Lavishy lavishes vintage sparkle

Yesterday I visited one of my fave jewellery stores in TO, Lavishy, which has just opened a second location at Yonge and Eglinton.

Owner Leo designs and sells mostly new jewellery, but lately he's been picking up vintage pieces at New York flea markets and the like on his travels. Not only that, he and his talented staff use vintage pieces to display their lovely wares. I just love the way these floral enamel pins sparkle in this old silver candy dish.

Here, retro clip earrings and a vintage bracelet repose on a pretty vintage plate.










Nearby, a teacup and saucer, a pretty plate and a tiny retro dish hold pretty baubles.

I really respect and admire retailers who think this way, who produce new items but who revere and incorporate the past into their work.

How about this?

This necklace is new (and only about $30; Lavishy's prices rock). The vintage-inspired baubles on it like the keys and the cameo are just darling aren't they?

Lavishy is located at 2525 Yonge St. or in the Junction (west Toronto) at 3095 Dundas St. West, main phone is 416-767-7472 www.lavishy.biz

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Thrift gift: yellow shoes

I found these handmade in Spain Arnold Churgin shoes for $5.99 months and months ago (see prior post on shoes & decor under the Arnold Churgin label to the right).

I loved that they were in mint condition, and that jolt of colour - so 1980s. Alas I knew my tender tootsies would never wear them. They're a very small size 8. So I used them as decor.

Until I learned that my pal and colleague Alexis had a thing for 1980s pumps. I brought them in to work and not only did they fit her perfectly but they also looked fab with her outfit that day!

The shoes are a summer style pump, but Alexis shows us how you can make 'em more season appropriate by pairing them with a thicker cotton stocking.

I love the look Alexis! Wear them in good health.

Speaking of thrift gifts I will be giving a number of them to the women in my family this holiday season. It's the only way I can afford to give them quality designer clothing, and some of the pieces I just wouldn't be able to find new in the stores.

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Disco belt & Halloween inspiration

When I was in grade 2 in the late 1970s, my Mom made me the most kick butt Halloween costume: and I became Wonder Woman.

She sewed silver tinfoil stars on my shorts, made me a crown of cardboard and tinfoil, and glued a red construction paper star on the front of the head piece. Red rubber boots, a red halter top, and a Christmas tree garland for a lasso completed the look.

Wish I had a pic of that.

Though this belt, which I picked up at a vintage-second hand store in the Junction in Toronto while doing a shopping column there, has a disco-crossed-with-an-Alexis-Carrington-from-Dynasty look to it, it reminded me of that Wonder Woman costume....

I love vintage and retro elasticized belts and am developing a little collection of them. They showcase my small waist and are just a fun way to zoot up an outfit.

Going to a Halloween party next week. Mmm. May be Wonder Woman if I can figure out a way to do it without donning shorts!

Thrift, second-hand and vintage stores are fab places to get ideas and pick up the fixings for Halloween costumes. Has anything you've found in these shops, or even in the back of your closet, inspired you to make and wear a costume this Halloween??

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Auction tonight!

Fellow Torontonians, if you're wondering what that contraption is on the floor under the painting in the pic shown here, and if the bargain hunter is looking for a fun experience, check out Mark Taaffe's new shop in the Junction, World Headquarters (2885 Dundas St. West, 416-333-8078).

Tonight the long-time auctioneer is having his first auction in his new space, starting at 6:30 p.m. Monday June 8.

Bring cash. You're guaranteed to find some really neat stuff.

Check out my recent article below....



Salvaging Good Style

Kelly Gadzala
Town Crier Bloor West

You should know by now my penchant for anything used, worn and slightly junky in the home décor department. The majority of my apartment furniture is a collection of forgotten curbside relics.

The Dundas West strip in the Junction is therefore happy land for me, a place strewn with salvage shops and even a few new furniture stores.

To read more click Here

And I will tell you what that contraption is: it's a manmade bee's nest used to contain wild bees. It even smells of honey inside! Just an example of some of the truly cool stuff you can find at Mark's shop.

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Obsolete tools

With the recent gift of a wood grainer, pictured here, I realized I have a little collection of industrial tools forming - all of which were given to me as gifts, come to think of it.

Mark Taaffe of World Headquarters at 2885 Dundas St. West in the Junction gave this wood grainer to me. I love it. It looks like there's a patent number and a 1911 date stamped on the handle on the back.

If you're like me and need some help figuring out how this would have been used, I'll tell you what Mark told me: this would have been run down the length of say, a cupboard that had been painted, to create a grainy effect.

Doug Killaly of Post & Beam Reclamation, another Junction gem at 2869 Dundas St. West specializing in architectural salvage, gave this to me a couple years ago.

Can you guess what it is?



It's a wood block floral pattern stamper, from Hungary if memory serves, and was used to stamp patterns on clothing.

I love that it's stained blue. Doug mounted it on a little stand, so now it's a decor object just like my wood grainer.

A man gave this to me many years ago as a Christmas gift - he found it in a Paris flea market and the tool generated much conversation around the holiday tree in the south of France that year ....

We never figured out what it was used for.

I think I'll be haunting the salvage and junk shops for other old artisan-type tools and implements such as these. Is there such a thing as feeling nostalgia for items you've never experienced before? Let's just say I appreciate their artisan handy bent and their history, known or not. And the tools make for neat decor groupings.

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Chair from the trash

Remember my garage sale booty (two posts below and I still have more to show you!)? On my way home that day I found this fab faux bamboo chair in the trash - fully functional!

I believe in trashing Karma: if you want something in home decor, it will eventually come to you in the form of garbage.

It's a big chair, maybe a dining room one, that I would have used at my desk if it weren't so large. For now it's tucked in a cozy corner by my dining room table.




I plopped a cusion on it I found at Value Vilage for $1.99 - it has an old tag on it that says "The General Store on Mount Pleasant Ltd Toronto" - a shop that I can't find a reference to so it must be long gone ....

I bought the coverlet that's on the seat that day too. After the garage sale I strolled around an area in Toronto called The Junction and previewed some of the photography exhibits for the Contact photography show premiering that night.







The Junction is a haven for semi-junky and architectural salvage shops. Mark Taaffe's relatively new store, on Dundas St. West near Keele, houses all kinds of quirky items this deal diva could just eat up.

I walked away with this shawl, something Mark called a great example of Victorian Industrial prowess, if memory serves. He told me it came in a box marked "great-grandmother's shawl" and was apparently bought in a London market in the early 1900s.

I love it, eventhough it's worn and is stitched up in places ... but that adds to the charm for me. It's wool and large enough to function as a table cloth, duvet coverlet or even a wall hanging. Mark let me have it for a song.

More on Junction shops soon.

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