Gifts for leisurely homebodies
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Not since the Great Depression of the '30s have Canadians been so aware that there is need and deprivation around them. A stroll up Yonge St. is chilling, as beggars and lost teenagers, living rough, accost the eye and the pocketbook.
Not since the Great Depression of the '30s have Canadians been so aware that there is need and deprivation around them. A stroll up Yonge St. is chilling, as beggars and lost teenagers, living rough, accost the eye and the pocketbook.
There are food banks, for heaven's sake, in the Golden Horseshoe, a situation unthought of 20 years ago.
While Christmas still glitters and we want to celebrate in the traditional way - festooning our houses with sentimental decorations, loading the larder with seasonal luxuries and organizing gala parties - the gilt is off the lily.
The gaiety of Christmas is overlaid with such '90s issues as concern for the environment, fear for our own security and compassion for the downtrodden in our streets.
Those that "have" are overcome with guilt and seem to be re-evaluating their needs and shunning the acquisition frenzy of the last decade.
Anyway, once you already have a microwave, a personal computer, a BMW, a drawer full of jewelled baubles and a leather sofa, do you need more?
As the '90s shape up, there is a noticeable trend back to quality and value for money and one or two well-chosen gifts. The backlash to the extravagance of the '80s is being reflected in our Christmas shopping habits, with some interesting results.
On the one hand, many people are foregoing the bright lights of the consumer strips. Instead, they are sending cards to friends and relatives explaining that this year they are sending a donation to the Food Bank, Salvation Army or a local shelter in their name, in lieu of a gift.
A 1944 Simpsons Christmas catalogue shows you could buy a starched nurse's uniform and cap for girls 2 to 8 for 25 cents and a gunand holster for 69 cents. Bunny slippers were also 69 cents. Pyjamas for Dad were $2 and a fancy scarf for Mom was $1.19.
In those days, to receive even one of these store-bought gifts, along with an orange, was a delight and all anyone hoped for.
Somewhere along the way, we lost the meaning of Christmas and replaced it with piles of plastic gizmos and designer labels.
But while mass-market stores are lamenting their losses, Toronto's specialty shops that offer craftsy, handmade, one-of-kind items of high standard and good design are well into the Christmas mode and there are still many affordable items to help you through a recession-era Christmas.
Richard Soren, owner of ReOrient at 269 Queen St E., said, "We seem to be heading for a good Christmas. I think people have kept to their budget all year and now they're letting their hair down.
Best ever
"Last year was the same. We had the best Christmas ever. People are on a budget, but are buying meaningful things for friends."
The reason for ReOrient's perennial success is that it is the exclusive importer of domestic ceramics (as opposed to wares for export). Soren points out that the highly decorated ceramics in import shops are items made specifically for the Western market. They are not the wares used in China.
Soren goes to mainland China and visits local potteries, where he chooses everything. In his travels, he also comes upon treasure troves of antique pieces.
Ceramic pots
ReOrient has received, in time for Christmas, a shipment of 50-centimetre- (20-inch-) high ceramic pots from Henan in China with a drip glaze ($195).
"These large pots are in the style of the Song period (11th to 13th centuries) which is considered the height of aesthetics and design in China. The simple, elegant lines of the ceramics of this period are still the ideal of the today," Soren says.
ReOrient also has several early 19th-century antique teapots in stock from Yixing. These have a muted green glaze and floral decoration. Soren says the Gardiner Museum currently has a display of Yixing teapots, on loan from the Flagstaff Museum of Teaware in Hong Kong.
At ReOrient, you'll also find a selection of handsome green-glazed late 19th-century Cantonese candlesticks that retail for $95 each.
Soren has a troop of faithful customers who trek to Queen St. W. specifically to see new shipments. "Our domestic wares appeal to people who have a subtle artistic eye," he says.
Ted Nobles of Mission Craft, also in a specialty market, agrees that all is not doom and gloom. Last fall, Nobles imported a line of Arts & Crafts oak furniture from the States. It has gone gangbusters. Following the success of the Mission oak and finding that people are willing to spend $800 or more on a piece of furniture if it's unique, Nobles has added architectural lighting to his stock.
Lantern-style lights
At Nobles' showroom in the Harbourfront Antique Market at 390 Queen's Quay W., the lighting includes fixtures inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright and Greene and Greene, two big names from the Arts & Crafts movement.
The lamps tend to be simple lantern styles made of wood, glass and copper. Prices range from $400 to $800. Nobles says these are moving fast.
Mary Raichinis is director of marketing at Hazelton Lanes, a mall at 55 Avenue Rd. that is full of delectable gifts at all prices. There you can buy everything from stylish housewares (The Palette) to Shaker furniture (J.J. Farmer).
Raichinis notes that shopping traffic started to increase in late November at the Lanes. However, Raichinis says, people are really thinking about their purchases. "They are not as last-minutey as other years. They're buying more practical things and want value for money," she says.
Leslie Rogers of Accents Brass at Hazelton Lanes is doing well with several lines. A cheerful grouping of tinware from India, made from recycled, flattened oil drums and then attractively fashioned into containers and wall decorations, is selling fast. Cow planters are a reasonable $33, while Santa hooks are only $10.95.
Small pewter oil lamps ($40 to $90), each one signed, from Val David in Quebec are also "very strong" at Accents Brass. Rogers says, "Anything you burn - oil lamps, candlesticks - at a good price are hot this year."
Rogers says the GST is included in all prices.
The merchants at Hazelton Lanes have had to reconsider their image as a spending emporium for the well-heeled.
Consumers are being enticed by a new customer service lounge (lower level, near J.J. Farmer), outfitted with comfortable chairs where they can put their feet up, drink coffee and read the newspaper. There's also a free coat and parcel check and an activity table to amuse small children.
Hazelton Lanes is also offering free photos with Santa, presumably for the small fry.
Mystery shoppers
Raichinis says the merchants and sales staff in Hazelton Lanes attended a seminar series designed to help them with service. After the seminars, a bevy of mystery shoppers invaded the mall and more than 80 per cent of the stores scored 90 per cent or better on such things as greeting customers, creating a relaxed atmosphere within the shop, and providing knowledgeable service.
And in case we forget that Christmas is more about charity than accumulating goodies for ourselves, Hazelton Lanes has a pet cause. In order to raise funds for Covenant House, a haven for street kids, the Lanes is selling Clark the Snow Monkey.
This plush cutie ($25) is all dressed up in a specially designed Marci Lipman T-shirt. "We are doing well with Clark. People are really thankful for what they have and want to be generous," Raichinis says.
There are food banks, for heaven's sake, in the Golden Horseshoe, a situation unthought of 20 years ago.
While Christmas still glitters and we want to celebrate in the traditional way - festooning our houses with sentimental decorations, loading the larder with seasonal luxuries and organizing gala parties - the gilt is off the lily.
The gaiety of Christmas is overlaid with such '90s issues as concern for the environment, fear for our own security and compassion for the downtrodden in our streets.
Those that "have" are overcome with guilt and seem to be re-evaluating their needs and shunning the acquisition frenzy of the last decade.
Anyway, once you already have a microwave, a personal computer, a BMW, a drawer full of jewelled baubles and a leather sofa, do you need more?
As the '90s shape up, there is a noticeable trend back to quality and value for money and one or two well-chosen gifts. The backlash to the extravagance of the '80s is being reflected in our Christmas shopping habits, with some interesting results.
On the one hand, many people are foregoing the bright lights of the consumer strips. Instead, they are sending cards to friends and relatives explaining that this year they are sending a donation to the Food Bank, Salvation Army or a local shelter in their name, in lieu of a gift.
A 1944 Simpsons Christmas catalogue shows you could buy a starched nurse's uniform and cap for girls 2 to 8 for 25 cents and a gunand holster for 69 cents. Bunny slippers were also 69 cents. Pyjamas for Dad were $2 and a fancy scarf for Mom was $1.19.
In those days, to receive even one of these store-bought gifts, along with an orange, was a delight and all anyone hoped for.
Somewhere along the way, we lost the meaning of Christmas and replaced it with piles of plastic gizmos and designer labels.
But while mass-market stores are lamenting their losses, Toronto's specialty shops that offer craftsy, handmade, one-of-kind items of high standard and good design are well into the Christmas mode and there are still many affordable items to help you through a recession-era Christmas.
Richard Soren, owner of ReOrient at 269 Queen St E., said, "We seem to be heading for a good Christmas. I think people have kept to their budget all year and now they're letting their hair down.
Best ever
"Last year was the same. We had the best Christmas ever. People are on a budget, but are buying meaningful things for friends."
The reason for ReOrient's perennial success is that it is the exclusive importer of domestic ceramics (as opposed to wares for export). Soren points out that the highly decorated ceramics in import shops are items made specifically for the Western market. They are not the wares used in China.
Soren goes to mainland China and visits local potteries, where he chooses everything. In his travels, he also comes upon treasure troves of antique pieces.
Ceramic pots
ReOrient has received, in time for Christmas, a shipment of 50-centimetre- (20-inch-) high ceramic pots from Henan in China with a drip glaze ($195).
"These large pots are in the style of the Song period (11th to 13th centuries) which is considered the height of aesthetics and design in China. The simple, elegant lines of the ceramics of this period are still the ideal of the today," Soren says.
ReOrient also has several early 19th-century antique teapots in stock from Yixing. These have a muted green glaze and floral decoration. Soren says the Gardiner Museum currently has a display of Yixing teapots, on loan from the Flagstaff Museum of Teaware in Hong Kong.
At ReOrient, you'll also find a selection of handsome green-glazed late 19th-century Cantonese candlesticks that retail for $95 each.
Soren has a troop of faithful customers who trek to Queen St. W. specifically to see new shipments. "Our domestic wares appeal to people who have a subtle artistic eye," he says.
Ted Nobles of Mission Craft, also in a specialty market, agrees that all is not doom and gloom. Last fall, Nobles imported a line of Arts & Crafts oak furniture from the States. It has gone gangbusters. Following the success of the Mission oak and finding that people are willing to spend $800 or more on a piece of furniture if it's unique, Nobles has added architectural lighting to his stock.
Lantern-style lights
At Nobles' showroom in the Harbourfront Antique Market at 390 Queen's Quay W., the lighting includes fixtures inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright and Greene and Greene, two big names from the Arts & Crafts movement.
The lamps tend to be simple lantern styles made of wood, glass and copper. Prices range from $400 to $800. Nobles says these are moving fast.
Mary Raichinis is director of marketing at Hazelton Lanes, a mall at 55 Avenue Rd. that is full of delectable gifts at all prices. There you can buy everything from stylish housewares (The Palette) to Shaker furniture (J.J. Farmer).
Raichinis notes that shopping traffic started to increase in late November at the Lanes. However, Raichinis says, people are really thinking about their purchases. "They are not as last-minutey as other years. They're buying more practical things and want value for money," she says.
Leslie Rogers of Accents Brass at Hazelton Lanes is doing well with several lines. A cheerful grouping of tinware from India, made from recycled, flattened oil drums and then attractively fashioned into containers and wall decorations, is selling fast. Cow planters are a reasonable $33, while Santa hooks are only $10.95.
Small pewter oil lamps ($40 to $90), each one signed, from Val David in Quebec are also "very strong" at Accents Brass. Rogers says, "Anything you burn - oil lamps, candlesticks - at a good price are hot this year."
Rogers says the GST is included in all prices.
The merchants at Hazelton Lanes have had to reconsider their image as a spending emporium for the well-heeled.
Consumers are being enticed by a new customer service lounge (lower level, near J.J. Farmer), outfitted with comfortable chairs where they can put their feet up, drink coffee and read the newspaper. There's also a free coat and parcel check and an activity table to amuse small children.
Hazelton Lanes is also offering free photos with Santa, presumably for the small fry.
Mystery shoppers
Raichinis says the merchants and sales staff in Hazelton Lanes attended a seminar series designed to help them with service. After the seminars, a bevy of mystery shoppers invaded the mall and more than 80 per cent of the stores scored 90 per cent or better on such things as greeting customers, creating a relaxed atmosphere within the shop, and providing knowledgeable service.
And in case we forget that Christmas is more about charity than accumulating goodies for ourselves, Hazelton Lanes has a pet cause. In order to raise funds for Covenant House, a haven for street kids, the Lanes is selling Clark the Snow Monkey.
This plush cutie ($25) is all dressed up in a specially designed Marci Lipman T-shirt. "We are doing well with Clark. People are really thankful for what they have and want to be generous," Raichinis says.
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