Yup, it’s that time of year, Christmas presents are on the mind! I went to the One Of A Kind show last night and it was a late night shopping event, open until 11pm with a DJ on site and free parking after 6pm which is UNHEARD of in Toronto! There was supposedly food and drinks too but I didn’t see any.
I attended the show the previous weekend and took my time looking at all the booths. For my second visit, I had a game plan this time to write down ahead of time all the booths I wanted to see so I would save time and of course silly me forgot my list 🙁 So I made do – there were some nice surprises and some booths I missed – I will have to catch them next time.
Here’s my quick recap of the show. I’ll do more posts on each of the artisans featured in the future. It’s on until Sunday so hurry!!!
Of course my first stop is always seeing my friend Dara of Dara Dot Designs (booth U-03). She joked that everyone will think she’s paying me because I always profile her hahaha! She is a friend that I met indirectly through Stephanie of Blush Pretty and I just love her scarves. I have MANY of them and always get compliments about them! I also love supporting my friends in their passions – I completely admire her drive!
^I love the booth set up, you have to check our her new collection, so pretty!^
Because I didn’t have my list with me I thought that maybe I would just go to the aisles that I remembered writing down. I remembered writing down a “V” so I went down that aisle and this booth caught my eye:
^in particular that red dress in the front^
The dress by Montreal company atelier b. (booth V34) looked so cute, I just loved the shape and it had POCKETS!!! I just had to try it on!
And guess what, wouldn’t you know, a PERFECT fit!!! That is VERY rare for me so I had to get it. REALLY bad for my wallet! (I never DID find the booth that I thought was in aisle V).
One of my scheduled stops was to see Demo Soap (booth U-54):
The soaps are sooo incredibly detailed and smell DELICIOUS!
^These ones smelled like real pineapple^
I didn’t have too much time to chat with the artisan as this booth was really popular but I’ll be contacting them soon to get more information!
^LOL a giant soap fortune cookie and it’s babies :P^
There was a small fashion show going on too. I wish I could have stayed longer but I was on a time crunch!
Another scheduled stop was to see
U.S.E.D. (booth Q-29). I have one of their purses and I waited all year to get another. This was my one planned purchase for the show. I’ll post what I bought soon!
The bags are made of recycled seat belts. I have (too) many purses and I always get compliments when I’m using my U.S.E.D purse. It’s casual most definitely – but I love how it looks, it’s functional, practical AND durable!
Another scheduled stop AND spontaneous purchase was made at
Aromachology (booth N-38)
^such a beautiful display^
Here is the perfume bar where I got to custom blend my OWN scent!!! How cool is that???
^base scents at the top, top note oils underneath^
Here I am with Michelle who so patiently worked with me to create my custom blend.
Here is a company that I have seen in the past but the booth is always so crowded that I never get a chance to try their stuff out :P!
Matter Company (booth L-53)
This is a skincare company that has the such great smelling products and they take a holistic approach to personal care. I’ve purchased their
Blush Sugar Scrub and let me tell you that this stuff is amazing for exfoliating AND moisturizing.
^Hand cream from their “outdoors” line^
While I was there I tried this cream out and I just loved the smell and how it instantly made my hands feel moisturized. There was also a lady raving about it to her friend saying that she had to come back for more!
Another booth I always visit is the Purse Pockets booth (L-23). They are always hard to find because they are listed under Cindy Burke Designs. I bought a purse organizer from them last year and was sent back by three of my friends to pick them up one.
(Update: yet another friend wants one now!! I won’t have time to go back to I’m recruiting someone to pick it up for her).
I had to take pictures of all the patterns and send it to them so they could choose – a new way of “online shopping”?
Finally, I had to get a gift (wait, isn’t that what I was there for in the first place?!?).
Dara always raves about
Bamboo Lily (booth U-04) and her friend Lil. And I can totally see why, check out her adorable handmade bamboo items for kids!
^Dresses, shirts and robes!^
^custom blankets^
^LOL, look at this cuteness^
^I picked up this robe for my friend’s daughter — soooooooo adorable!!!! and super soft!^
Who did I miss but you should go see?
Remember, the show ends this Sunday December 4th.
Thought you
I love the Demo soaps. I cut all of mine in half so I have 8 bars now. They all smell so delicious. Did you buy any?
Aww Elaine you go to so many fun events!
I wanted to go to this but didn’t get a chance to 🙁 Looks like a lot of unique booths were there. Must try to go next year!!
this looks like so much FUN!
dash dot dotty
Amazing!!!! I am a huge fan of all of them. I also picked up an adorable robe from my friend at Bamboo Lily.
Thanks for sharing all these photos! I went to OOAK on Friday and then again on Sunday! I spent way too much money there but found some amazing things (and got some Christmas shopping done too!). I posted pics of some of my purchases on my blog.
This event looks awesome! That coral dress looks great on you. Will we get to see it again? 🙂
I love this show! I look forward to it every year. I only purchased one thing this year, a wooden cribbage board. Did you see the wooden board games? They’re so nice! I love the atelier b. dress on you. I’ve never bought clothing before but there seems to be some good pieces.
p.s. Just wanted to say thanks for the advice about using flickr to post blog photos. I’m now all set up thanks to you!
Thanks Callandra! I definitely don’t regret the spontaneous buy 😉
I’ll definitely do a post on my purse organizer, I’ve bought so many for my friends already LOL!
LOL!!! There must be amazing things in your area too! The One of a Kind Show has been going on for years but I only started going last year. I think when I moved to the city I’ve been taking advantage of everything that’s happening in Toronto 🙂
Whaaaat?? You know Lil? What a small world? Do you know Dara too? So I met Dara kind of through Steph, and I met Lil through Dara at the show LOL!!! She’s sooo nice, I talked to her for like 10 minutes and I feel like I’ve known her forever, kind of like you and me 🙂
Ah you should check it out, I’m sure there is something for local artisans in your area! I agree, it gives us a chance to discover new and amazing products!
You definitley had to get that dress Elaine, it looks amazing on you!!
WOW that red dress is sooooo beautiful! And this purse organizer intrigues me…possibly a post on how it works? =D!
You seriously go to the most awesome events Elaine…jealous 😉
isn’t lil the sweetest? i’ve known here since grade 9 (omg has it been that long?)
that red dress is gorg on you!!
What fun! We have such shows in India where the local merchants and artists get a chance to showcase their item. Good for advertising and good for us as we could get unique and one of a kind item and help the local budding talents too 🙂 Wish they had them here too.. or may be I dont know about them.
OMG SUCH cute stuff and Lily is so nice too!!!
Hahaha Elle I know, lucky I had just eaten before I went to see Demo Soap – I probably would have stolen a “cupcake” 😛
MISO CUTE ahhhh *dies*
Rom’s sister is pregnant with a girl and I so want to stop by Bamboo Lily to pick up something for the little girl. 🙂
look at all the goodies…I love how the red dress WITH POCKETS (SOLD) fits you. 🙂
And before I read the text the soap made me soo hungry. :d
Don’t they? People are so super talented, it’s crazy! Thank you, they had a plum one which I loved but they didn’t have my size! But I really love it too 🙂
Thanks Katherine!! Yes for sure I will take close up pictures. This is all from last night so I didn’t have a chance to take pictures of my actual purchases 😛
Thanks Annie! Yes we’re pretty lucky to have a lot of stuff always going on in Toronto 🙂
The soaps look amazing, almost good enough to eat! Love the red dress on you too.
The soaps look amazing, almost good enough to eat! Love the red dress on you too.
The soaps look amazing, almost good enough to eat! Love the red dress on you too.
The soaps look amazing, almost good enough to eat! Love the red dress on you too.
The soaps look amazing, almost good enough to eat! Love the red dress on you too.
Loving the red dress – i love pockets with dresses and the USED purse is so unique. Do you have a close up of what you purchased? Also that last pic of “miso cute” is just too cute!!
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I really like that red dress on you! It must be so nice to get to go to all these cool events:)