Hey Toronto! I’m At the Bazaar of the Bizarre!

Keepin it weird at the Bazaar of the Bizarre in Toronto – come visit me at the Pia Bouman School of Ballet just off Queen near Dufferin! ☠💣💥👯

Catch me Sunday Toronto, at the Bazaar of the Bizarre!

Last minute booking for Saturday – I’m honoured to be joining all the amazing makers at Toronto’s Bazaar of the Bizarre! Come check it out! I’ve got lots of new goodies in store!

Upcoming October Show Dates

Catch me all month long at these awesome events! There’ll be lots of new stuff to check out, as well as great deals to be had, so don’t miss out!

The Indelible Ink of Ben Tour

One of my favourite mediums in art is the simplicity of pen and ink and the limitless creativity that they can unleash. Hailing from Toronto, Ben Tour’s gorgeous pen and ink illustrations are a perfect example of how one can manipulate these simple tools in order to create emotion in truly dramatic pieces of art. His paintings and illustrations have been featured in such popular publications such as Playboy, Colour, and Juxtapoz and has also showcased his incredible talent in galleries across Canada and the U.S. – and lest I forget that he’s indulged big name clients like Absolut, Burton, Nike Snowboarding, BMW and Lifetime Collective with his amazing work. Currently residing in Vancouver, he’s come a long way from his humble beginnings as a Sheridan College student and continues to produce stunning work. He’s got a real Ralph Steadman kind of quality. Some of my favourite stuff comes from his sketchbooks – what I wouldn’t do to rifle through some of those over a cup of coffee!

To find out more about Ben Tour, check out his website.

The Dawn of a New Age: Vertical Gardens, Living Walls & Sky Farms

The exponential increase of urban development has choked out many of our green spaces, creating less access to fresh produce for consumption, as well as clean air, forcing us to become more adaptive to our surroundings for sustainability. Many cities worldwide are starting to adopt new ideas in gardening that will change the way we live and breathe by creating vertical gardens, living walls, and sky farms. Since vertical gardens and living walls can be grown on any type of wall structure without the use of soil, and because they can also be grown equally indoors and out, they are increasing in popularity and are beginning to proliferate around the globe. Not only do they look gorgeous and smell fragrant, they also help purify the air naturally.

Patrick Blanc is one of the world’s foremost pioneers in the art of vertical gardening and has developed his own science behind the engineering of his projects. After observing how plants really didn’t need much soil to grow vertically in the wild, he adapted his newly learned techniques into his artistic installations. Using lightweight, low-maintenance materials and vegetation, he has transformed many spaces worldwide.

Here’s a few examples I found on environmentalgraffiti.com of some of the world’s most innovative and coolest looking garden spaces:

Musée du quai Branly in Paris, France

Paris has become a mecca for vertical gardening. This museum is located near the Eiffel Tower and features one of Patrick Blanc’s most famous vertical gardens. This wall measures approximately 200 meters long, and is about 12 meters tall.

Sky Farm, Las Vegas, U.S.A.

This project has been proposed in the City of Las Vegas to create a $200 million sky farm in the city centre. It would become the world’s first 30 story vertical farm, which could bring an estimated $40 million in revenue for the city. Comprised of 30 floors of indoor gardens, with around 100 different types of crops, it would have the potential to feed 72, 000 people every year. Still in the early planning stages, one can only hope that it comes to fruition.

SkyFarm, Toronto, Canada

Toronto is also in the planning stages of a proposed vertical farm called the SkyFarm, which would be built on a mere 1.32 hectares of land in the downtown core and have 58 stories of farming space. It would help feed approximately 35, 000 people a year and would boast 8 million square feet of growing space for crops – producing the same amount as a 420 hectare farm. It is also estimated that it would bring in $23 million in revenue to the city. Here’s hoping everything goes through.

Parabienta Living Wall System, Japan

This garden wall was manufactured and marketed by two Japanese companies. The product they have designed is inexpensive, lightweight, and extremely functional. Running at about $60 a square foot, Parabienta allows for plants to grow vertically and also doubles as a cooling system for the building through the naturally occurring shade that is produced by the plants themselves.

Fondation Cartier, Paris, France

This wall was planted in 1998 and has not been trimmed since. The only maintenance involved with this vertical garden is to have a gardener come by every 2-3 months to remove dead leaves, or to replace dead plants with new ones.

BHV Homme, Paris, France

This popular Parisian department store boasts a 30 meter high vertical garden which includes over 250 species of plants.

Club Med Champs-Elysees, Paris, France

This first-class resort features a breathtaking vertical garden that showcases plants from five different continents and is visible from outside. They light it up at night to create an even more beautiful and luxurious feel to the upscale location. Though smaller than the gardens that are mentioned previously, it stands as a work of art on its own and is representative of the magnificence that can be created through this medium.

Pershing Hall Hotel, Paris, France

This vertical garden can be found in the courtyard of the Pershing Hall Hotel in Paris, and makes the most of its small space to create an elaborate garden.

CaixaForum, Madrid, Spain

The CaixaForum is the newest of the museums in Madrid and is bursting with innovation at every turn. One of the walls on the exterior includes a 24 meter high vertical garden, featuring over 15, 000 and more than 250 species.

Siam Paragon Shopping Center & Emporium Bangkok, Bangkok, Thailand

Vertical gardens can be found all over Bangkok, including the Siam Paragon Shopping Center, and the Emporium Bangkok.

ACROS Fukuoka Prefectural International Hall, Japan

The rooftop at the ACROS Fukuoka building is 100, 000 square feet and features 18 stories with 15 stepped terraces that can be climbed by anyone with the strength and perseverance. The purpose of these terraces is to create a sense of calm and a peaceful environment in which to escape the bustle of the busy city. These terraces include waterfalls and small pools to add to the serene environment.

Living Walls, the Netherlands

This building has been transformed into a living, breathing structure thanks to the plants that grow on it’s surface. Instead of growing in soil, they grow inside a thin layer of felt and rock wool that keeps them clinging in place and they are fed with recycled rainwater that is pumped through the material into their roots.

For more on Patrick Blanc and his vertical gardens, visit his website.

KISS Concert @ the Molson Amphitheatre – The Hottest Show on Earth Tour – Sept.10.10

Watching KISS in concert is everything one expects it to be: a pyrotechnic space-age extravaganza of epic proportions. Massive walls of LCD displays blaring a mixed barrage of live and retrospective visuals, towering flames, sparks shooting out of guitars, larger-than-life costumes. Then there are the required stage antics – tongue-wagging, flying over the crowd, being launched high into the air on raised platforms. There’s no lip syncing here – it’s a fucking kick-ass show. The Molson Amphitheatre was packed with people of all ages, families with kids dressed up and ready to rock – first generation KISS fans passing down the torch to their progeny. The KISS army lives on.


Only Simmons and Stanley remain of the original foursome, but they don’t look like they’re going to tire anytime soon. And why should they? They’ve selling out for decades, becoming one of the most popular bands worldwide, as well as having the widest variety of collectible paraphernalia worldwide – they might even be single-handedly responsible for eBay’s success. Their shock and awe theatrics is what made them their fortunes, and what drives the gravy train. So why is it surprising that they always book boring humdrum acts to precede them to contrast against their flash? And why should it be disappointing that their new album Sonic Boom is exclusively available at Wal-Mart and the audience was subjected to Stanley shamelessly plugging it throughout the show? They’re business men as well as artists – you don’t make an omelette this big without breaking a few eggs. Personally, I’m glad they made it this big and this far – they put on one of the most intense shows I’ve ever seen, and I thought I’d seen everything.


The bottom line is that The Hottest Show on Earth indeed lived up to it’s reputation, regardless of the sell-out tactics. They played a mix of old and new material, and a few poignant covers that had everyone rockin’ out all night. Aside from the bullshit security measures on the way in, and the expected exorbitant food, booze, and shwag prices, by the time KISS built up to a massive crescendo of light and sound, signifying an epic finale, the entire crowd was so caught up in the moment, forgiving them momentarily for their capitalistic sins, singing as one – “WE WANNA ROCK AN ROLL ALL NIGHT, AND PARTY EVERY DAY!” Yes indeed, the KISS army lives on.