“Following on the heels of their fifth successful “Interim” pop-up shop this past February, the collective known as The Art of Reuse, have collaborated with Community 54 to present “The Intramural Collection.” The collection draws inspiration from the “Ivy” look which happens to be the coinciding theme for their next thrift boutique, opening this summer in San Francisco, California.
Each snapback features University/College years; freshman, sophomore, junior and senior, embroidered onto the front panel. Hats are limited to 100 in the world, with half of them dropping April 13th, 2012 (6-10pm) at Community 54 in Toronto (1275 Queen Street West, Toronto.) retailing at $60. The other half being released late Spring at the “Lower East Side” location in New York City.”
Community 54 is a place like no other. Located in Parkdale at 1275 Queen St. West, it’s not the typical shop you would stumble upon during your downtown rounds. However, it’s worth going the distance, one of those places you`ll be begging your friends to check out. When you first enter, your eyes shift directly to the arcade games, the artwork displayed on the walls, and as you go deeper into the store; the vintage sewing machine, the old board games, the button ups and you just don’t know what to call this place…possibly your new favourite shop?
Of course, before any boutique labels are thrown, Community 54 is first and foremost a creative space, going beyond the product and presenting a lifestyle. The shop isn’t just there to offer its contents of wonderfully picked vintage items from snapbacks to Polo shirts, but it offers itself as a space for designers, artists and other curators of the city to connect and create. You can catch some live art on Saturdays and other upcoming events featured on their site, or simply walk in and chat with the man who makes it all happen, store owner Daymon Green.
What makes things more interesting is the store’s collaboration with ThinkContra, an online-based lifestyle magazine whose workspace is within the shop. Sharing similar aesthetics in fashion, branding and art in general, it’s a match made in heaven. This was translated at the Toronto store launch in December where they worked together and hosted a meet and greet for fans of Rich Hil, who then performed at Wrongbar later on. Here are a few words from that night with ThinkContra’s Editor-in-Chief, Trung Hoang speaking about the collaboration and Community 54’s Founding Partner, Daymon Green speaking on the shop coming from U.S to Canada.
Make sure to check out the space and experience it for yourself.
On October 2nd, 2011, the city of Toronto came alive to celebrate one its biggest events, Nuit Blanche. But then again, most of you probably already knew this. In the midst of all the excitement, creativity and celebration there was one installation that particularly caught my eye because quite literally it brought a piece of Vancouver to Toronto. On October 2nd, 2011 F As In Frank a vintage company out of Vancouver opened its first boutique here in Toronto at 418 Queen St. W. In a time where the words “thrift” and “vintage” are so commonly interchanged it was refreshing to see a store that not only understood its market but dared to raise the bar.
Born and raised in Ontario, Jesse and Drew Heifetz grew up in an environment heavily inspired by vintage clothing. Their father, David Heifetz, was a strong influence, having been involved in the vintage clothing business himself since 1969…With memories of jumping off rafters into giant piles of vintage Levi’s as children, the two have been surrounded by vintage clothing their whole lives. They have developed their family orientated business right from the heart.
Their experience with the world of vintage clothing is evident from the moment you walk in, from ole-school snap backs, throw-back wind breakers, to my favourite, their phenomenal collection of vintage glasses (Christian Dior, Cazal…) there’s no denying that these guys are back in a big way. And the icing on the cake is that they also offer online shopping!
Freshly.Educated.Men 