My new guilty pleasure ...

I LOVE THIS SITE! Anyone who truly knows me, knows that I have a couple vices 1. Stationery & 2. Dresses ... and does this site have dresses!

Mod Cloth offers vintage and indie clothing, but so much more. They sell retro and mod clothes, cute tops and dresses for every taste and budget!

My must-have dress is sold-out (below - look at the back), however they offer a feature called "request a size". If they get new inventory, they will notify you. There is something for everyone on this site.


One piece of advice, buy early ... the FANTASTIC finds go fast!

P.S. Canadians - Shipping prices are steep, so combine orders so that you don't cringe quite as much!

Until next time -

The Gift Geek

Toronto's One of a Kind Show continues to thrill

I attended the Spring One of a Kind Show yesterday and found a few vendors that thrilled me:

Here are some of my favourites -

I fell in love with Montreal based company Cokluch. They create leather goods from recycled leather. I especially like their hooded bomber style jacket (back view shown). I have pondered buying it for two days!


Designer Sonja den Elzen caught the eyes of my friend Stephanie. Sonja's line Thieves is highly impressive. Her store is at 1156 Queen Street West. The dress Steph picked up looks stunning on her.

The Urban Quilt Company has exactly what I am looking for. When my Grandpa passed away, I saved all of his clothes with hopes of having a couple lap quilts made. These gals can do just that.
Check out their website to view some of their progressive quilt designs.

Lastly, my favourite booth at the OOAK show is TresNormale. These silk screened shirts feature interesting pictures of some of Toronto's best known landmarks, such as the CN Tower, The Distillery District, The TTC and Spadina to name a few. I also love that TresNormale silk screens their business cards on fabric, as well as printing their info inside each tshirt. They are comfy and cute. I always get compliments. The only down fall - although the shirts are printed in Canada, they are made in the USA.

Here are a few of the TresNormale designs:


















If you haven't been to the OOAK show, I encourage you to check out their website and attend the next one. There is something for everyone.

Happy gift giving!
the Gift Geek

I have an addiction ... I am crazy about stationary!!!

I am crazy about stationary! I have a bankers box under my bed full of at least 40 different card designs.Thank you, congratulations, just because, blank, Happy Birthday ... Cards for every occasion.

In today's electronic world, I still think a hand written card is the best way to say thank you, cheer someone up or to just let them know that you are thinking of them. Receiving a hand written card always puts a smile on my face.

While a box of cards may not be an appropriate stand alone gift, I do think it is a great add-on to any gift. For example, you may choose to give some blank handmade cards that your friend can use any time or perhaps personalized initial cards which your friends may want to send after

My favourite places to buy greeting cards are Winners and Homesense. For $3-10 you can pick up boxes of greeting cards by Pepperpot, the American Greeting Card Company, the MOMA and many other well known stationary companies.

Just the other day I picked up a box of 30 cards on sale for $6. This was a lucky find. If you are a Winners or Homesense shopper, finding cards to suit your style won't be hard.

I recently stumbled upon Toronto card designer Jennifer Pinsent. While her cards are a bit more expensive than I usually spend ($6-12), Jennifer's collection of cards, "All Things Jenuine" are smart and unique.

Below are a few of Jennifer's FANTASTIC designs.

Happy Gift Giving!
The Gift Geek

Crazy About Cuff links!

I was faced with the question: What do I buy a Carpenter/Student with his own distinct style? My gift giving answer - cuff links of course.

Some of you may think I am crazy, but I assure you, this gift ended up being a hit.

Now a days you can get cuff links to suit anyone's lifestyle.

For my good friends 30th birthday I decided to purchase him cartoonish chainsaw cuff links by Toronto Artist - Hoi ($36).

The cuff links are brass plated. Icons are enamel colour fill on brass. The cuff links feature strong torpedo double swivel backs for ease of use. No nickel contents.

Before finding these at Toronto store Propaganda (also available online at Shopaganda) I searched the web for several other carpentry related cuff links. Here are some of of my favourites:

Saw and Hammer cuff links ($39.95)
Hammer and Nail cuff links ($29.99)
and my all time favourite:
Phillips Head Screw cuff links ($85)

Other fun cuff links that made me smile are:
Alarm Clock Cuff links
Antique Watch Movement Cuff links
Infinity Cuff Links
Three Monkey Cuff Links

Check-out the online store Cuff Daddy for a wide variety of cuff links, including a great selection designed for women.

Happy Gift Giving!
The Gift Geek

I have been told ...

I believe gift giving is an art. It requires thought and sometimes a lot of time and patience. Not only should a gift be appropriate for the event, eg. birthday, hostess gift, it should also say something about who you are and the relationship you have with the gift recipient.

Often my friends and colleagues will ask me for gift giving ideas ... and I take it very seriously. I ask them questions about the person (if I don't already know them) and peruse my Firefox bookmarks to see if anything I have seen in the past will work. Yes, I often search sites just to see what new and unique gifts are out there. Call me a gift geek.

I hope you will enjoy reading my blog and hopefully get some fun ideas that may come in handy in the future. Some may not be completely unique, but definitely proven to be gifts that will be remembered and appreciated

If you are stumped for a gift idea - send me a comment with some details about the recipient and I will let you know if I have any ideas. It is strangely fun for me.

Happy gift giving ...
the Gift Geek