Freedom is a wonderful shop and artist collective. Self-described as “a non-profit volunteer-run cooperative committed to supporting local and eco-friendly artists and designers,” Freedom is full of unique art by emerging local artist, designers, and artisans. They sell everything from elegant and fun clothing, to jewelry, paintings, kids stuff and furniture.

I found the pieces to be inspiring and very reasonably priced. I bought myself a great blouse for a steal and got numerous compliments on it. My girlfriend bought a skirt and also got a lot of positive feedback. Shopping there makes you feel good about supporting local emerging artists, and you are also keeping the carbon footprint of your purchase small.

Check it out: Freedom Clothing Collective, located in Toronto’s Bloorcourt neighbourhood.

The O&B Canteen on the ground floor of the TIFF Lightbox is a beautiful airy space. It has high ceilings and glass walls that slide open to bring the fresh air in. Natural wood chairs, wine and comfort foods make the site warm. Check out this find at the corner of King and John before the film festival turns it into a madhouse.

Technorati Tags: bar, cozy, Design

All the fabulous teas we know, now in a fancy new location.
The space is clean and airy, with bit of seating for a longer visit. They are now on Queen St. West a few blocks east of Trinity Bellwoods Park.

I quite enjoyed this sculpture after my 18 month old friend pointed it out to me. I was just like every other Louis Vuitton shopper hustling by and failing to notice some poor sap whose barrel had crashed into this high end shopping district (on Bloor east of University Ave.).

This fun sculpture is called Horror at Horseshoe Falls by Evin Crawford Collis.
Thank you to Evin and the Collonade for lightening up such a ’serious’ shopping district.

We are delighted to announce the Public Beta release of 5 Blocks Out! This officially wraps up our “limited preview” phase during which hundreds of friends and family members helped us test and improve the site. 5 Blocks Out is now open for everyone to use. Hooray!

Check out the site and read the full announcement over on the 5 Blocks Out blog.

A new and lovely local resto — Atlantic — opened a month or so ago in Brockton Village. It’s a nice little place for a romantic dinner or a few drinks. I was finally able to check it out last week and had a lovely time. Try the perogies with sauerkraut! They’re excellent.

Atlantic’s chef was previously the chef from Coca and, like Coca, Atlantic serves small tapas-like plates.

From the outside you may not notice anything new since the Atlantic signage was from the previous owner, so look carefully! It’s on Dundas, just west of Brock, next to Lula Lounge.

The Good Neighbour Espresso Bar opened recently to welcome Junction folks into its divine space. The previous incarnation of this corner of Annette Street and Quebec was a local grocery store with a centre entrance and windows on either side. The Good Neighbour has been well designed to take advantage of all possible natural light and to have a nice open space with high ceilings. They use reclaimed materials and integrate them perfectly into a crisp and elegant design. Tasty espresso drinks and pastries from Jules Patisserie are on offer daily. Additionally they have free wifi and a few places to plug in.

Hurray for another place to hang out and brainstorm creative ideas.

Technorati Tags: Cafe, coffee, cozy, croissant, pastries, junction, Toronto

I stumbled across Periwinkle near High Park the other day. It is a super cute boutique with jewelry, clothing and art at reasonable prices.
The shop has an interesting approach in that it rents space to local artists rather than marking up each item by a set percentage. If you need a gift it’s worth a pop-in.

I have really enjoyed this Jane’s Walks in the past and plan on participating in more of these fun exploratory walks of the City this weekend.
Jane’s Walk is an organization based in Toronto that organizes walking tours of the City to explore an insider’s take on how neighbourhoods work, socialize and live. From their website: “Jane Jacobs was an urbanist and activist whose writings championed a fresh, community-based approach to city building. She had no formal training as a planner, and yet her 1961 treatise, The Death and Life of Great American Cities, introduced ground-breaking ideas about how cities function, evolve and fail that now seem like common sense to generations of architects, planners, politicians and activists… Jacobs saw cities as ecosystems that had their own logic and dynamism which would change over time according to how they were used. These walking explorations were organized in her honour to explore the city’s hidden gems and appreciate its nooks and crannies.”

People with passion of all kinds of backgrounds are leading these walks all over the Toronto on Saturday May 1st and 2nd. The walks combine exploration with personal observations, urban history and local lore to knit people together into strong and resourceful communities.

Check out the website to find a Jane’s Walk that interests you: www.janeswalk.net.

Toronto’s Urban Forest Canopy is so good to us, but we’re currently losing more trees than are being planted. Trees help reduce the urban heat island effect, they provide shade so we can use less air conditioning, help prevent global warming by sequestering CO2, make Kyoto Protocol targets attainable, look great, provide habitat, prevent erosion, contribute to biodiversity, mitigate urban storm water runoff, and make neighbourhoods beautiful. Recent studies have proven that they even reduce crime. Need I go on? Time to get planting!

We are lucky in Toronto to have organizations that help with our City’s beautification. Trees that would normally run between $350-$600, with planting that could set you back an additional $200, are being heavily subsidized for city residents.

A local non-profit group LEAF is offering backyard tree planting in Toronto for the reduced cost of about $80-$130. This is amazing. LEAF is dedicated to improving Toronto’s urban forest, so if your backyard could also use a little sprucing up (pardon the pun) then you should contact them at:

LEAF (Local Enhancement and Appreciation of Forests)
Subsidized trees for your yard
T 416 413 9244

LEAF’s service includes on-site advice on appropriate species and planting location, a 1.2 to 1.8m tall native tree, and the planting service. Native shrubs are also available.

If are interested in planning a tree on your front lawn you can get a free tree from the City of Toronto. Urban Forestry Services plants trees on City owned street allowances fronting residential properties for free.

City of Toronto Urban Forestry Services
Free tree for your front lawn
T 416 338 8733

Thanks to our local tree-hugger Alissa for pointing out these great resources! I recently planted two trees and have to say that they make me happy every day.

Technorati Tags: environment, garden, planting, trees