Back to School ..... again.....Sheridan College

I just can't stay away!  Recently I attended the Business Class for the Interior Decorating Program at Sheridan College.  I was there in my capacity as an Ambassador for CDECA - Canadian Decorators Association of which I am a proud member, Director and part of the GTA West Chapter.  It is a great Association and of course Sheridan is a great school so I went and spoke to the evening class about joining CDECA and gave them the a, b, c's of why it is important for them to become members as students even before graduating.  We had a great time interacting.   

I had the company of my daughter, Megan, who is a professional photographer and had been asked by the instructor, Audrey Macdonald, a professional interior decorator herself,  to give some "tips" for taking photos of their projects in a way that would highlight the best features of the space.  She emphasized the importance of having great photographs of your work.  After all the photos are like your "calling card"  -  a picture says a thousand words!    All in all it was a great night and everyone came away with some sound information.    
Thanks to Audrey and her students for inviting us.          

                                                     

Megan and Audrey



Yours truly and Audrey

A very attentive class!

Kingsway House Tour

WOW!!  These homes are spectacular even before the Christmas Decorating takes place, but after the decorating they are magical.  Each year many cities, towns, neighbourhoods etc put on Christmas House Tours in order to raise money for a particular charity.  I have been to many over the years and last year attended the Christmas House Tour in Lewiston N.Y.  They are always done very nice but my favourite is still the Kingsway Christmas House Tour.

I have a friend who lives in the area and she is very involved in this event through her church.   The Kingsway Christmas House Tour is a signature event for the Canadian Cancer Society and held every two years. Several beautiful homes are decked out for the holiday season by talented local florists and professional decorators who have volunteered their time and expertise to show the very best the season has to offer.


I have assisted her by acting as one of the monitors required in each home for a few years now and always enjoy meeting and talking with the many people who come through.  We always  view the other homes prior to taking up our post at the home we are volunteering at.  This year I volunteered and viewed the lovely homes even though I was still wearing my "air cast".  Nothing can stop me when there are gorgeous homes to see. 

There are no photographs allowed which respects the privacy of the owners who are generous enough to let hundreds of people walk through their homes in the first place. I do have some photos to share though, which are courtesy of the Canadian Cancer Society/Kingsway House Tour.  please note these photos may include previous years

Currently in its 11th year, this self-guided tour has become a beloved community tradition in the Kingsway neighbourhood. A tea room on the tour route has light refreshments and delightful holiday entertainment.

Touch De L'Afrique Boutique in Oakville

Located on Lakeshore Road East in Oakville is a delightful surprise - Touch De L'Afrique Boutique - http://www.touchdelafrique.com/ offering unique and rare finds from imported from South Africa.  These refined lifestyle items, art and original designer jewellery are a must for any home and the gift items offer a wide appeal.  I was invited to the opening of their Canadian Showroom for a first glimpse into what they have to offer - I didn't want to leave.  As they say a picture is worth a thousand words and looking at some of the photos below you will see what I mean.  They welcomed designers and decorators to an evening of wine, hors d'oeuvres and a very generous "gift certificate" on our first purchase.

   
Some of the incredibly stunning pieces

My friend & colleague Helena Asikainen of
Mei Interiors who was kind enough to take all of these
lovely photos.

 


A very nice at Touch De L'Afrique is the upstairs cafe where light lunches are available or just drop by for a coffee.   It is a quiet space to bring clients after some shopping and just relax!

Thank you to Petrus and staff for a very lovely evening.

SOFA and Jane Lockhart

SOFA - Source of Furniture and Accessories - located in the International Centre is a great place to visit when you are sourcing just about anything for Interior Decor.  This is a trade only resource centre, however bringing clients to this location is a great way to promote excitement when they see everything available.  SOFA is a huge space with many vendors and they often host seminars and new showroom openings.  The seminars are presented by knowledgeable speakers and are very in depth and offer detailed product knowledge.  I recently attended a Fabric, Window & Wall Coverings Vendor Showcase event which presented all of the newest offerings from 20 vendors.  What a great opportunity to see so many great products in one location.  Very time efficient.  Following this we listened to the guest speaker - Jane Lockhart who everybody knows from "Colour Confidential".  I had attended one of Jane's seminars in the past and knew this would be worthwhile to attend and it was.  She is a very knowledgeable designer as well as a pleasant speaker with a sense of humour.  She spoke about everything to do with textiles and the importance they play in designing spaces.
Following her presentation everyone, including yours truly wanted to have the photo with her.

 Here I am with Jane - one of my first ventures out after the accident!

CDECA Professional Development Day

Every year CDECA offers a Professional Development Day to its' members.  This year as in the past we enjoyed our day at the International Centre.   This is a day of inspiration, information and ways to improve our business.  Lots of networking opportunities and time to visit our Affiliate partners who displayed the latest design products and trends for us. Our presentations were from:


JANICE LINDSAY - ‘White or Wrong? Getting White Right’ courtesy of PPG Pittsburgh Paints

GAIL DOBY –  ‘How to Avoid Interior Design Fee Fiascos...     And Attract Your Ideal Client’

TRACY KUNDELL -  ‘Qualifying Your Clients and Building your Business’   Tracy Kundell, owner of Avalon Interiors and star of Food Channel’s Restaurant Makeover

Designer Night At Royal Lighting

If you want some great lighting then you should make a visit to Royal Lighting    www.royallighting.com; 1549 Avenue Road, Toronto, Ontario.



Recently, in October,  Royal hosted a Designer Night where many CDECA Members attended and were shown some fantastic products.  This was an opportunity to view their remodeled Showroom, New Product Lines and Offerings and learn about  Crystal, from Traditional to Contemporary, presented by Dirk Wald of Schonbek Crystal; and LED, presented by Phil Toddoroff.
Of course Wine and lovely hors d'oeuvres were served as well as we were offered valet parking service which was greatly appreciated on such a rainy night.  Thanks so much to everyone at Royal for a great evening.

Royal offers nearly 45,000 products which includes all types of lighting; mirrors and many more home accent products.

Below are just a few of the amazing choices available from Royal Lighting.

IIDEX - International Interior Design Exhibition - September 2010

I like to attend this design exhibition every year, however this year I was busy recuperating from surgery so I missed it.  What a disappointment!  There is always so much to learn.  This is where all of the new and innovative products are presented for designers, decorators, and people in the business.

Our association - Canadian Decorators Association, once again participated in this show by having a booth in order to bring more awareness of our organization.  Below are a  few photos from this years' IIDEX.....

GTA West at The Decorating Centre

Once again I write about The Decorating Centre....

They really do a lot to support decorators and designers and are continually hosting events to roll out new and fabulous products as well as educate us on the finer details of such.

Our GTA West Networking group had a lovely evening in late September where they graciously hosted an event, where they invited a few of the suppliers they work with to speak with us about customizing products for our clients.  Among those who made presentations was Sun Glow Window Coverings  http://www.sunglowwindowcoverings.com/; Hellenic Area Rugs www.helleniccanada.com/;  and Crown Wall Coverings http://www.crownwallpaper.com/.

Hellenic has a special component where we can go on-line and design our own rugs!

Here are a few of the area rugs available through Hellenic:


Below are some of the different window coverings available through Sun Glow

     

Fabulous Wall coverings from Crown: 

 

The Annual Decorating Centre Trade Show

For several years now The Decorating Centre has hosted an annual Trade show for the Designers and Decorators who utilize their services & suppliers.  This show is held at the Royal Botanical Gardens and is always well attended and incredibly successful.  As designers and decorators we get an opportunity to view all the new products available to us in the coming months.  Of course we do enjoy a wonderful lunch and many draws for great gifts.  Much money is also raised and donated towards cancer research.  All in all a great time for everyone and much thanks goes out to the staff at TDC for a wonderful day.

This past year CDECA had their own table at this show and we met many great people and even increased our membership.

Hello - I'm Back..... sort of

Well here it is the month of December and I haven't written in ages.  Very good reason - I had a little accident and broke some bones and ended up having surgery and being in a cast and in bed pretty much of the time for 3 weeks and then a walking cast.   I was ready to boogy so with the aid of crutches and this wonderful walking cast I started getting out and about.  Unfortunately I injured my driving leg so I missed out on so many industry events but I do have feedback on some of them.  I could have used this down time to write but just wasn't in the mood so now I am.  Watch for coming posts....