Backyard takeover

Tucked among lawns in Toronto's west end, the gardens grow.

Rows of flowers bring colour, scent and nature to Roncesvalles and High Park areas – And
Sarah Nixon is responsible.

Nixon is a 'do-it-yourselfer' in the truest sense of the word: she 'does it herself' so that
others don't have to. Nixon uses front and backyards in her neighbourhood to grow flowers, which she sells to customers.

“When I started doing this 9 years ago, I'd never heard of anyone doing the same thing. It
struck me as an obvious use of space... All these lawns, and empty gardens,” she said.

Obvious or not, she's spun her passion for plants and gardening into a full-time business,
called My Luscious Backyard. The deal works out well for both parties:The homeowners get a
beautiful yard, and Nixon gets to use their space.

***

Over the past decade, many others have had similar ideas as Nixon, sparking a growing
movement dubbed urban agriculture.

“Suddenly people are really getting on board with... trying to use all the available land in
the city,” Nixon said. “Especially with food; There's a couple of other people doing flowers now,
but mostly a lot of it's going on with food.”

Nixon's idea fits well with a growing public interest in making resourceful use of urban
land, according to Marjorie Harris, an author of numerous gardening books.

“There's so much space in this city where there are no gardens. They are lawns and a tree
stuck in the middle,” Harris said. “I think that really gets to people when they see this land as
essentially not being habitat.”

“It's one of those movements that is quietly trendy... There are all sorts of places throughout
Toronto where people are taking little empty spaces and doing things with them.”

***

While the success of Nixon's business mirrors the trend, she came about the idea on her
own. After moving to Toronto in the early part of the decade, Nixon found herself with her first
backyard.

“I started growing lots and lots of flowers,” she said. Soon, she had more flowers than she
knew what to do with. She began giving them away to friends, and decided to try and recoup some of her investment at local farmer's markets.

“I started asking friends in the neighbourhood if I could use their backyards that they
weren't really using – if I could use their space and plant a flower garden there which they could
enjoy.”

Nixon found that the farmer's markets weren't very lucrative, but still wanted to explore the
idea of selling her flowers as a means of income. She opened a website, and soon her passion
progressed into a full-time living.

Ruth Schneider used Nixon's services for the first time this year after hearing about her
from a neighbour, and a local newspaper article.

“I just thought the concept was really an interesting one, and very sort of ethical and useful
one,” she said. “And the fact that I didn't want to garden my front yard anymore – I wanted
somebody else to do it, and this was really a great solution.”

Nixon said she's mostly self-taught, though she's had help along the way.

“I grew up in a house of very enthusiastic gardeners,” she said. She gained further
experience on organic farms for a couple of summers during her university years, and worked
various jobs until her business started to take off.

And in do-it-yourself fashion, Nixon is the only full-time employee.

“My partner helps me sometimes, and his sister also lives with us, so I hire her to help with
weddings and larger events like that," she said.

It's all worked out pretty well for Nixon.

“It grew out of what I love to do. If I wasn't doing this business, I'd still be all over it,” she
said. “It's just kind of a bonus that it's what I get paid for now.”

Keeping the zine spirit alive

On a chilly October night, three people huddle around a table in Toronto.
As they casually discuss page layout, it seems as if they could be assembling a newspaper, or a glossy magazine, maybe even a plain-text newsletter.
Except that there are no computers in the room. Instead, resting upon the centre table are the tools of their trade: Scissors, glue, and various types of paper.
It only makes sense that Patrick Mooney is at the table – he's just the kind of guy who does things himself. A lifelong Toronto native, Mooney is a co-founder of the Toronto Zine Library (TZL), one of the largest collection of zines in the city.
“I always thought they were cool,” he said. “I thought libraries should have zines, but they don't really take them seriously. So it was like, I guess we'll have to do it ourselves.”
Housed in the second story of the TRANZAC building near Bloor and Brunswick, the staff at the Zine Library on this night is working its own, self-titled zine, which provides information and upcoming events at the library.
For the uninitiated, zines are independent publications, usually the work of a single author. Self-publishing may not be the easy way, but for 'zinesters,' it's their way.
The personal nature of zines reflects the specific mindset of their authors, according to Harley Paegot, who has published about a dozen zines in the past 2 years.
“If you go to a zine fair, you'll find lots of zines about being queer, being vegan, being indie or whatever,” Paegot said. “The idea is, 'Because I'm not being represented in the mainstream magazines, newspapers or on TV... I want to find like-minded people.'”
Paegot says that the creative freedom inherent in zines helps to balance some of the work involved in putting them together independently.
“There's just the freedom of not having an editor breathing down your neck,” he said. “So even if you're just writing a poetry zine... you can put out what you want to put out, without having to worry about criticism or somebody saying, no, you should tweak that or you should change that.”
The DIY mindset of zine-makers is not lost on TZL volunteer staffer, Chris Landry.
“Zines have a kind of ethics to them,” Landry said. “They have a sort of rebellious spirit.”
Landry believes zine culture exists as a bastion for the marginalized, pointing to the way that many authors use them to work through their personal issues.
“It seems like people use zines for really specific, topical things,” he said. “People who can't really share these things in public life... It gives people a chance to sort of reach out without having to deal with social stigma.”
Zines provide an outlet, if not a living. In fact, there's little, if any money to be made, according to Mooney.
“Basically all of the funding for this (library) comes from either our own pockets, or people buying memberships. We'll do some fundraising from time to time,” he said. “It's the kind of thing where it's not commercially viable.”
Paegot, whose zine Yard Sale contains personal reflections, writing, music reviews and interviews, points to the cost of production as one of the biggest challenges for zinesters trying to make it on their own.
“It's very rare that you make any money from zines,” he said. “My goal was just to break even, which was a struggle in itself.”
For someone desperate to share their thoughts with the world, a more financially sensible option might be to open a website or a blog. But for Paegot, a former blogger, the shift to zines provided a personal, tangible connection that the online environment couldn’t match.
“If I'm going to invest all this time into putting something out there about myself, I like when I'm done to have something physical in my hand,” he said.
“I have a stack of these little booklets that I can show people and hand to people, and that people can put on a bookshelf and have for years.”
For that reason, Paegot believes zine culture is likely to live on in some form or another.
“There will always be a certain target audience who wants something tangible, something physical in their hands, and there's always going to be a niche for that,” he said.
Mooney echoes that notion, saying that zinesters will continue to do-it-themselves, regardless of how niche it may become.
“We did a (workshop) at a high school once, and I don't think anybody knew what a zine was. But there's always going to be the five kids in the high school who know what zines are,” Mooney said with a laugh.
“They just weren't in that class.”

Bottle your own wine

In a small kitchen at the back of her shop, Esther Ciciarelli is preparing a customer’s order. She opens up a small cardboard box and takes out a clear plastic bag containing a dense red liquid of grape concentrate and pours it into a white pail.

“This is Chilean Merlot,” she said. Knowledgeable of wine making, Ciciarelli and her brothers bought into a Wine Kitz franchise seven years ago. They have been running and operating the business at their 429 Wilson Ave. location since.

They spent their childhood watching their father make the wine.

“It’s been a part of our culture ever since we were kids. My dad would make wine straight from the grapes,” Ciciarelli said.

Each batch she makes is about 23 litres. For the Merlot she adds about 90 grams of oak chips.

“The majority of red wine has oak chips which really complements the aroma and flavour of the wine,” she said.

Oak chips can be added anytime before bottling the wine, but Ciciarelli recommends adding them during fermentation.

“The longer the chips are integrated, the more character it will give your drink,” she added.

For 17 years Charles Fajgenbaum helped wine lovers enjoy the winemaking experience.

Fajgenbaum, 52, owns and operates Fermentations, which sells winemaking products. That’s not where his DIY career in spirit began, however. He recalls the first drink he made was beer.

“I was 16-years old when I made my first batch at home and it drove my parents crazy. My mother wondered what the heck I (was) doing.” he said.

The process of making the wine provide the initial motivation for making the beverage.

“I’ve always been a bit of a science geek and...I looked at it as a science process not an art process,” he added.

Fajgenbaum worked in the sales and marketing department for a pharmaceutical company, and prior to opening Fermentations winemaking was only a hobby. Enjoying a great glass of wine was Fajgenbaum’s inspiration for starting his own business.

“Everybody (the winemaking industry) was trying to make things as cheap as possible not as good as possible,” he explained.

One technique he uses is adding fresh grape juice rather than concentrate. “By the time you transform the heck out of something it’s been so transformed from what it’s supposed to be,” he explained.

Although the majority of their customers place an order, Ciciarelli said they still have a few customers who buy a batch of wine to make at home, and do so for economic reasons.

“When you buy a bottle of wine from the LCBO, 59 per cent tax is incorporated in the bottle you’re buying,” she said.

Keith Nickleson, a teacher, has been making homemade wine for 15 years, and credits this to the savings he gets.

“When I make my own bottle at home the whole thing only costs about $4,” Nickleson said.

For some people winemaking is not only a passion, but also a family tradition.

Al Toste watched his parents make wine. He said that his favourite part of the experience is the fermentation.

“The fermentation releases the smell of the wine and the aroma of it, and to me that’s a good experience,” Toste said. “That’s when you know you’ve made a good wine.”

Like Toste, Fajgenbaum enjoys the process, but said the most rewarding part for him is when he actually tastes the finished product.

“I know people who are cabinet makers, and after all the nailing and sawing is done, you know the piece of furniture is complete,” Fajgenbaum said.

“It’s the same thing with wine you have to enjoy the process, but it’s nice to know you also have a great end result.”

Retailers Cashing in on the Growing DIY Culture

Pat Higgins sees a trend in the retail market. Consumers tackling home and garden improvement projects on their own seek help from do-it-yourself-friendly stores.

“We’ve seen big increases in the garden business. People are decorating and doing their own landscaping,” Higgins said. “That’s the biggest shift in DIY I’ve seen.”

Doing home renovations oneself goes further than saving a buck or two. What used to be a hobby has become a way of living. Retailers have DIYers on their radar. They’re looking to cash in on the movement, supporting its growth by passing knowledge and advice to keep eager customers.

For 35 years Higgins has worked in retail. The last 13 years he’s owned and operated a Canadian Tire store in Uxbridge, Ont. He’s noticed a major shift in the DIY culture since the market crash in 2007.

“When it comes to home repair, there’s no doubt that as times get tough, people want to tackle these projects because it’s more affordable,” he said.

Adding to the DIY motivation, Higgins said tool manufacturers are shifting their production lines. They’re pushing for more ergonomic, user-friendly rakes, shovels and cordless power tools.

“We’re seeing a lot of expanded lines, which apply to DIY. It’s a move towards ergonomic,” Higgins said. “It’s all designed for the person doing it themselves.”

With the right tools in hand, consumers are tossing out the phonebook and heading into building materials suppliers themselves.

For 33 years, Doug Plourde, owner of Danforth Lumber Company has seen more DIYers coming to his lumber yard save a money.

“In 2007 we’d get about 70 per cent contractors and 30 per cent DIYers,” Plourde said. “Now we see it at about 60/40. People are handier and have more time to do things themselves.”

Plourde said the Internet is a massive teaching tool. He knows when people have a question and are curious they’ll consult the web.

President of Sheridan Nurseries Karl Stensson said “keeping things simple” is key to get customers crashing the shop’s doors and pursuing the next DIY project.

Stensson said his store offers DIYers three levels of interaction: free in-store advice, appointments for smaller project designs, or a home visit design for complex jobs. He said Sheridan takes pride delivering the know-how and confidence to the DIYer so they know exactly what to do and what to expect.

“The first and biggest mistake is not following a design,” Stensson said. “Once you make that mistake, you’re perpetuating (problems) all the way down the line.”

A major retailer for 97 years, Stensson said his company’s philosophy focuses putting power in the hands of the consumer. Like Plourde, Stensson believes technology and the Internet are a perfect landscape to teach handy work.

“We’re doing YouTube videos on how to treat your lawn. Our garden guide has now expanded to 160 pages and the first 30 pages are all questions and answers about home gardening,” Stensson said.

Building material and home improvement retailers appear to be adapting to changing consumer trends. Retailers have a vested interest in the success of their customers. Customer feedback will continue to drive the home improvement industry.

“We’re a DIY store that in itself solidifies the transfer to a DIY consumer and the DIY environment,” Higgins said.

Toronto musician makes some noise with his wacky toys

As a kid, Sam Ferrara once put his leg through a Slinky and it got stuck.

“I couldn’t get it off,” Ferrara said. “My dad had to wire-snip it.”

Today, Ferrara still plays with the Slinky, but in a different way. He uses it for musical percussion.

To build his Slinky instrument, Ferrara lined three in a row and sandwiched them between two pieces of scrap metal. He welded the Slinkys to the metal and used hockey tape to securely fasten them.

To play them, Ferrara cradles the bottom half of the set in his left hand; then with his right hand, he lifts the top half up and down as the Slinky coils jingle against each other.

Over the last 20 years, Ferrara, a Toronto-based musician, has been experimenting with random objects and giving them a percussive use. He described how his work with his do-it-yourself instruments began.

“I was just roaming around my apartment and trying different stuff,” he said. “I remember my girlfriend walking in and she said, ‘What are you doing with that cheese grater?’”

Resting the cheese grater on his knee, Ferrara sweeps a sheet of 50-grit sandpaper against the cheese grater to create a brushing sound. He puts 10 heavy duty Band-Aids on his knuckles, however, before each show to protect them from getting cut.

Ferrara has a wide range of instruments in his music bag. From spoons and metal files, to a musical saw with a violin bow that creates a sound like that of whales underwater. He's also attached a foot pedal to a hi-hat tambourine and plays it with his heel.


Sam Ferrara and John Borra recently celebrated six years of playing Sunday nights at the Communist's Daughter. Kay Pea was there to shoot some video.

Every Monday night, Ferrara plays his quirky instruments alongside his longtime musical companion, John Borra, at the Dakota Tavern on Ossington Avenue. They perform with three other musicians in the band Rattlesnake Choir.

Dakota Tavern manager Samantha Martin said Rattlesnake Choir has had "one of the most longstanding residencies" at the venue. She explained why she continues to book them.

“Rather than having a full drum kit,” Martin said, “to have more of a junkyard percussion is really fun to watch. It’s something different and it’s not in-your-face drums.”

She described the reaction that Ferrara receives from the audience.

"Whenever Sam picks up the saw and plays it, I notice there's a lot of hoots and clapping," she said. “He does a lot of it all at the same time and he switches between things ... I think that's what makes it fun to watch - just the fact that he can do it.”

Richard Flohil, a prominent music publicist based in Toronto, has seen Ferrara play at the Dakota Tavern several times. He explained what makes his style so intriguing.

“Music appeals to the head, the heart, the groin or the feet,” Flohil said. “And this (music) is fun. It’s relatively easy to play and it has a history.”

Its history dates back to the era of jug music in the 1920s in Memphis, Tenn., as Flohil explained.

“This was very do-it-yourself music historically. They were using jugs and old washboards and beat-up guitars and banjoes,” he said. “It's from an era when an illiterate black population had always used music. Going back to slavery times ... music helped things like picking cotton or lining railroad tracks."

So why does jug music still exist today?

"Inevitably, all music is a continuum," Flohil said. "Anybody doing jug band music now, it's a curious revival ... It was done at the time because it was handy, homemade music."

Ferrara has learned through experience that some homemade instruments are better than others.

He used to play the Zippo lighter - until his hair caught fire while on stage one time. He quickly doused it with his beer, but from that day forward, he never miked the Zippo again.

Ferrara also used to play the plastic bags. He would stuff several crinkly bags into a giant ball and press them in and out like an accordion. But it hurt his chest too much so he stopped.

Luckily for Ferrara’s fans, he has no plans to give up the Slinky.

“They’re my babies,” he said.

DIY lifestyle essential in launching television networks

Cottager Tony Armstrong faced a plumbing dilemma one day a few years ago. The foot valve in his water pump wasn’t working. He came up with two solutions.

“It was late October and the water (Lake Simcoe) was very cold and I wanted to fix the damn thing as soon as possible," Tony Armstrong said. “Why not a television show that showed people how to fix their foot-valves?”

Armstrong is a producer and director withCottage Life Television, providing programs that cater to the needs of cottagers.

Cottage Life Television was launched in 1992, at a time when there were no channels broadcasting do-it-yourself programming. But Armstrong said he knew there was a market for it.

“We knew the demand was there,” he said. “I was working with a lifestyle magazine. So we took a chance in producing the show, buying the (advertising time) and selling the ads ourselves...and it paid off.”

He added that when launching the television show his intention was to reach the readers of their magazine.

“Initially the estimate was to reach the same audience, but then each of those channels had their own built in audience, so we were having people coming to Cottage Life Show that didn’t know there was a magazine.”

Do-it-yourself television has seen a rise in popularity since the early ‘90s and there is no stopping it, said Angela Jennings, president of Fusion Television. She’s also a producer of lifestyle series such as Divine Design and Colour Confidential.

The shows take viewers through the process of transforming homes from their original look to an inspired space, while giving them home improvement tips along the way. She said these shows empower viewers.

“People have become empowered over the years as these genres became demystified,” Jennings said. “In the '80s, only wealthy people hired interior designers.”

“By expanding the popularity of these things via television, they became more accessible to the average person and hence was born the, ‘I can do that!’ attitude that permeates DIY programming,” she added.

Maria Armstrong, (no relation to Tony Armstrong) is the executive producer of Big Coat Productions; she credits the popularity of the DIY genre to people’s growing interest in being self-reliant.

“I think people want to learn to do things and do them well whether it’s decorating or cooking,” she said.

She underlined the importance of informing people, and said the entertainment aspect of the show has to play a key role.

“The genre is heading in more of the reality type approach,” Maria Armstrong said.

“People want to be entertained as there are so many videos focused at ‘how-to’ so the television programs have to inform as well as entertain.”

Tony Armstrong agreed that shows need to entertain,but said it’s important they focus on the project rather than the people.

“When I first started in this was the legitimacy of it that was entertaining,” he said. “The people who wanted to turn their barn into a house were interesting people, but the barn was the star of the show.”

The DIY Network offers online programming with expert advice on home improvement projects. Tony Armstrong said more networks should look to the Internet.

“If you want to paint your living room and you turn on HGTV and there is nothing on painting, your curiosity hasn’t been satisfied,” Tony Armstrong said.

“So broadcasters need to take the leap of faith and start programming for the web.”

Non-profit organization helps "the needy get nerdy"

Mathew Clark is spending his Saturday afternoon in an industrial warehouse in Toronto’s Junction area, where he is screwing tight electronic cards into a computer tower.

Clark is a volunteer at Free Geek Toronto, a non-profit organization where used and recycled computer equipment is refurbished.

“The first time I came here I worked for four hours learning this. And now I can do it on my own,” he said.

When entering the warehouse you’ll notice old computer monitors, hard drives, and electronic cards stacked up on shelves, volunteers assemble computer different components and look for parts that fit.

Tobie Marven, a volunteer co-ordinator, said Free Geek’s main objectives are limiting electronic waste and making technology more accessible to those who lack financial means or technical knowledge.

“We’re helping the needy get nerdy,” she said. “There is an over abundance of computers that people are just throwing out and there is a huge group of people who can’t afford computers.”

Free Geek offers two programs. The Adoption Program gives each person, after 24 hours of volunteer service a computer. In the Build Program, volunteers build five computers and a sixth to take home.

“We’re giving computers for people who want to volunteer, or selling them for $50,” Marven explained.

Most of the equipment Free Geek uses is donated. Marven said a lot of people throw out their electronics when they have no use for them.

“We also refurbish and then we make sure things are being recycled ethically,” she explained.

“There are so many harmful contaminants in these equipment, and by getting people to donate them, we are minimizing the amount of contaminants going into our land fills.”

According to Stats Canada more than 100,000 tons of electronic wastes is generated annually. Marven said the environmental aspect of the organization is one of the reasons people donate their unwanted computer parts.

“People hear about E-Waste (electronic waste) and they hear about us, so they want to be part of the solution,” Marven said.

Large bins containing mouses and keyboards sit in the drop off area. People donate their unwanted equipment, and volunteers test the equipment before reusing them.

Free Geek started in Portland, Ore. in 2000, and has locations in 12 cities across Canada and the United States. Its Toronto location opened to the public last March.

Perhaps one thing that stands out about Free Geek is that they use Linux Operating System, an open source software system. This means there are no restrictions on customizing upgrading or redistributing the software.

Marven was initially drawn to Free Geek by the idea of open source software.

“I like open source software, but prior to starting here I never opened a computer in my life,” she said. “I took the build class, and I learned how to test all the components and now I’m able to help people do this.”

The programs are completely run by volunteers. Marven said this is a motivating factor for people to continue working at Free Geek.

“What’s different here is if you volunteer in other places you have a small role to play, there is this entire paid staff who will find something smaller for you to do.” She said. “But here you can quickly become a key part of the organization, and part of making decisions.”

Hue Cameron, worked as a technical support technician in the 1990s, and had to leave his job due to a disability.

Cameron came to Free Geek to relearn his computer skills.

“Here I can learn how to fix a computer and take it apart, rather than buying one at a computer store then spending $200."