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.

Comments

[Susan Wild]

Thanks for the mention Vicky! And thanks for featuring some of the incredible local talent we have right here. If you weren't able to attend the One of a Kind but are looking for that unique, original gift, 100MileFinds.com has lots of them. You won't have to find a parking spot in the mall to get to them either.......
Thanks again,
Susan and Shirley
100 Mile Finds