Bloor West Village’s hipster quotient has gone up a couple notches with the opening of Periwinkle, just east of Runnymede subway station.
In between Runnymede and High Park, the shop isn’t on the bustling part of the Bloor West strip, but one look at the charming building and betcha you’ll be as enchanted as SheShops was when she first saw it.
Owner Cindy Yong launched her concept in November 2009 and to date houses the creations of about 50 local – ie: mostly Toronto – artisans.
Paintings, mosaic wall hangings, clothing and accessories, jewellery galore and other gifty items can be had, all at incredibly reasonable prices.
Many of the artisans represented here don’t have a retail presence save from online Etsy shops, which means you can unearth gems you won’t find anywhere else, very likely by up-and-coming designers.
SheShopsTO’s faves: brass jewellery by Toronto’s Skarce. The “Steam Punk/Vintage” brass vintage chain with Tiger Eye pendant spied at the store on a recent visit for just over $50 has a lovely vintage-y yet rough-around-the-edges look.
The watches by May28th have a Swatch-like vibe to them with a dash more whimsy; the artist, another Toronto local, designs one-of-a-kind clock faces and uses chiffon (as pictured here, $59 for the watch) or colourful elastic bands as wrist bands ($39).
Sushi bunny heads, stained glass, children’s clothing, reworked vintage furniture, candles and soaps, pillows, and lamps round out the roster of available items.
There are also some imported products by local entrepreneurs – they’re not as special as the other creations but they’re different and still worthy of our shopping attention, like the one-off fashions out of Asia for under $50 each.
2137 Bloor St. West
416-551-2553
