Featured Shop : Nuvango. Update : Shop Closed but Still Online

Update Winter 2017 : This Nuvango store and gallery have closed but their online shop is still ongoing, so you can still get their excellent creations.

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Here's a shop to check out if you're into art and colourful clothes, as Nuvango is a place that combines the two.

All of their items are designed and made in their Toronto studio factory, in collaboration with the artists whose works become the print on the fabrics.

To make their garments, the art is printed onto the fabric in the shape of the pattern pieces. Then those pattern pieces are cut out and sewn together. This method ensures that the finished item has the elements of the artwork showing exactly where their meant to be. To get a more clear idea of what I'm trying to say, watch this quick video which shows their process.

The Tragically Hip Concert Broadcast at The Horseshoe Tavern

One in three Canadians watched a special concert on Saturday night -- the final show of The Tragically Hip's tour across the country.I imagine most people know that what made this particular concert so important is the fact that the lyricist and singer of the band, 52 year of Gord Downie, was diagnosed with brain cancer in December, a terminal form of which there is no hope of recovery. Given a short time to live, he chose to spend a month travelling from the city of Victoria on the west coast, to the city of Kingston located about 2 1/2 hours drive east of Toronto, giving his vast number of fans a gift of 15 stadium concerts. Tickets for those shows were treasured indeed. ( UPDATE : Sadly, Gord Downie passed away on October 17, 2017, at the age of 53. )The tour ended in Kingston because this is where the band of five musicians began 30 years ago. This is also where Gord is being treated for his illness. While the venue accommodated only 7,000 people, (including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau), another 25,000 gathered in the city square in that city alone to watch the show which was aired live by the CBC.That was only one of hundreds of listening parties hosted across Canada on Saturday night, held in private homes, movie theatres and concert halls, culminating in a reported 11.7 million people watching the concert. The show went on for three hours, with three encores and 30 songs performed.Attendees of the concerts and guests at the viewing parties were invited to contribute to the Gord Downie Fund for Brain Cancer Research, raising $265,000 and counting.Nick and I, along with our friends Meghan, Andrea and Dean, joined the crowd at The Horseshoe Tavern to watch the broadcast. This is the very place that the band got their first big break in the mid '80s, after the President of MCA at the time, Bruce Dickinson, heard them play and subsequently signed them to a record deal.

A Neighbourhood Walk with a Stop at Death In Venice Gelato

My friend Meghan moved to our neighbourhood a year ago last spring and since then she and I have done a heck of a lot of walking around together. It's great to have a friend nearby who likes walking as much as I do.

Here are some shots I took on a recent Sunday afternoon get-together -- we met in Trinity Bellwoods Park, sat on a bench for a bit and ate strawberries, and then set out with no particular destination in mind.

Family Time : A Visit With My Parents and their Dog Kiki

I had such a nice little holiday recently, visiting my mom and dad and their cute and funny dog Kiki. They live in Barrie, a city located about an hour and a half drive north of Toronto, on the shores of Lake Simcoe.

I've mentioned in previous posts about my visits to them, that I was a bit confused when they decided to make this their home upon retirement, as we had no family ties there, or any particular history with this city. Now that they've lived there for a while, I completely understand why they chose it. The people are so warm and friendly and there is so much to do, with what seems to be at least one special event or festival every month. I've grown to love it too. Well, except for the record snowfalls they tend to get in the winter, that is. (See this post, for a wintertime frosty visit. Makes me shiver just looking at it!)

I went for a week and I see by my lack of many photos, that my camera mostly stayed in my bag much of the time. I didn't even get a single shot of my father, which I'm annoyed at myself for. As usual though, there were an abundance of pictures of their sweet elderly dog, Kiki.

The outings I do have photos of include a visit to one of the most colourful places I've ever been, Flying Monkeys Microbrewery and Tap House (Note, their site has music that starts up as soon as you click over.)

We end up going there for a takeaway assorted six-pack whenever I'm in town, so I've been before but this time there was the added surprise of a hugely expanded space. They've added a whole area of seating that's brightly decorated with an awesome collection of vintage posters and album covers. There are windows along the back through which you can see where they make the beer.

Summer in Toronto : A Beachside Picnic on Centre Island

ass="aligncenter size-full wp-image-33253 blk-brdr" src="http://www.loulou.to/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/toronto-beach-centre-island.jpg" alt="toronto-beach-centre-island" width="640" height="480">We recently spent a lovely afternoon with Andrea on Centre Island, a place that is so close to home and yet so far from the usual city sights.For readers unfamiliar with Toronto, that is one of the islands in the chain of small islands located just south of the mainland, which formed in 1852 after a storm flooded a sand peninsula that had originally been connected. There are eleven islands in total, ranging in size, with two so small that they remain unnamed. Centre Island is the largest and most popular for visitors, who can get there easily via a quick ride on a ferryboat.We took the King Street West streetcar over to Bay Street, and although we could have hopped on the bus going southward to the ferry terminal, we decided to walk down.