Tuesday, 29 November 2011

Tis' the Season to Party!




The city is glowing and buzzing! I was at the Distillery District on the weekend and couldn’t help but notice the massive Christmas tree that they were decorating and the beautiful strings of lights adorning the cobblestone streets. 





The city’s annual event, Cavalcade of Lights, also just took place – stirring up some more of that holiday magic in the city.



At Condobox, our Christmas tree is glowing and we are excited to celebrate the season on December the 15th at the Parlor Room with exciting cocktails, hors d'oeurves and a silent auction benefiting the: 

Open Box Foundation.
                                         



The Open Box Foundation is our way of giving back and supporting our community. By working with clients to refurnish and design their homes, we noticed that many could not decide what to do with their older, yet barely used,  furniture. It seemed a hassle to post it online or transport the donation. Joanna, the CEO and Founder of Condobox found an opportunity to help them and to help our community and this gave rise to our Open Box Foundation.

The process best described would be when we go to our clients homes to set up their new furnishings we then take their old furniture and send it to our storage facility. This furniture is then donated, along with our interior design services and the cost of delivery and transportation, to those people we are working with through Toronto Community Housing. Our clients, who donated their furniture, then receive a credit to our showroom - which they can use towards their new pieces of furniture.

It's a great way for us all to help each other.

Please RSVP to info@condobox.ca if  you are interested in joining us on December 15th and finding out more about our charity. 


Happy holidays everyone! 



Monday, 14 November 2011

Retreat | finding warmth in furniture

The leaves are dropping from the trees, the air is getting brisk, and I am finding myself spending more and more time indoors. Cultivating warmth is important to me during this time of year. I drink more tea, wear heavier clothes, eat more soup – and I tend to become rather nostalgic. I grew up in the country and like to remember the charm and simplicity it has to offer – the mountains of untouched, soft snow, rosy cheeks, and log cabins.

I remember the countryside for its rustic nature, its simplicity, and its charm.

Furniture and interior spaces can also stoke up these feelings. In our showroom at the moment, we have some very unique side-tables. Made primarily of wood and just like trees found in nature, each piece is slightly different and special. They have an aura of warmth and charm.

The sidetable reminds me of a beautiful tree trunk - yet the polished finish and the rhythmic crevices add sophistication to its rustic nature.



This piece has a really lovely lightness to it.



The wood grain is very soft and polished. It has a humble presence.



I love the little bow-tie images on the top of this sidetable. To me, they look like little butterflies! The grain of this wood is also very interesting - the play with light and dark coloring makes it appear very fluid.






Thursday, 3 November 2011

We Care


We care about our Community. We care about our Earth.
 We strive for sustainability at Condobox.



Working with and supporting our community.

We care about our community. Last week, Devon and I (Bronwyn) attended the Paradigm Shift Project’s (PSP) fundraiser (http://www.theparadigmshiftproject.org). We donated a $700.00 package composed of 3 hours of interior design work + a $300 gift certificate for our showroom. The PSP is a really amazing organization that creates documentary films about global issues. These films create awareness as well as give local non-profits educational and fundraising tools to reach new donors. At the fundraiser, Devon and I had the opportunity to meet the Executive Director of the PSP and filmmaker, Rebecca Sweetman. She was very inspiring. It was so nice to be able to support such a wonderful organization.

We are also excited to be donating to the United Way’s Rouge fundraiser (www.unitedwaytoronto.com/rouge) and The Young People’s Theatre Hullabaloo fundraiser (http://youngpeoplestheatre.ca). Come out and support these great organizations with us!


                         But did you hear…. Condobox also has its own CharityOpen Box.
We are very excited to launch our Open Box charity!





Here’s how it works:
From our customers, we purchase new and gently used furniture and give them CX dollars in return. We then donate the furniture, interior design time, and the cost of delivery to those in need. It’s a really amazing way to give back and to recycle furniture.

If you would like to donate furniture or cash to our foundation – please let us know.


Not only do we support our community and work with local artisans, but we order 80% of our products from high-quality Canadian companies. Currently, in our showroom, we have som eunique and environmentally sustainable pieces such as the Eco-Feu fireplace that burns clean ethanol fuel and a beautiful recycled barnwood table (see pictures below).