Monthly Archives: May 2011

Walkable Weekend

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This weekend is the Jane’s Walk Weekend; a festival of walking tours.  The event is in tribute to one of Toronto’s most visionary urban strategists Jane Jacobs, who died in 2006 at 89 years old.  Jane’s Walk honours the legacy of Jane Jacobs who defended the interests of local residents and pedestrians over a car-centered approach to planning.  As Jane Jacobs stated in her 1961 book titled ‘The Death and Life of Great American Cities’, “Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, they are created by everybody”.  The Jane’s Walk Vision is: Walkable neighbourhoods, urban literacy, cities planned for and by people.  Since its inception on May 5th, 2007 in Toronto by Jane Jacobs’s friends and colleagues, Jane’s Walk has quickly grown to include over 400 walks in 9 countries in 68 cities.  The free guided walking tours take place as far away as India, Zambia, Uruguay, Berlin and over 32 U.S. cities and as close as a neighborhood near you.  So check out www.janeswalk.net, put on some comfortable walking shoes and get out and explore your neighborhood and meet your neighbours.  Let me know what walk you went on!

Memories

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My parents moved to the suburbs in 1957.  They purchased the model home of the new development; a ranch-style bungalow with a sunken living, dining room.  As it was the model home there were many ‘extra’ decorative features included.  One of those features was the paint finish on the walls in 2 of the bedrooms, the hallway and the wall above the fireplace mantle in the living room.  A special technique of ‘painted-on wallpaper’ was applied to the walls.  A ‘Master Painter and Decorator’, as they were called back in those days, applied a very detailed decorative finish using paint to give the impression of wallpaper.  I shared a bedroom with my sister that had the special paint technique; soft grey with little bouquets of white flowers in a repeating pattern. (See photo below)  My mother coordinated the bed linens in yellow and then pink.  Years later in 1973 my mother hired an ‘Interior Decorator’ to redecorate the bedroom that my sister and I still shared.  Now keeping in mind that this was the ‘70’s and the theme of the time was “mod and groovy’ our bedroom was decorated in the most amazing way!  We had wall-to-wall lime/chartreuse green shag carpet, white faux fur bedspreads and the grooviest part was the wall finishes.  On three of the walls was a vinyl wall covering of vertical wavy stripes of bright yellow, goldenrod, black, white and chartreuse green.  The paper had a gloss finish.  The remaining wall was painted in the brightest, sunshine yellow.  We had draperies made to match the ‘groovy’ theme that were white and weaved.  I remember the paperhanger man being very experienced (read mature) but very frustrated at hanging this very heavy, not pre-glued wallpaper.  Years later I was the one who sadly had to strip the wallpaper off and prime over the yellow paint.  The walls were then painted a colour that leaves no memory with me yet I can recall every detail of that bedroom from the very distant past.   As a wise person once said “Memory is a way of holding on to the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose”.

                  

in[sid] perspective

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Last week I was invited to the opening night of The Year End Show, in[sid]perspective  at Ryerson School of Interior Design (RSID).   Each spring, RSID showcases the outstanding work of its students and recently has developed its own branded name:  in[sid].  This year’s show focused on the graduating class and the students’ perspective on design; in[sid] perspective.  Leave it to an Interior Designer to ‘match and coordinate’ acronyms!  The show was a lot of fun to walk around and see all the exceptional and creative work done by 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th year students.  On the first floor in the 3D Studio & Materials Lab the students’ project was to create a prototype of a bench using fabrication methods of bending wood and veneers.  The bench had to be aesthetically appealing and structurally sound.  On the second floor in the Design Studio the students had to apply their perspective of 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional design theory to practical problems.  Using corrugated cardboard the students created various designs.  One prototype was a purse that turned into a chair; “a fashionable purse becomes a valuable asset when comes the need to sit”.  Another prototype was a stool designed to look like a flower; “the seed of conversation leads to good discussion”.  On the third floor was the Set Design Studio which creates an important new platform for the aspiring Interior Designer to acquaint themselves with ‘Scenography’; creating identifiable spaces for television, theatre and film.  Overall it was a great evening with lots of fabulous designs and inspiring visuals.  I came away from the event with a sense of excitement.  The students energy and passion for their work was evident from the very moment I stepped in[sid]!

     

Designer Market 2011

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On Saturday I attended the annual ‘Designer Market’ at The Distillery Historic District in downtown Toronto.  The event is organized by Kimberly Seldon whose original idea was to make the event feel like a Paris flea market.  The Market has over 40 vendors, ranging from antique, vintage, modern and flea market finds of fabric, furniture, food, jewellery and clothing.  The location of the Market is in the Distillery Fermenting Cellar and very much sets a mood that transports you back to another time.  Walking around inside the Fermenting Cellar one can feel the ghosts from the past still lurking about and also visible are some of the old apparatus (large wooden wheels, pulley systems) that would have been used for the distilling process back then.  In 1832, William Gooderham and John Worts established Gooderham and Worts Distillery.  In 1877 the Distillery was the largest in the world.  After 153 years the Distillery ceased operation and closed.  Throughout the ‘90’s The Distillery was used for film locations making it the second largest location outside of Hollywood.  In 2003, the Distillery District was re-born and once again became a vital part of the city.  The Distillery Historic District is now a pedestrian-only village of restored Victorian Industrial buildings with original brick-lined streets and home to restaurants, shops, schools and live theatres.  I always find the Designer Market event to be a lot of fun and I really do feel that I have been roaming about Paris, if only for a morning.  This year I scored a great lamp for only $10!  Not that I needed it, but hey, when in Paris…..