Kensington Market Shopping Guide

This week features a rather obvious choice, Kensington Market. We couldn't have chosen a more perfect day to go to the market. The last Sunday of every month from May to October is Pedestrian Sunday in the Market. From 12-7 the streets are closed to thru traffic as vendors, musicians, artists, artisans and spoken word artists hit the streets. The place is crowded, but functions as an excellent place to shop, eat, people watch and get lost among the crowds. Of course due to the Markets size, and the amount of amazing stores, cafes, restaurants and people we have decided to separate it into two segments.

As one of our passions includes eating and sipping delicious coffee we could not help but start our shopping extravaganza off with a bit of munchies. As Sway is looking to cut out all dairy from her diet, and I am trying to make the transition from vegetarian to vegan, we opted for the Urban Herbivore. As it was busy and after lunch much from the menu was out. This actually pleased us as we were getting a little fed up watching restaurants (where we work) and supermarkets throw out vast quantities food that does not get used in time or is deemed not presentable. We constantly wonder why so much stock is ordered in, if it is only to be thrown out?

We settled on a lovely salad and went next door to Wanda's Pie in the Sky for a sandwich. Wanda's has delicious food and coffee. While, oddly enough we have never sampled the pie, the rest of our purchases have always brought a smile to our faces and we can only presume the pie to be excellent. Once fully fueled we headed off in search of beautiful things.

We passed by the Grilled Cheese House, where luckily enough, before we made the foray into being dairy free we sampled the sandwiches. Definitely recommended if you are fan of melted cheese on bread, it really does not get much better than this restaurant complete with picnic tables and dill pickles and potato chips with each sandwich!

To finish off the food part of this blog we must make note of the delicious Torito, a Spanish tapas restaurant only open during the evening. We first encountered Torito at the St Joseph Street Festival earlier this year as they were part of the local, slow food movement. One of their chefs allowed us to sample a delicious sorbet made from local strawberries and rhubarb. This place comes highly recommended if you are looking for a slightly nicer meal atmosphere while still staying in the market.

Of course Kensington has delicious markets, and while the Kensington bakery is absolutely fantastic I have to say we are partial to Cobs Bakery. Not only is the majority of their bread vegan friendly but they also do not sweeten their breads with sugar! And the staff is really friendly, the free daily samples don't hurt either:)

On to the shopping...or rather window browsing.

Entering the Blue Banana is always a good time. They feature everything from fashion, to beauty products, home decor and journals and books. It functions kind of like a market featuring much of Toronto's local talent. They have a local, fair trade coffee shop inside that is reputed to have some of the best coffee TO has to offer.

A little further down on Augusta is Bungalow. This store is great as it has both used and new clothing, all fairly reasonably priced. Head to the back of the store where you will find their second hand/vintage section nicely organized! Here, a little while back, we got an idea for two of the vests for the Kennedy line. One made from an old t-shirt for women. And for men, a vest made from old suit jackets.

Model Citizen
What a warm welcome! What an inspiring store concept I cannot help but share!! Not only does it feature the lines of local designers, the talented Julian offers silkscreen workshops. Participants leave with the skills to make all sorts of prints on all kinds of materials from the comfort of their home or studio. Nigel took the course, started a t-shirt line, and now sells his line at Model Citizen! It's worth looking into if not to start a clothing line then to engage in a really creative hobby printing on fabric, paper or t-shirts.

Joy Apparel is another line they carry in their store and another brilliant concept! Each t-shirt has the face and story of a real person. The t-shirt inspires you to think about how we are all connected and how our actions impact each other and our world. It is a stand against racism and discrimination. With the purchases of a t-shirt you then upload a picture of yourself and a story to be bought and worn by somebody else. Seems so in tune with what we believe, it's so refreshing to be in a neighbourhood that really believes in and promotes the power of the individual, and the strength in a community! Thanks to Meg for the introduction to these great lines in Model Citizen, and for her support of Local Buttons!!

The Funky Junky is a great visit. There is an endless supply of one-of-a-kind items ranging from records, pins, posters, kitchenware, suitcases, the list goes on! The recently held an out door auction where furniture, art, housewares and more were purchased at bargain prices. It was no task to convince me that this event was a lot of fun. It was a great day, with many more stops that would be worth a mention for their style or fine cheese for example!

See you there!

Urban Herbivore
http://www.fressenrestaurant.com/herbivore/index.html

Wanda's Pie In The Sky
http://www.wandaspieinthesky.com/

Grilled Cheese
66 Nassau Street

Torito
276 Augusta Ave

Cobs Bread
http://www.cobsbread.com/home/

Blue Banana Market
http://bluebananamarket.com/

Bungalow
http://www.bungalow.to/Default.asp?id=8&l=1

Model Citizen
http://modelcitizentoronto.com

Joy T-shirt
http://www.joytshirt.com/

The Funky Junky
168 Baldwin St.

Kennedy Line Update

It has been awhile since we have written an update on the status of our clothing project, the Kennedy line, in Haiti. As of right now things are moving along steadily and we couldn’t be more excited. Recently we were introduced and have continued contact with an organization called INDEPCO in Haiti. http://www.indepco.org/, http://haiti.buildingmarkets.org/en_af/node/6471
INDEPCO is an organization working with sewers in Haiti and is well known for upholding labour standards and paying a fair wage for its contract work. This is something that is so important to us here at Local Buttons. We want the vests to be beautiful, but more important than that we want the pieces to be made ethically. We truly believe this will make a difference in the fashion, not only will it be a beautiful piece, but something you can feel good about wearing.

What you wear tells a small part of the story of who you are, and what how you wish to depict yourself. If the artistic expression of clothing design reflects on your artistic side visually, we would like to help the conciencious side of each person show through as well.

Right now in Haiti more than half of the population is underemployed. This was a hard fact for us to wrap our brains around. In our capitalist world, how can a country even attempt to be a competitor in the international market if there are not the means to employ the majority of their population? There are so many skilled and talented artisans/workers in Haiti, yet their access to the international market already limited, was only further hindered by the January earthquake which ruined not only homes but production facilities.

INDEPCO recently received a grant from the World Bank to build a new factory with which business can be conducted. Say what I will about the WB (and believe you me I could go on quite the tangent, but alas I will save you all the time) they seem to have been on the right track here. INDEPCO received the money, it does not have to be repaid, and the WB is not interfering. And who says people, or in this case an international lending institute, cannot change?

Just last week we had a beautifully inspiring conversation with H.G. the head of INDEPCO. He seems to be right on page with us, and is so eager to get this project off the ground. Not only that but when we proposed the idea of getting a University on board and creating an internship program where design students could create designs and be part of an ethical business model he was as excited as we are!

We are currently in the process of designing a program and getting a University on board to help pilot this project. Our idea in the long run is to have a digital interface which will allow design students in Toronto to be directly in contact via the web with the sewers and manufactures in Haiti. We believe that not only will this create a greater collaboration on the design but will also be more efficient as designers and sewers will be able to converse and actually visually show each other what they want/have done.

We cannot wait to get samples back, nor can we wait to start this University program!

Bloor West Village Shopping Guide

This week we wandered a little further West of the Annex to the Bloor West Village. Sway dances out here at Capoeira Camara, and knows the area better than me, so I eagerly followed her around from store to store.

After meeting up at Christie Pits and relaxing beneath the trees surrounded by dogs and frisbees we jumped on our bikes and fought the rush hour traffic as we headed West.

Our first stop was to refuel-come on, a 5 min bike ride deserves a treat-at Calico. We discovered Calico a few weekends back and were eager to be reunited. Calico is vegetarian and vegan friendly featuring delicious, nutritious food. But the greatest thing is they buy local/organic whenever possible. They take the local one step further with their backyard garden. A lovely server is the gardener and graciously explained to us the food, the restaurant, and the concept.
To refuel we nibbled on a rosemary, sweet potato and chocolate muffin. We were slightly perplexed by this muffin combination and figured since you only live once why not try odd muffin combinations? We were delightfully surprised by its tastiness. We washed it down with two date, almond and banana smoothies. SO GOOD!

Strolling down the street we entered the Vintage Depot. Here you will find a well organized second hand store. I was so impressed that everything was colour coordinated, for the first time in a thrift store I didn’t get dizzy upon entering:) With a little bit of time one could discover many treasures. Both Sway and I were drawn to dresses as the day was hot and sticky. Of course, if you are ever in need of a crazy 80s prom dress for a costume party, or just a regular night out, this is the place to come.

Just a block or two down the way is an amazing store called HAUS. This is probably one of my favourite stores that we have visited thus far. Not only was the clothing amazing, but the concept of the store is brilliant, and Rachel who along with William, created the store is fantastic. It was so encouraging to be received by Rachel with such enthusiasm, she has said she is more than happy to promote our project! We are convinced something fantastic will come of this new found connection as both HAUS and Local Buttons both make business cards out of the materials that surround us. They make theirs from card board boxes. Brilliant.

At Haus I bought my first, of many, pair of Tom’s shoes. For each pair of canvas Tom’s shoes you buy, a pair is given to a child in need. The idea is One for One. You can buy the shoes online or here at Haus, and various other stores around Toronto. Check out Tom’s website http://www.toms.com/

There are a number of great bike shops in the neighbourhood as well! The Bike Pirates got their name by accident. They were registered incorrectly as the Pirates instead of Pilots but decided they loved the name! They have a great co-op program where volunteers help you fix your own bike. Financed by tips and bike part sales the place is a money saver and educational
photos from top to bottom
Dress from the Vintage Depot
Sale Bin at Haus
Haus Business Cards
Onesie from 69 Vintage

If you find yourself in the Bloor West Village Check out:

Haus: 1265 Bloor St Westhttp://www.hausstore.com/HAUS.php

Vintage Depot: 1269 Bloor St West

69 Vintage Collective: 1205 Bloor St West http://69vintage.com/

Bike Pirates: 1292 Bloor St West bikepirates.com/

Calico: 1226 Bloor St West http://www.calicocafe.ca/

Holy Oak Cafe: 1241 Bloor West http://holyoakcafe.wordpress.com/

Capoeira Camara: 1299 Bloor Westhttp://www.capoeiracamara.com/