Royal LePage Estate Realty has won the Shelter Award for Office of the Year from the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation, the largest public foundation in Canada dedicated to funding women’s shelters and violence prevention programs.
Royal LePage Estate Realty owners Jennifer and Keith Burton were honoured to receive the award at the annual Royal LePage celebration, which recognized the local Beach office raising significant amounts of money for the local Red Door Family Shelter and the Scarborough Women’s Centre.
“We’re so privileged to be recognized for the work we do to support community services where we work and live, to help put domestic abuse out of commission”, said Jennifer Burton in a release.
The Shelter Award is presented annually in each province to agents and offices that have made an outstanding or extraordinary contribution to helping women and children who have experienced abuse.
Through the foundation, offices and agents have raised more than $17 million to date, which is donated in their local communities. Royal LePage covers all administrative costs, so 100 per cent of money raised goes directly to the cause. Find out more about the foundation at royallepage.ca/shelter.
Christina Kostoff is getting ready for opening night at Yellow House Gallery, her new gallery and framing shop on Kingston Road.
Kostoff graduated from Ontario College of Art and Design in 2009, after studying sculpture and installation art. She worked at a top custom framing and restoration shop in Toronto before moving on to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where she earned a masters in fine arts. Her work at the framing shop covered some high-profile and difficult jobs, including a contract with Stephen Bulger Gallery and some very large Edward Burtynsky prints.
In Chicago, Kostoff curated shows and screenings, developing a passion for curating. When she returned to Toronto, she decided to start a space to showcase local and regional artists with a contemporary practice.
Yellow House Gallery’s name is inspired by the studio shared by Vincent Van Gogh, Paul Gaugin and others in Arles, France. Van Gogh immortalized the studio in a painting of the same name.
Yellow House accepts submissions from artists working in all media, with an emphasis on innovative exploration of form, material and subject matter. Kostoff also offers custom framing and art sales.
There will be a grand opening celebration on Thursday, May 1, from 4 to 9:30 p.m. Artists participating in the inaugural Affinities and Divergences exhibition include Jacques Albert, Melissa Espina, Erika James, Olenka Kleban, Eva Lewarne, Abbas Rizvi and Cortney Stephenson.
The gallery is at 921 Kingston Rd., and online at yellowhousegallery.ca or facebook.com/yellowhousegallery.
Kew Beach Veterinary Hospital received third place from the American Animal Hospital Association in its 2014 AAHA-accredited practice of the year awards.
A team from the hospital travelled to Nashville, Tennessee to receive the award, which recognizes the “outstanding achievements of accredited veterinary practice teams, along with celebrating the ongoing advancements in veterinary medicine,” according to the AAHA.
The organization accredits more than 3,500 veterinary practices, evaluated on about 900 standards. Criteria for the awards include accreditation score, mission and vision, continuing education and training, and community service. AAHA is the only organization in the US and Canada that accredits animal hospitals based on standards beyond provincial and state regulations.
Beach Business Hub is going virtual.
The Queen Street co-working space will be closing, and owner Martina Rowley said she will miss many things about the space.
However, she said she is also looking forward to the opportunity for growth in the more flexible, boundary-free world of virtual business.
Beach Business Hub will continue monthly networking meetings and business socials. A new venue will be announced soon.
Two monthly seminars – the same as is currently offered, and featuring the same high calibre of speakers – will be presented.
Rowley plans to expand her business assistance offerings. She will offer help with administrative and bookkeeping tasks, organizational help, facilitation of meetings, creative content and writing services.
The physical office will likely close at the end of June. A party to celebrate the Hub’s time at 2181 Queen St. E. is in the works, and will be announced on beachbusinesshub.ca. Contact Rowley at 647-748-1311.
Dr. Robert ‘Pepper’ Jones has just opened up a new veterinary clinic at the corner of Main Street and Gerrard Street East.
The Main Street Veterinary Clinic is Dr. Jones’ attempt to build a less corporate and more personal veterinary practice, after years at Birchmount Animal Hospital. He’s modelled the office, right down to the soon-to-be-completed brightly-coloured paint job after his upbringing in Newfoundland.
Dr. Jones said he will be open on weekdays, but will be closed on weekends, as he doesn’t want the small scale of the practice to keep him from spending time with his children.
There are a few things that set the clinic apart. First is Dr. Jones’ training in pet surgery. Because he offers surgery as part of his regular practice, pet owners can avoid paying specialist rates, which can be double – or more – the standard cost of vet services.
Main Street will also offer free day boarding for animals whose owners can’t make it during regular business hours, as long as arrangements are made ahead of time.
Main Street Veterinary Clinic, 170 Main St., is open from 7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Find out more at mainstvc.ca, facebook.com/mstvc or by calling 647-350-6246. Dr. Jones tweets @dr_robjones.
SleepBelt, designed by Danforth and Coxwell-area resident Hayley Mullins, has won third place in the Momprenuer Award of Excellence. The Mompreneur awards handed out more than $30,000 in business services to the winners.
SleepBelt is a hands-free support system designed for babies up to three months of age, and can be used on babies as small as 1,200 g.
Mullins, along with her sister Ashley Wade, have met with some significant success since launching the product last year. Mullins is the mother of a two year-old, with a baby due this summer, while Wade has four children, ages three to 13.
To date, three hospitals are using the made-in-Toronto product, which will be featured in an upcoming book on sleep and the breastfeeding family. It was given away in gift packs at the 2013 Emmy Awards, and the 2014 Oscars and Golden Globes. Lactation experts, nurses, midwives, doulas, sleep consultants and parenting experts have all given SleepBelt positive feedback.
The belt keeps babies in their most natural position – knees tucked, or ‘froggy’ style – while also enabling easy transfer from chest to crib.
For more on SleepBelt, visit sleepbelt.ca or facebook.com/sleepbelt.
Bikram Yoga Beaches held a grand re-opening on March 17, to celebrate an extensive renovation to the hot yoga studio.
Owner Dana Dineen wrote that the improvements cover everything from updated change rooms, to new decor, and a seamless antibacterial yoga room floor.
Former clients are invited to bring a friend along to take advantage of a special offer: an introductory 30 days for two, for the price of one.
Bikram Yoga Beaches is at 1911 Queen St. E., just east of Woodbine. Find out more at bikramyogatoronto.com or call 416-686-2584.
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