They’re not just gabbing on the phone here, oh no. Joyce Lo and Carlo Colacci, managers of The Drake Hotel General Store, are checking to see if the courtesy phone connecting the new Rosedale shop to the Queen West reservation desk is in fact working.
Yes, Queen West hipness has moved to the swanky Yonge Street strip in Rosedale, in this, the second location of the popular downtown emporium of kitsch.
It does seem like an unlikely location given the surrounding shops are more swish than hip – as the smattering of high-end antique and decor establishments on the street will attest.
But the shop has some higher-end exclusive merch that’ll appeal to the Rosedale set, like the Pendleton wool blankets from the Chief Joseph collection. This bronze-coated piggy bank, $320, was from the mould of an actual piggy corpse. But that semi-creepy, semi-cool factor is part of the tude that’s made the General Store such a success.
Novelty items in store range from locally made skincare products for men and one-off retro elements (like the Charlie’s Angels board game, for one) to Mattel’s Barbie version of Alfred Hitchcock’s heroine in The Birds – there’s that creepy-coolness again.
The interior has that general store feel crossed with a Canadiana cabin vibe, thanks the salvaged wood flooring and fixturing.
SheShops just loves the little tchotckas in the cubby holes.
And if you really like shopping local and want a different hostess gift or something fun to do at the next dinner party, be sure to pick up Gravitas, the game developed by Summerhill resident Alan Gratias.
1011 Yonge St., 416-966-0553 http://www.thedrakehotel.ca
Tags: Gifts, Novelty Items, Retro, Yonge Street