark, muted colours. Stiff upper lip in place,...

Contemporary.(FURNISHINGS)(Directory)
June 1, 2005... This sleek furniture store opened two years ago in condo-booming Liberty Market and caters to space-starved urbanites. Specializing in multifunctional furnishings--especially those with built-in storage--the shop is stocked with plenty of...

Putting on the glitz: on with the show--glamour is back.(Advertisement)
June 1, 2005... It's official: minimalism is over. Those rigorously modern interiors were starting to suffocate. Now we're craving personality, luxury and splendour. To understand the look, close your eyes for a moment and think of Hollywood in the 1930s: John...

Mid-century modern.(FURNISHINGS)(Advertisement)
June 1, 2005... Ethel 20th Century Living For a cheeky mix of modern vintage furniture, seek out this compact store, where serious teak and playful Italian plastic jostle for attention. Irresistible pieces include red triangular folding side tables from...

Antiques and vintage.(FURNISHINGS)(Directory)
June 1, 2005... Andrew Richens Antiques and the Dining Room Shop Georgian tallies, buffets and chairs, almost all large scale, are the stock-in-trade here. Uptown customers looking to fill massive dining rooms in monster homes come for such pieces as a...

The rescuers: architectural salvage brings period drama to the 21st century.(Advertisement)
June 1, 2005... Toronto's architectural history may be disappearing under a deluge of monster homes, but interior design gurus are rescuing the best bits from the wrecking balls. These architectural salvage pieces--doors, windows, ironmongery, lights and...

Decor accessories.(Directory)
June 1, 2005... Absolutely Inc. Separated by a few city blocks, Viki Mansell's pair of shops traction as a sort of Parisian flea market for the Rosedale set; the artfully congested rooms (word to the wise: no strollers, no oversized purses, no puffy coats...

There's pattern emerging; bye-bye minimalism, bring on the chintz.
June 1, 2005... Dorothy Parker once said that the cure for boredom is curiosity, but we think the real solution to ennui is redecorating. So wake up your rooms and enjoy a fling with neo-baroque style: extravagantly patterned textiles in silk, velvet and...

Housewares.
June 1, 2005... Au Lit Fine Linens This shop's white-on-white aesthetic conjures up French spas and dreamy boutique hotels. But there are splashes of colour amid the crisp cotton waffle bathrobes ($110) and white antique dressers (from $800): duvets are...

House proud: the city's essential sources for ...
June 1, 2005... HIP CONDO DWELLERS Alteriors (page 5), Caban (page 36), Casalife (page 19), Fos (page 19), Oni One (page 23), Roomy (page 24), Stylegarage (page 25). ORIENTAL EXCESS Dexterity (page 7), Greentea Design (page 9), Jalan (page 10), JP...

Kitchens and bathrooms.
June 1, 2005... * Addison's The place to go if you're renovating your Victorian row house, Jim Addison's plumbing emporium-cum-museum stocks both reproduction and mint-condition period fixtures. Be prepared for a good ramble: the hodgepodge of merchandise...

Flooring and carpets.(Directory)
June 1, 2005... Country Floors The raison d'etre of this international chain of the boutiques is exclusivity. The cozy lower-level shop caters primarily to high-end, high-profile residential clients. While discreet staff won't name names, CF has kitted...

The Palm Beach story: Florida, here we come: the preppy aesthetic heads south.(Advertisement)
June 1, 2005... If New England is too cold, head south for preppy's sunnier varietal, the Palm Beach aesthetic. More akin to Bob and Dolores Hope than to Dwight and Mamie Eisenhower, this preppy look is embodied by an A-list party hostess standing poolside...

Glass and mirrors.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Adanac Glass The Wenn family has been bevelling, sandblasting and triple-polishing since 1929, earning a reputation for excellent service and attention to detail, whether it's finishing a $5,000 tabletop or filling a custom mirror order....

Wall treatments.
June 1, 2005... Benjamin Moore's Scarborough Paint Centre Thanks to years of expertise, small family-owned paint outlets are still going strong despite the proliferation of big-box stores. Ask a stupid question, and you get an informed answer backed by...

Window treatments.(Advertisement)
June 1, 2005... Blinds to Go What began in 1954 as one minuscule storefront in Montreal is now an extended family of over 120 branches across Ontario, Quebec, the Maritimes and the eastern U.S. Its specialty? Dressing windows quickly and inexpensively....

Lighting.(Directory)
June 1, 2005... Amarynth Seriously serious about handmade Venetian art glass and chandeliers, proprietors Ron and Diane Ennis save their deepest devotion for works from the island of Murano, particularly collections from the master house Venini (for which...

Custom furnishings.(Directory)
June 1, 2005... The Big Stuff Though they've been in the re-upholstery business for 13 years, Charlene and Grant Gilmour only catapulted into the limelight in 2004 after the opening of the nearby Drake Hotel. Their fabulous furniture consists mostly of...

Light up your life: designer lamps are the latest must-have accessory.(Advertisement)
June 1, 2005... Opulent light fixtures are the designer objets du jour. Like a piece of art, they can make or break a room. But luxury lighting doesn't come cheap: some table lamps cost the equivalent of a week of winter sun. Still, they'll burn brightly long...

Interior design.
June 1, 2005... Andrea Crawford With 18 years of experience as a designer, Andrea Crawford knows the importance of personality. The trick is to design something stylish while bringing out the client's character and incorporating their favourite...

Garden centres.(Directory)
June 1, 2005... Bill's Garden Centre Though Bill's isn't all that big (6,000 square feet, indoors and out), it's stocked with everything the gardener ever really needs (soil, mulch, bulbs, containers, fountains, bird baths), offering good quality at good...

Garden accessories.(Directory)
June 1, 2005... * Dot Patio & Home As the weather starts to warm up, Dot Patio locations start to, well, dot the landscape, as the company rents some 20 empty retail spaces across the city and pops up its umbrellas. In spring and summer, you can source a...

Going, going, gone: Toronto's top auction houses.
June 1, 2005... EMPIRE AUCTIONS This family business, located in the Lawrence West design corridor, has a pleasantly informal feel. Lots range from the familiar (a heavily Canadian-centric assortment of paintings, decorative art, furniture, rugs and the...