Value Vintage
March 22nd, 2008, 10:08 pm Teen Hobbies
The quirky Parkdale antiques shop Hawk Eyes (103 Roncesvalles Ave., 416-857-5728) opened just before Christmas. It’s charming but has none of the fusty, mumsy antique staples (teacups, tablecloths) or even a store cat — only owner Rachelle Turner’s adorable dog, Tallulah, a spritely Brussels griffon (”the same kind of dog from As Good As It Gets”). For those who like vintage but hate the hunt, Hawk Eyes does not require any rummaging, unlike the more cluttered traditional shops on nearby Queen West West. Old-fashioned price tags are attached with satin ribbon but otherwise, for an antiques shop, it’s rather spare.The walls are the colour of butter-cream frosting and large pieces of furniture — a down-filled velveteen armchair in soft green ($425), a highboy with glass knobs ($325), a set of refurbished hoop-back chairs ($225) or a solid-wood drop-leaf dining table ($250) — are arranged and propped in thematic vignettes.Salvaged old windows are lined with decorative paper decoupe and hung like artwork, and other items are similarly pretty without being precious: crystal Deco perfume bottles ($26 each), a pink ribbed-glass decanter ($32), and a bouquet-stylebrass and marble lamp has glittering crystals cascading from the bulb like a fountain ($145). It’s a feminine vintage style that appeals to fans of Cath Kidston and Amy Butler textiles, but more modern than shabby-chic and urban country. I’d call it nouveau-granny.On days off, Turner heads up north to scour flea markets and country auctions, then refurbishes and reimagines the finds in her workshop downstairs. She loves antiques, but appreciates that not everyone loves finding them as much as she does. Most customers don’t have the time or inclination to give pieces new life, so Turner often freshens furniture up with a coat of paint, and brass floor lamps are rewired and given new shades. Many large furniture items are crisp and white (though an old-fashioned pressback high chair, $135, is painted fire-engine red). Accents are mostly metallic objets: a mirrored perfume tray adorned with brass cherubs ($68), a gilt mirror ($350), brass candlesticks ($8 to $10), a golden espresso demi-tasse set ($75), a solid-brass reindeer ($68) or a pear-shaped brass bell that doubles as a bookend ($24). A vintage red Navy brand flashlight, Turner explains, was a prize given out at the CNE. (It still works.)The shop’s most expensive item is $625 for a substantial piece of Canadiana: a pine vestibule dresser with built-in bench and mirror. Turner’s extremely fair prices (a service of J%26G Meakin’s hand-painted Sunshine 1950s china is marked down to $175 because it’s missing a few dinner plates) are designed to appeal to the many young couples and new families taking over the neighbourhood. “And they all live in old houses, so it’s nice for them to be able to get something that fits with the house; and it’s always good to have something old in the mix.” The new items mixed in at Hawk Eyes? Retro letterpress cards by Pantry Press, because the popular stationer was the shop’s previous tenant. As a result of Parkdale’s hipster family boom, shopping on Roncesvalles is experiencing something of a renaissance and on Hawk Eyes’ particular strip, there’s a cluster of good retail: Frock, where stylish Roncie women get dressed, vintage housewares and clothing (of the rummaging kind) at Mrs. Huizenga’s, and a new cheese shop called The Thin Blue Line, plus cafes like Film Buff, Tinto and Cherry Bomb. If Turner steps out during the day, the sign on the door reads, “Gone to Cherry Bomb.”FASHION HAPPENING;WHITE HOTNext week is Wear White 4 Windfall, the annual fundraising day and public awareness initiative for Windfall Clothing Service. It’s the city’s only new-clothing bank, which assists nearly 100 homeless and emergency shelters in meeting their clients’ needs for new clothing. On Thursday, Jan. 31, simply wear white (a white belt, shirt, or whiteout from head to toe, it’s up to you), get your workplace in on it and make a charitable contribution of $4. Sign up or donate online at ww4w.ca or any Alterna Savings branch.OBSESSION OF THE WEEK;THE GREAT INDOORSNot only is a dryer hard on clothing fibres, it’s also expensive: A standard, non-Energy Star dryer makes up about 5% of a house’s energy consumption. Although it’s winter outside, you can still hang your clothing to air-dry: The SmartDryer, from a company in Quebec, is a stainless steel accordion rack that’s adjustable and can be wall-mounted in a bathroom or laundry area. When collapsed, it’s about 15 cm deep but in use, it’s roughly equal to 10 meters (30 feet!) of clothesline. And come spring, if the crusading mayor of Aurora has anything to say about it (opposing the ban on clotheslines in residential areas of Southern Ontario), you can move it outside and attach it to your balcony or deck. $69.99. Call 800-441-5375 for retailers to order, or buy online at xcentrik.ca.
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