YNOT does Waxed Canvas!

By night I may be in a bike gang, but by day I work with the awesome locally produced cycling bag company YNOT. This week we launched our brand new waxed canvas line, along with this little promo video I shot - which mostly makes me wish summer will never end.

Muttonhead Collective & Toronto Production

Rob Ford's appeal verdict will be released tomorrow at 10:30 am. Who else is nervous with anticipation? (If he gets kicked out, does anyone want to do a mashup Lance Armstrong/Rob Ford ride for kicks?) One thing our fearless leader never seemed to talk about was actual job creation or bringing back manufacturing to Toronto. Production and manufacturing jobs would be super useful to the city. Did you know Toronto was once the 3rd largest apparel manufacturing city in North America? In this city we can't all be marketing account executives, restaurant owners, bankers and real estate lawyers. This city needs a diverse job portfolio. There is also a global market shift that is making overseas production less and less affordable, along with quality control harder and more expensive to manage.

PHOTOS: STEPHEN CROSBY/THE GRID

When politicians fail to be visionary and lead, and they usually do, it's young entrepreneurs that lead the way.  Despite little to no support in regards to manufacturing from the city, Toronto is teaming with talented, productive hands. The Deadly Nightshade's past Style Spins were in celebration of local artisans and fashion and apparel producers. (Did you see us in the Toronto Star or the BBC?). The Deadly Nightshades are included in that category; Cat Essiambre has her own Seafoam Apparel Production Agency, Laura works with YNOT, Irene is the Queen of The Make Den, and Patricia is talented production gun for hire.



The ever talented local Toronto unisex brand Muttonhead Collective was featured in last week's Grid TO. The article is a great read about the surviving production industry around Sterling Road at Landsdown and Bloor. Fittingly, this area was the location for 2012 Toronto Alternative Fashion Week. Muttonhead celebrates modern Canadiana right, through aesthetics and production methods. They are bound for success.

Since she [Meg Sinclair] created Muttonhead as her design thesis collection when she graduated from Ryerson almost three years ago, local production has been her focus. “I’m finding that people care more where it’s made rather than [if] it’s made
from organic cotton,” she says.

Muttonhead Collective is having an amazing end of season sale. Check it out!

Orontas Loves DNS (and it's mutual or something)

Orontas is a rad cycling brand out of Toronto. They love this city, bikes and smart design as much as we do. Naturally we've become Besties. They even partnered up and did these amazing Orontas Kit Saddle Bag with YNOT.



We're one of the few who get to be Orontas Activists, meaning we do rad stuff so they give us product to try out.  They profiled our crew on their website. If you want to know why the Deadly Nightshades are like the Wu-Tang and what is our world takeover plot, you should go mosey on over and read it already. Bonus: photo montages of what we ladies of DNS have been up to these past years.

Thanks Orontas!

xo

So the new Dandyhorse issue is out, and I'm super excited to get my hands on a copy of it this time as it features articles on the fiercest of bambis, fellow Nightshade Irene - as well as one on my bosses at YNOT Tom & Tony! Go Dandyhorse! But while looking on the magazine's site tonight... I stumbled across this video. Which is... well... hilarious (at least to me, maybe not intentionally?). Hard not to be amused when so many Toronto pals are playing ridiculous extras in a game of spin the bottle...

HELLTRACK V!

The 5th edition of HELL TRACK went down earlier this month in the Junction, and I had the chance to do an edit for the event. Check out the mayhem amidst the rain! Fun times Toronto!

NAME THIS BAG & WIN STUFF!

While we may be a bike crew by night*.... by day, Patty and I put in our time over at YNOT Cycle, helping make and design awesome cycling bags & accessories. And right now we're doing a little contest to name the newest addition to the YNOT bag family!

So put in your two cents for mad bragging rights & chance to WIN that lovely unnamed, unreleased, brand spankin' new day bag! Head on over to YNOT for more details!

Also, we're going to be at the Toronto International Bicycle Show this weekend, hanging out with our rad booth neighbours Modrobes & Bike Polo TO. So definitely come by the Better Living Centre at the Ex, and say hey at Booth 190! We'll be way more exciting that any of those awesome trick competitions or free ride demos going on.... promise.

* we are actually a bike crew at all times, not just night-time. Despite our name.

YNOT in Korea!

YNOT in korea!

YNOT CYCLE & STYLE SPIN!

Lately, I've been doing some sewing for the guys over at YNOT Cycle. They're a great little studio in the Junction pumping out some really killer products - everything from backpacks, to messenger bags to pedal straps. I have to say, it's nice to be working somewhere the products are locally produced, and it's stuff I actually ride with, so I feel comfortable saying how awesome they are. YNOT is also awesome for having lots of freezie breaks (heatwave), and because Tom brought in his boxer puppy yesterday (ridiculously adorable).

We're going to be swinging by the studio as one of our last stops on Style Spin tonight, so if you want to get a behind the scenes look there, along with lots of other fantastic design studios in the west end - we leave The Drake Hotel en masse at 7.

Then don't forget to join us back at the Drake Underground for a giant dance party with a photobooth by Hipstamtic, and prizes including Levi's new Commuter Denim line and a FREE BIKE from Linus!

(photos by Nate Mumford. Thanks Nate! come back to toronto...)