Everything you always wanted to know about art, but were afraid to ask (for fear of looking, ahem, uncultured)

 
Well now, folks, if I never asked a question for fear of looking either uncool or uncultured, you'd be getting a whole lot of white column space from me. Cue the snickers from the local design/decor cognoscenti, who are wondering if that might be a good thing. Do I care? Mais non!! Try it yourself. Let those insecurities go and start working on your self-actualization.

This week’s Hot Home Products column touches a bit on that, as it's all about art – the choosing, buying and collecting of it. For those of you who are timid about all that, here are some tips from the organizers of  Art Toronto, a four-day event running at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, where you’ll see beautiful works like the piece shown above, called Bed, Crosses and a Fan by Olga Chagaoutdinova.

The first step to starting your own fine art collection is to educate yourself and get in touch with your tastes (see self-actualization above). How to do that?

Visit as many art galleries as you can

If you know art collectors, pick their brains about what and why they collect

Attend art fairs, where you’ll see a great selection from top galleries in one place

Conduct follow-up research on artists to whom you are drawn

Read books, art magazines such as Canadian Art, Border Crossings, C Magazine, and Magenta

Read newspaper reviews of local galleries and openings

Attend openings

Visit  local art museums (better do this one quickly, just in case our new City Council shuts them all down as cost-cutting measure)

For more tips, visit the site for Art Toronto

Events are taking place at other venues, including the Gladstone Hotel, which is showing, among other things, an exhibition of hand-tufted carpets by Bev Hisey. Saying Hisey makes carpets is a bit like saying Matisse did some drawing. I may not know carpets, but I know what I like. And I really like Hisey’s work. Check it out.

And remember, dear reader, you are the King, or Queen, of your own cultural landscape. So there.

Vive la France

As a treat, I took a few hours off last week and drove up to Aurora to see what’s new in store at JacKryn France , a lovely little French-themed boutique. As always, I drooled over the fabulous selection of  table and bed linens. As a matter of fact, if I wasn’t in the middle of putting the third of four kids through University, I would have treated myself to a wonderful blue-grey linen cloth for my holiday table. Alas, my loss is your gain. I'd always advise buying the very best linen you can afford - I think it's definitely worth it.

I also was really impressed with the stain-resistant tablecloths owner Rita Theil showed me. These are nothing like the rubbery, too-shiny versions you so often see. That's because the fibres they're made from are coated with Teflon before being woven, rather than having a coating of Teflon spread over the finished product (cheaper, yes, but nowhere near as nice or long-lasting.) Look for these in an upcoming Hot Home Products column.

The other thing I loved were the furniture pieces in grey with hand-painted motifs that are inspired by the famous Toile du Jouy designs (for which I've always had a weakness).

Next week is a good time to visit JacKryn France. On November 4th, the store will hold its sixth annual Holiday Open House. You’ll see exquisite decorations, glass and tableware and all sorts of holiday décor. But you do have to register by emailing Rita at rita@jackryn.com

So pencil it a "treat trip" for yourself. While you're there, ask about the news draperies from Faab. In the meantime, don’t forget to check out the website, especially the Clearance Centre. Oh la la!

Friday tip for saving dough-ray-me

Here’s a great idea that proves once again that recycling and reusing is never scary. SwapCity, an online community that helps eco-friendly and budget-conscious Canadians go green through barter, is hosting an event at which you can trade your gently-used Halloween costume for someone else’s. So bring in your child's outgrown black cat accessories and pick up a superhero costume, or trade in tombstone lawn decorations for a new sound effects CD to play during trick-or-treating. The event takes place tomorrow (October 23) at GreenInstead (200 Spadina Avenue, 2nd Floor)  from 2:30 to 3:30 pm. Swap Meet admission if $6 or $5 each if you bring a friend.  Those under 16 get in free.

Martha Stewart cabinetry; special order and pretty special

 
 
 
Move over Woodward and Bernstein. I finally got details of the new line of Martha Stewart-designed cabinetry and hardware that’s rolling into — as I write — Home Depot stores. Made by MasterBrand Cabinetry, it will be available by special order at all stores in English Canada by the end of this year, and in French Canada by the end of January, 2011.

The line launched about eight weeks ago in the U.S., where, according to my high-level source (Frank Turco, HD’s Senior Manager for Trend and Design), it’s been a big hit with both with design media and consumers. You’ll soon find stock at all stores, but the giant retailer’s “Project Stores” have vignettes set up to display the line, which includes 20 door styles in both wood and what they call PureStyle, a laminate-like finish that wraps around the entire surface. There are 32 styles of hardware in brass, nickel, bronze, iron and copper finishes, also available by special order. But Turco says HD hopes to start stocking some of the hardware in stores next year. Prices range from $124 per linear foot to $237.There are also eight complementary Corian countertops; five veined and three particulate.

I’ll have more in an upcoming Hot Home Product column. In the meantime, here are some pics to show you this lovely new line. (I love the way it looks in the laundry room, too.) These alone should enough to make you glad I tracked down the story. I sure am. In fact, I think I smell a Pulitzer!

Only in Canada, you say?

 

 
 


I promised in this week’s Hot Home Products column to give you a sneak peak of what will be on view at the One of a Kind Show, which runs from November 25 to December 5 at the Direct Energy Centre at Exhibition Place in Toronto. So here a few things I love, with pics above to illustrate.

Hugo Didier’s  clever little bowls, which make it clear where they are NOT made.

Michelle Mendelowitz’s  colourful, beautifully sculptural ceramics.

And perhaps my fave, the crazy cool stuff made by Gilbert VandenHeuvel, mastermind behind The Recycler . There’s a great back story to the family behind this company, whom I met recently at the International Home Show . Check them out.

Also just heard about 100milefinds.com, a new shopping portal that identifies “locally grown” goods and services within a short distance of a postal code. Visitors submit their postal code, preferred distance radius and type of product they are looking for, and a list of vendors is produced. This is so new I haven’t even had a chance to “shop” there yet, but I do think it’s a great idea. Right now, 100 Mile Finds only features goods, services and shops within 100 mile radius of The Centre of the Universe — aka Toronto. By the end of 2010, the site will include listings for more of Ontario. Let’s hope it spreads even further. Good ideas deserve to grow.

And I got a note from Dennis Regan, who owns Valentine’s Furniture  in Markham. He’s been selling Canadian-made product since 1972, and he writes that “it surprises me how many people pay the same price for chip-board as we charge for solid wood. It’s a matter of educating the public as to what they are really buying!” I could not agree more.

Clever kitchen idea

 
 
Here’s a clever idea from Home Depot for a quick kitchen fix that won’t cost a bomb or take a ton of time. Adding pegboard directly on top of your current kitchen backsplash maximizes storage space and is the perfect way to add a touch of industrial chic to la cucina. The folks at Home Depot suggest that even for a beginner DIY-er, the project can be done in under four hours. And the cost? Just $65 for a 48- by 96-inch piece of pegboard. Spend a bit more and you can paint it out in a hot colour or stain it to match your cabinetry.

What’s that, dear reader? Speaking of kitchens, why have I not given you any details on the new line of Martha Stewart cabinetry that’s supposed to launch soon at Home Depot? In fact, I don’t have any details. It appears to be a secret. Sort of. But not really. Rest assured, faithful reader, that I’ll tell YOU as soon as I know more. In the meantime, I’m using my best investigative journalism skills to track down the story.

She likes me. She really, really likes me!

 
 
The greatest compliment anyone can ever pay me to is to try one of my ideas at home. So I was delighted to hear that my pal Susan (well-known as a stylster to friends and family) opted for my drop-cloth table cloth tip for her Thanksgiving dinner. She sent a few shots, including one of the pretty little trivets she got at Loblaws Superstore, (two in a packet for $3.99!) Susan says The Boyfriend took other, “artier” shots but she liked her own simple pics better. I think I’m going to ask the BF to send his shots too though, because I’m intrigued by the hanging lamp that’s barely visible and I’m dying to see more of print that’s been cut out of the shot. Or, I guess Susan could just invite me over for dinner to get a closer look…

That would be magniflex.com

If you read my Hot Home Product column this week and found that the link through to the Magnfilex site doesn't provide a list of Canadian retailers, that's because the wrong link somehow got added. Click here to get through to the correct site.

Leed certification named in class action suit

Pretty big “green” news broke this week south of the border. The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC)  and its green building certification system known as LEED, has been named in a Class Action Suit that alleges USGBC has mislead consumers and misrepresented the energy performance of buildings certified under LEED rating systems. It goes further to suggest that LEED is harming the environment by leading consumers away from using proven energy-saving strategies. According to Treehugger.com, Henry Gifford, who launched the suit, has previously claimed that LEED rated buildings use 29 per cent more energy than conventional buildings. There’s more information about this on BuildingGreen.com

Be kind to your pumpkin - put down that knife

 
 
I may have many fine talents but intricate pumpkin carving à la Martha is not among them. Me, sharp knives and large, hard-skinned orange squash are just not a good mix. So this year, I may take the people who make Duck brand tape up on the suggestion to use coloured tape to make the ultimate Jack O’Lantern. They have more than 20 colours to choose from, including camouflage, day-glo brights and silver. And of course, you know you’ll always use up the left-over on various fix-it tasks around the home. To encourage others to try this new form of Halloween decoration, the company has launched a “Stick or Treat” Jack O’Lantern contest. Would-be winners should post a photograph of their duct tape pumpkin on the Stick-or-Treat promotion page by November 1, 2010. Entries will be judged based on originality, workmanship, use of color and (of course) duct tape. The winner of the $1,000 prize will be named around November 17, 2010.