Upside of...Painting.

So if you haven't heard yet, we're moving! The new shop will be open at 269 Queen St. East as of Saturday, June 6. Of course there's a lot of prep work that goes into a new location and painting is one of them. Yup. We spent the day painting and boy does paintin' suck. White on white is especially tricky though apparently there's this nifty blue tint that Ace Hardware makes that you add to the paint and then after 24 hours disappears to leave a pure white paint job.  Wish we would have known, of course teaches us that planning before painting is a very smart thing. But before we walked into the hardware store to buy whatever paint we came across, we thought we might try out a product we had heard about a lil' while ago, Boomerang Recycled Paint. Made from mixing unused old domestic paint and for a measly $14.99 a can, how could we go wrong! So we stopped in our local Salvation Army and purchase two cans and now that we've done the dead are quite happy with the colour we chose. We won't spoil it, you'll have to come see yourself. Tomorrow, more painting(ugh!) and some cleaning(double ugh!) But when the job's all done, we will be two very happy folk.

M&A

WARDOBE SALE THIS SATURDAY!! ALSO LAST SATURDAY AT 51C BLAKE

This Saturday May 23rd, half of UpsideDive will be attending the CAFTCAD Movie Wardrobe Sale held at 225 Commissioners St., Toronto, ON (south entry gates after Saulter St.) from 9-5pm. Sure to be a blast, the sale offers many vendors selling vintage and contemporary clothing/garments (some of which have been included in film and television), as well as a few food vendors. There is a $3 entry fee for non-members -with members, seniors, and children admittance is free. This is a cash only event so be sure to bring some moula as there will be much to catch the eye. For more info on CAFTCAD (CANADIAN ALLIANCE OF FILM & TELEVISION COSTUME ARTS & DESIGN), check out their blog: caftcad.blogspot.com

SHOP ALERT! OPEN SATURDAY THE 23RD FROM 11-5pm. Any of you wishing to visit the showroom before our move to the new retail space, can stop by this Saturday between 11-5pm to say goodbye to 51C Blake st, and buy a few items while the taxes are still on us.

A quick update to say the new shop on Queen E. is under way and we hope to be open June 6th (details to follow).

So however you spend your weekend, we hope it is sunny and full of joy.

Much gratitude,

Mike & Ang

Move On Up!

Sooo, we're moving! Yes'm. As of June 1 our new retail space will be located at 269 Queen St. East. And oh-boy are we excited! In the meantime we have loads of things to get done. One of which is a sale. Yup Saturday, May 16 from 10-5pm and Sunday, May 17 from 10-3pm we're having a super clear out cash only sale. Racks of clothing with nothing over $5. Tons of jewelery $2-5 plus quantity discounts. Shelves of decor at rock bottom prices. We'll also have online sales going until the end of the month, which means tons of fresh new goods on the site as of June 1. So grab what goodies you can while they last, stop on by and say goodbye to the good ol' 51C.

Man, the rest of the month is gonna be a whirlwind.

xo

Mike&Ang

UpsideDive at The Clothing Show, round 2!

Once again UpsideDive will be at The Clothing Show in booth #652. The show runs Friday, May 1 - Sunday, May 3, more details on location and hours here.

The UpsideDive showroom will be closed from Thursday, April 30 - Monday, May 4, in prep and tear down for the show. Of course we'll still be checking emails/phone messages and will respond to your questions and inquiries in a flash.

Also we have two tickets to give away to the show, which we'll give to the first person to stop by the showroom before Thursday, April 30, and tell us our booth number.

We've got loads and loads of new spring attire coming with us to the show, so please do come by and say hello.

Fingers crossed that it'll be a nice and sunny weekend!

Mike&Ang

UpsideDive

Bang for your Buck!

So. During my regular peeking about etsy, I came across this vintage seller, Reruns, who has incredibly reasonable prices on some great pieces(I posted a dress of her's in the last post.) Now mind you some are a tad bland, some are cute/basic and some are just waiting to be altered into something awe-mazing. I loved this gathered bust dress from Balenciaga's S2009 collection, a piece contructed so differently and yet can be so wearable. This is what makes me dream in fashion. Now Reruns has a dress that has a tinge of similarity at a minute fraction of the cost, 10 bucks to be exact. Yes, it's actually a black dress and not a typical spring pastel/bright. But on a night out you can never go wrong with a LilBD. So stop your tsk-ing and take a look-see. First crop it into a mini, if needed slim out the back and tighten the neckline. For $10 what have you got to lose?



















Ultimately the dress is not supposed to look exactly or even close to the Balenciaga one, otherwise they wouldn't be special on their own terms.

Some other note worthy pieces from Reruns' selections, the Suede Lace Ups, Hot Leather Skirt, '50s/'60s Gorgeous Dress, '80s sequin Dress, and the Black Pant Jumper which would be slick cut into shorts.

xo
mike.

UpsideDive's 5 Hot Topics!

The buzz word is that things are warming up to spring and we can't get these 5 things shake outta our heads.

1) Sewing Classes.

That's right kids, if this is a year to learn a skill it's sewing machine 101. Think of all the things you could do if you only knew how to sew! Alterations, upholstery, birthday gifts! Making your own clothes, that fit you to a T. Art projects, accessories, mending! Honestly my mind goes wild! The workroom run the lovely Karyn, is a great lil' sewing shop here in Toronto. Both Ang and I have taken a one day course and we're both pretty hooked. The great thing is that Karyn offers a wide variety of classes, check the schedule often because they do switch up. 

I also recently picked up an amazing book from 1972 called "Designing in Stitching and Applique" by Nancy Belfer.

Quite amazing the work her and her contemporaries produced and in many forms. Wall hangings, textiles, and conceptual pieces all with a mid century abstract art theme but in very organic '70s materials and colour choices.

So in looking around I few found some artists/designers/crafters where sewing is an integral part to their work.  APPLIQUE designed by jane makes these awesome brooches in floral and starburst patterns. I came across this one armchair on Fiber Art Furniture and thought it mimicked a lot of the new colours in interiors today. I think i've posted about Snaggs before, but her love for '60s-'70s pop culture, especially Peter Max illustrations keeps me coming back. Also just a quick mention of the awesome Mr. Grant Heaps who makes amazing works comprised of quilting, who this last month was a part of the Radiant Dark show at Made. Not a quilt, but just as time-consuming, his piece can be seen here and here. Quite a magnificent piece, that nods to traditional style craft, pushing it into a modern market.

2) Spring frocks.

Form fitting, architectual and in bold, bright colours. And I know, I know it's hard, but can we forget being too body concious and just have a lil' fun.

Red Wiggle Dress - Erstwhilestyle, Grey Business Suit Dress - adVintagous

, Blue Sexy Sweater Dress - Reruns , Coral Suede Dress - NodtoModvintage , Red Collared Dress - NinthAvenueVintage

Next week UpsideDive has a tonne of new spring frocks going up daily be sure to check back then.

3) Mixed Material Furniture.

This piece on Lushpad says it all. Wood & metal & lux finishes. Now mind you not for every piece of furniture, and not the central focus, but definitely one quiet piece off to the right of the room that catches your eye and smoothes things out quite nicely.

4) Independent Media.

What better a time to read our independent media outlets. Leave Vogue and Esquire to the doctor's office. Zines, blogs, small press mags need all the support they can get. Otherwise if you blink you might miss' em. Worn Fashion Journal and N.E.E.T Magazine are two top picks for those into smashin' fashion. And of course Broken Pencil is a great source for independent press.

5) Vegan French Toast.

Pulp Kitchen makes this to-die-for almond paste french toast, and once again I can't stop thinking about it. Currently I'm searching for a similar recipe, do you happen to have any?

xomike.

A View from the Showroom...February

 

we've changed up the showroom once again. if you haven't been by lately, we're rocking a scandanavian winter wonderland vibe. not just kitsch, check out some of our lovely contemprorary pieces for a modern world.

-walnut dining suite, with highback laddered chairs/tangerine tweed seating $550

-assorted pyrex mixing bowls, metal enamel bowls/fondue pots/canister sets, Iittala-style glassware and candle holders

-aubrey beardsley print $100

-regency teak and brass credenza $225

-assorted metal letters $20 ea.

-oak and chrome office cabinets (stacklable) $250 ea.

-space heaters, orange or beige $30 ea.

-khaki vinyl occasioanl chairs $125 ea.

green sofa daybed $375

-bamboo-shaped chromes side tables $150 ea.

-jute swag lighting $125

-assorted rugs for sale

-new boots and shoes to the boudoir... dress up anyone

and of course, a large selection of other goods whether for your living spaces or your closet,  are available. stop by, have some coffee or tea, and peruse.