In the age of virtual everything, Don Taylor uses his hands to keep books alive that were written hundreds of years ago. Torontoist visited Taylor's studio on John Street, where he reinvigorates aging texts and creates stunning new bindings that are works of art in their own right.......

Any sweetheart worth his or her weight in Godiva's will tell you that all they really want for Valentine's Day is something from the heart, made by hand. Lovely and true. But did said sweetie specify whose heart? Whose hands? Unromantic as it seems, we believe it's perfectly acceptable to outsource your labours of love. Why spend hours wrestling with hot glue and lace when someone else can do it for you—and better? This......

If you are saddened by your procrastination that cost you Richard Hawley and Jose Gonzalez tickets this week, you can direct your attention to the eclectic choice of shows as a mild substitute. It does, however, appear as if local label Arts and Crafts have successfully cornered the market on this week's moderately sized shows (read: tickets that cost no more than $35). Tuesday you can catch Jason Collett with a surprise guest at the......

Indie popsters Stars will be shooting a new video in Toronto tomorrow and Thursday and they want you to be in it. If you missed the Joel Plaskett shoot we told you about earlier this year, you've got another shot at your 15 minutes of fame (or at least becoming known among your acquaintances as "the one who was in a music video"). Aspiring extras should send photos and contact info to extras@blinkpictures.com for......

Last night, one of Torontoist’s adolescent fantasies came true … no, not that one…we finally saw synth pop group The Spoons in concert! After a few technical glitches onstage at the Parkdale Arts and Crafts Festival, they launched into their 1984 hit, “Tell No Lies,” a song that is almost painful to mention without blurting, “Dit dit ditditdit DIT!” The thirtysomething crowd’s inner tweens sang along, and some sang out loud to their young......

Queen West West hosts the Parkdale Arts and Crafts Festival this weekend, July 14 and 15 from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. daily. Organized by the Parkdale/Liberty Economic Development Corporation (PLEDC), the festival is intended to "promote and celebrate the diversity of arts and culture in Parkdale." We're mostly going for the beer garden and knitted finger puppets. If toothpick bird feeders and resin jewelry aren't your thing, there is live music going on......

"Do you trust your friends? Would you let them redecorate your apartment, or do your homework for you? Would you let them buy your groceries? Would you leave them in charge of your kids? And if you did, what would they change?" So reads the beginning of the liner notes from Do You Trust Your Friends?, the album of remixes and reimaginings of songs from Stars' Set Yourself On Fire, now out on Arts &......

The West End has its share of arts events in the upcoming months but what’s happening in the East? The Riverdale Art Walk will feature art from over 100 artists on June 2 and 3 in galleries, shops and parks of the Riverdale and Leslieville areas. This juried arts exhibition is organized by the Artists’ Network of Riverdale along with businesses, friends and neighbours of the local community. Get involved with the event by volunteering......

Most people are probably jealous of Feist. As a globe-trotting artist she's had the chance to play shows around the world, both as a solo-artist and with Broken Social Scene, not to mention the time she has spent living and recording in France. But as her third album highlights, now out on Arts & Crafts, all of this travel has come at a high price. The Reminder shows the lonely life of the internationally popular......

Often considered one of Toronto's best sex stores, Come As You Are (701 Queen St. W) is throwing a 10th Anniversary Party on Thursday night. The worker owned and operated store will celebrate ten glorious years with prizes, "thank you gifts," a toonie bin, prizes and erotic pastries (we're hoping for breast cookies and penis eclairs). The bash will be taking place from 6-9pm and is the first of many free events the store is......

It's no wonder why Broken Social Scene are taking a "significant break" right now, aside from appearing at various festivals. It seems that all of the 1233 band members are busy working on their own projects at the moment, including lead guitarist Andrew Whiteman. On February 6th, Whiteman and bandmates are set to release Apostle of Hustle's sophomore album National Anthem of Nowhere on the Arts & Crafts label. To celebrate, the band will......

Cute sign on The Ghost is Dancing's merch table. Not pictured: delicious cupcakes. A fun time was had by all at Torontoist's Back to School party on Thursday night: great bands, great people, great prizes (courtesy of Arts & Crafts, Penguin, CBC Radio 3, and many others). Thankfully, the lovely photojunkie was in attendance and got some candids of the fine folk at the party. And if you missed this one, no worries; we'll......

This Torontoist was pouting last week when she couldn't find out how to get tickets to the Phoenix show Friday night at Mod Club. After futile searches and thankless queries to Ticketmaster all hope was gone. But at the eleventh hour everything changed: an email-invite from Arts & Crafts suddenly arose from the ashes. The publicized Phoenix gig was actually a special for-those-who-know showcase event—the tickets were so hard to find, you see, because......

Back To School* Cheat Sheet: Thursday, September 21st @ The Tranzac (292 Brunswick Ave.) Doors at 9pm ▪ $5 cover ▪ 19+** Featuring: Dollarama ▪ Idiots! The Ghost is Dancing ▪ DJ Wes Allen Summer is all but done. The sun's gone into hiding. Sure, the Film Festival is going strong, but when Brad Pitt leaves, what's left? Evenings of studying, or, worse, working, reminiscing about how much you miss studying? Another long, depressing......

Austin's American Analog Set have been turning out gorgeously hushed and hypnotic drone pop for a decade now, but with their latest album Set Free, they've now got a local connection - it's been released in North America by Toronto's own Arts & Crafts label. AmAnSet found themselves homeless when Tiger Style went out of business following the release of their 2003 album Promise Of Love, but that timing was fortuitous as frontman Andrew Kenny......

Watching The Most Serene Republic this summer was like watching a wino eat grapes - it might make sense in time, but not quite yet (thank-you to Mitch Hedberg). That is to say, Most Annoying Republic was the Arts&Crafts buzz band that never really buzzed outside Toronto, or even in Toronto depending on who you read. From a broader perspective, they were A&C's first real disappointment, and first real reason to be disappointed in the......

Either the Tangiers all own a copy of Flowers of Evil, or they're fans of And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead...or they like the idea of a new Toronto label. Whatever was behind the decision, they've announced their new album, The Family Myth, will be release on Baudelaire, soon-to-be Toronto's newest record label. Distributed by Outside Music, the Tangiers will be releasing their third record, and first for the Baudelaire label,......

Broken Social Scene to the rescue! Tickets went on sale TODAY at 10 a.m. for Toronto's favourite stars and sons taking on Toronto's favourite charity. Arts & Crafts recording scenesters Broken Social Scene will perform later this month in support of the Asia Earthquake and Tsunami relief efforts. The concert takes place Tuesday, January 25th, at Lee's. Tickets for the Band Aid type affair are $30, with every last bit of bling collected going to......