Champagne Party the Toast and Talk of the Town
Welcome to the glorious height of Canadian spring. What better time to celebrate one of Canada's top homegrown lifestyle brands?
With its stately new flagship freshly open on Yorkville Avenue, design destination Teatro Verde has never been more ready for its close up. With the cherry blossoms in full bloom, India Hicks, designer, model and TV host of "Top Design" touched down in Toronto for the launch of Teatro Verde. This beloved shop is a blistering success story, the brainchild of design impresario Shawn Gibson and talented floral designer Michael Pellegrino. The signature serif font remains the same as when co-founders Gibson and Pellegrino founded the store in Hazelton Lanes in the late 90s.
I sat down with Hicks this week in the brand new Teatro Verde space. Positively effusive about the new flagship, she remarks, "Teatro Verde is a perfect example of global influence and ingenuity in design. It's amazing how Michael and Shawn have brought together all their disparate travels into this one stunning environment. That is the direction design is going in. I think the next generation of designers is going to be heavily influenced by extensive travel and perspective."
Hicks has always been inspired by the horticultural treasury of specimens found on islands. A British royal the second cousin and goddaughter of Prince Charles she grew up in London and spent time at the family estate in Ireland and the Bahamian vacation home built by her father, legendary interior decorator David Hicks. The effervescent Hicks, a TV host, author, entrepreneur, hotelier and mother of four, is known for her effortless island style, making a sarong and Havaianas seem like the most natural day wear fit for royalty. She's a touchstone for up-and-coming designers having worked on the show Top Design. She muses with delight, "It was amazing to see how many young designers were referencing my father's work on the show. Moreover, successful designers like Jonathan Addler and Tory Burch are all heavily influenced by him."
Clearly a Type A entrepreneur, Hicks is comfortable juggling numerous projects at once, keeping her business at the forefront of economic and environmental responsiveness. She says with regal panache, "We try to be very aware of our environment and keep the integrity alive, as we're designing a collection based on a notion as romantic as Island Living. You'll see softer elements at play - wood, paper, straw." She continues, "We were very mindful with my two collections for Crabtree & Evelyn, we endeavoured to keep the packaging to a minimum. Wherever packaging was needed we used something either reusable or recyclable. The island bath salts come in a lovely glass container and when I finish using the salts, I'll reuse the container as a salad bowl at dinner parties."
After travelling to Egypt and Brazil last summer, she introduced Island Night, her second fragrance collection for Crabtree & Evelyn. She says of the package design and the pure formulations, "It's no longer an option but a responsibly of the design community to create beautiful objects made of readily renewable resources." For Hicks, it's all about ethical luxury through the use of sustainable materials and practices.
Be sure to stop by the new Teatro Verde, housed in the restored historic Georgian facade of the original Mount Sinai Hospital. There's more than 9,000 square feet of furniture and items on two floors, curated with a theatrical sensibility that knows no bounds. Guests at Thursday night's opening party included Australian food stylist and cookbook phenom Donna Hay, Toronto social royalty Hilary and Galen Weston, Vision Co's Jordan and Nicole Bitove, Queer Eye Carson Kressley, Martine and founders of the eponymous niche Paris publishing house. Teatro Verde stocks the gorgeous coffee-table books, as well as Assouline candles with sensuous scents of wood and leather. The gorgeous perfume alcove is a must-see. And the stationary "department", the best in the city. Prosper Assouline
Teatro Verde
100 Yorkville
Toronto, Ontario
1.888.4.TEATRO
By Si Si Penaloza, Editorial Director, WOMAN.ca
 Si Si Penaloza | |
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Your friend Michelle did an outstanding job, she deserves a huge magnum of Veuve!
I love your new Tom Dixon piece; I hear the Spoke was hopping that night.
x
SP