In The News

The National Post writes on Glider Gloves, a new Toronto company that produces winter gloves that work with touch screen devices. The gloves are created from conductive yarns, allowing users to play with their touch screen phone while keeping their fingers warm. Launched less than a year ago by three young Toronto entrepreneurs, Glider Gloves are available online as well as in Rogers, Telus, and Wind Mobile stores.

"My partner came up with the idea last year. While taking off his gloves, he spilled coffee all over his iPhone," said Amar Thiara, 28, marketing manager for Glider Gloves. "He thought, there has to be a better way of doing this."

"The solution was to make gloves from conductive yarns. Touch screens work by passing a small current across their surface; when the user presses a finger to the screen, that current is altered. The device knows where the finger is, based on where the current fluctuates. But with normal gloves, the user's fingers are insulated, and the screen doesn't register any fluctuations."

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original source National Post

Researchers from Toronto's Mount Sinai Hospital have discovered how to generate pluripotent stem cells from horses. As reported by Medical News Today, this breakthrough, "a world first", is groundbreaking as it opens up the possibility for new types of cell regenerative therapies in veterinary medicine.

"In a world first, pluripotent stem cells have been generated from horses by a team of researchers led by Dr. Andras Nagy at the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute of Mount Sinai Hospital and Dr. Lawrence Smith at the University of Montreal's Faculty of Veterinary Science. The findings will help enable new stem-cell based regenerative therapies in veterinary medicine, and because horses' muscle and tendon systems are similar to our own, aid the development of preclinical models leading to human applications. The study was published in the February 28 issue of the leading journal Stem Cell Reviews and Reports."

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original source Medical News Today

As reported by Area Development Magazine, Toronto will soon be home to five "Grand & Toy Business Centres"-- storefronts that will provide consulting services and work stations to Toronto's small business owners. The business centers are the cornerstone of Grand and Toy's ambitious Canada-wide company reinvention; Grand & Toy announced in 2009 that it hopes to move from a office solution and supply company to a national provider of consulting centres for the small business industry.

"When speaking with our small business customers, they identified a hole in the marketplace that Grand & Toy could fill. Customers were looking for a place to connect with industry experts, learn, and gain access to business solutions to help relieve the growing clerical work they did not have time for," said Kevin Edwards, vice president, Marketing, Grand & Toy. "There's more going on in our new Business Centres than just a new physical layout. Our associates appreciate the passion our customers have for their companies and are trained to provide them with effective business solutions so they can continue to focus on what matters to them most � growing their business."

"The business centers once housed Grand & Toy retail stores. They will serve as local business-to-business hubs. The centers include on-site Business Solutions Advisors, free Wi-Fi, and work stations for drop-in or in-transit customers."

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original source Area Development Magazine

The Economist Intelligence Unit has released it's annual rankings of world's most livable cities and, as in past years, Canada dominates the list. Three Canadian cities--Vancouver, Toronto and Calgary--placed in the top ten. While Toronto still has some catching up to do with Vancouver (who got the number one spot for the second year in a row) it nonetheless scored favourably, coming 4th out of 140 cities worldwide.

"The ranking scores 140 cities from 0-100 on 30 factors spread across five areas: stability, health care, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure. These numbers are then weighted and combined to produce an overall figure. The top ten cities occupy the same positions as last year, with the exception of Melbourne and Vienna, which have swapped places."

"The report, which some companies use to determine hardship allowances for relocated employees, explains what makes a high-ranked city:
Cities that score best tend to be mid-sized cities in wealthier countries with a relatively low population density. This often fosters a broad range of recreational availability without leading to high crime levels or overburdened infrastructure. Seven of the top ten scoring cities are in Australia and Canada, where population densities of 2.88 and 3.40 people per sq km respectively compare with a global (land) average of 45.65 and a US average of 32."

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original source The Economist

The Toronto Star writes on entrepreneur Andrea Brockie and her St Lawrence Market-based business Selsi Sea Rocks. Brockie got her start selling bath salts at a temporary sidewalk stall outside the St. Lawrence farmer's market on Saturdays. Now, 6-years later, Selsi Sea Rocks has moved to a permanent stall inside, is open seven days a week, and sells over 40 different kinds of salt from around the world.

"Adrea Brockie likes salt. So much so, she's turned it into a business"

"Through Selsi Sea Rocks, a six-year-old company based at the St. Lawrence Market in Toronto, Brockie sells and distributes about 40 different kinds of salt from around the world."

"It's something I enjoy doing, but it's not what I studied for," says Brockie, of Toronto."

"She started with a temporary stall outside the St. Lawrence farmer's market on Saturdays. There were a few problems, and those close to her were skeptical at first."

"Out on the sidewalk, the rain would come and it would start dissolving the salt, so I decided to get a stall inside the market."

"She moved indoors, where the lamps and the increasingly-large selection of salt were safe from the rain, and she could operate five days a week. She rents out warehouse space as she needs it."

"That kind of business discipline was part of the plan she'd developed during a year out of the working world, under a federally-funded program. Anyone on EI can apply to join the program, today called the Ontario Self Employment Benefit Program.It gives successful applicants a year to come up with a business plan, and coaches them how to start and run a small business.Earning income while on EI usually means your benefits are clawed back, but people who make money while in OSEB don't experience this as long as the money is invested in their business."

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original source Toronto Star

Daymak Inc. -- a Toronto-based company that designs, develops and manufacturers e-bikes--has launched the world's first "wireless power-assisted electric bicycle". As reported by Gizmag, the bike, dubbed the "Shadow EBike" does away with the cumbersome cords and wires of traditional e-bikes by relying exclusively on wireless technology.

"Got a problem with the various gear and brake cables winding their way around your bike frame? If you're riding a standard pedal-powered bike, the answer is probably 'no.' But if you're one of the increasing numbers of people getting around town on an electric bike than your answer may be different, with faulty wiring one of the most common sources of failures found in such vehicles. While some hide their electrical wiring away inside the frame, many e-bikes have wires running down the outside. Like so many of today's electrical devices, the new Shadow Ebike does away with this unsightly mess and potential point of weakness using wireless technology."

"Through the integration of ISM 2.4 GHz wireless using frequency-hopping spread spectrum technology to prevent interference, the Shadow has no brake or gear cables, and no visible electric wires running from the motor to the batteries, the controller or throttle. Turning the electric motor on or off, the magnetic regenerative brakes, the throttle and the pedal assist are all controlled wirelessly via the Daymak Drive controller."

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original source Gizmag

"Freshly Brewed", a new National Post series, investigates the burgeoning growth of indie coffee shops across Toronto neighbourhoods. The first feature looks at Hub Coffee House, an owner-operated cafe located on Shaw Street near Christie Pits. Open since last July, Hub has made a name for itself not only for its locally roosted coffee, but also for its fresh baked goods and organic breakfast sandwiches.

"We're in winter-mode right now," says Cyrus Lotfi, gesturing to the vintage couch and electric fireplace set-up near the front of the caf�, which is warm and fragrant. "Come summer, though, those doors all open up and it's one big space."

"Lotfi and Lisah Smith, owners (and bakers) at Hub, are alone at 7 a.m. when the residential corner spot opens, and as they explain, the wintry hibernation season means people trickle in later than they did when Hub first opened last July. The two entrepreneurs and locavore proponents are busy preparing the day's biscuits and wildly popular gluten-free, spelt-flour chocolate chip cookies. I grab a peach and cheddar scone, still warm in a basket (and a delicious dream for my mostly savoury palate), as the double-shot Americano I've ordered trickles into a cup."

"As it turns out, the impetus for Lotfi and Smith to open Hub was largely related to the serendipity of Smith finding the perfect location."

"I'm from Vancouver Island, and in Victoria there's [blocks of] residential often with a cool little caf� in the middle of everything, and I liked the feel and the vibe of that," Smith says."

"Ten years ago this neighbourhood was really different," Lofti adds. "But we went on our feelings. And we were busy pretty much without advertising from the first day."

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original source National Post

As reported by CBC News, Highrise: Out My Window, an NFB produced multimedia documentary (see Yonge Street's feature from November), has been nominated for an International Digital Emmy. Created by Toronto artists and filmmakers, the online documentary explores life in high-rise apartments in cities around the world.

"Highrise: Out My Window, a Canadian multimedia art project that explores life in high-rise apartments, has earned a nomination for the International Digital Emmy Awards."

"Under the direction of filmmaker Katerina Cizek and advisers from the NFB, the online project showcased the residents of 13 apartments in cities such as Amsterdam, Toronto and Havana and presented the footage in a feature-length web documentary as well as in live presentations and on-site installations. The production, the NFB's first nomination for a Digital Emmy, is a contender in the category of digital program: non-fiction..."

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original source CBC News

The Huffington Post writes on Toronto's influential "Learning Through the Arts" (LTTA) program, the arts integration program launched almost 20 years ago by The Royal Conservatory of Music. LTTA, which forges partnerships with schools across Canada, facilitates arts integration by bringing artist-educators into schools, training teachers, and creating arts inspired lesson plans underpinned by academic research.

"There are of course a lot of other reasons to admire [Toronto] which is the cultural, entertainment and financial capital of Canada, and home to more than 2.7 million people, but now another accolade can be added: It has one of the most comprehensive art integration efforts reinventing education in the world."

"The Royal Conservatory of Music based in Toronto, launched "Learning Through the Arts" (LTTA), almost 20 years ago, and they can claim the high ground when talking about preparing the workforce of the future."

"According to Donna Takacs, Managing Director of LTTA, "programs are being implemented across Canada, in (a few places) the US and in about a dozen other countries... LTTA is one of the most extensive differentiated instruction programs in the world."

"�arts integration works and the LTTA program proves it. All LTTA's programs are underpinned by academic research, which show that LATT students score considerably higher in math tests than non-LATT students. Literacy tests also improved, student engagement increased and dropout rates declined."

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original source Huffington Post

As reported by the Toronto Star MimiTENS--a Toronto company that makes childproof, stay-on mittens--has had a year of international recognition. While the company first went global in 2007, it was only this winter that MimiTens attracted coveted celebrity endorsements and international attention, from Gwyneth Paltrow's website Goop to Vogue Italia to Netherlands' lifestyle website goodsense.nu.

"Anna-Maria Mountfort, 38, created a decorated mitt connected to a long, knit sleeve that runs up the child's arm, almost to the elbow. It is virtually impossible to shake them off, says Mountfort, who got the idea in 2005, constructed a prototype the following year and began marketing the idea almost immediately. She calls her company MimiTENS, a play on the French mes mitaines: my mittens."

"Building a company on the premise of unmovable mittens with no strings attached has kept Mountfort busy for more than five years. "It went global in the first year," she says."

"This winter, Mountfort campaigned to attract high-profile celebrity endorsements, courting big names like Oprah Winfrey and Gwyneth Paltrow...Paltrow's people included the mittens in the most recent instalment of GOOP, the actor's lifestyle newsletter that promotes her brand of the good life under headings such as make, go, get, do, be and see."

"Mountfort is thrilled to be recognized. Paltrow is an inspiration, she says. "She seems really happy and well balanced and this is the kind of thing that drives other people nuts," says Mountfort. "I applaud her for being herself. She doesn't sell ads and she doesn't trade in making people feel bad."

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original source Toronto Star

The Ritz-Carlton Toronto, the new 267 room luxury hotel on Wellington Street, has officially opened its doors to the public. In order to give international travelers a peak inside too, the Ritz-Carleton has created a virtual tour of the opulent hotel. The video can be watched in full on the hotel's Facebook page and on Business Traveller.com

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original source Business Traveller

Blog TO reviews Fabarnak, the restaurant/cafe that recently opened inside Church street's revamped 519 Community Centre. In addition to serving great tasting sustainable and healthy foods, Fabarnak also functions as a social enterprise by offering employment opportunities to area residents.

"Since opening in October, word has slowly gotten out about the cafe/restaurant's unique menu of sustainable, homemade foods. Everything served at Fabarnak, right down to the ketchup served with the "Cosy" gluten-free elbow pasta with four local cheeses ($12), is made on site. Fabarnak smokes it own meats, makes its own soup stocks, even creates its own evergreen oil for its vegan "Comfy" soup, a tomato bisque with gouda and croustade ($4 or $9, depending on size)."

"My philosophy is that food is either about fantasy or nostalgia," says head chef and director of food services Eric Wood. "It takes us to somewhere we've never been, or reminds us of someplace we'd like to revisit." Wood encourages the staff to push boundaries and try to experiment with new tastes. "It's like you're writing a play," he says. "Constructive conflict is a good thing."

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original source Blog TO

The Toronto Wavedecks, the wooden wave-like pedestrian walkways along Toronto's central waterfront, are continually getting international praise from architecture enthusiasts. Four years after the completion of the first wavedeck, the structures--designed by architecture firms West 8 and DTAH--are frequently pointed to as an example of successful waterfront and public space design. In the last month, the Wavedecks have been praised in, among other publications, Arch Daily, The Wall Street Journal, and Japan's Kudo design blog.

From Arch Daily:

"In response to an innovative design competition launched by Waterfront Toronto, West 8 submitted a comprehensive vision for the Central Waterfront that produced a powerful design language with the strength and simplicity to overcome the existing visual noise and create a sense of interconnectedness and identity. Connectivity between the vitality of the city and the lake and a continuous, publicly accessible waterfront are the plan's priorities."

"Spadina, Simcoe and Rees wavedecks are the first in a series of timber structures that explore variations of a simple articulation in the change in level between Queens Quay Boulevard and Lake Ontario along the Toronto Central Waterfront. Responding to the current pinch-points where the streetscape meets the water's edge, a new public space gateway is created where the city kisses the lake, inspired by the sinuous contours of the shoreline of the Canadian lakefront."

"The geometry of the wavedeck is carefully conceived using playful curves that are constantly changing to create ledges for seating and new routes to access the water's edge. It allows for different vantage points and ultimately different experiences with both the lake and the city. In order to establish a coherent aesthetic for the public realm along the waterfront, the simple undulating timber wave gesture became a prototype that will be repeated at seven heads of slips with subtle variation. Using a consistent palette of materials and details, the identity of each wave structure will be derived from the unique curvatures of the structure as well as the activities suggested through its form."

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original sources Arch Daily, Wall Street Journal, and Kudo

As reported by Canadian Business, Toronto-based toy company Spin Master received high-praise at this year's New York Toy Fair. Popular Science singled-out two Spin Master toys--a new set of trading card called Redekai and the Air Hogs Hyperactive remote control car--as among the best 12 new toys featured at the annual event.

"Spin Master believes the [Redekai] cards will be the biggest trading cards since Pokemon and deliver the company its most lucrative hit since Bakugan. They use what the company calls 3Dmatick technology to display animation and automatically track the progress players are making without the need for pen and paper."

"It's completely innovative and will revolutionize the trading card category, even more than Bakugan did to marbles," vice-president Harold Chizick said in an in interview."

"Chizick said the entries, along with girl's jewelry accessory Bizu and the remote control vehicles tied to the upcoming Cars 2 movie, have given Spin Master its best show in its 16-year history."

"Privately held Spin Master is Canada's largest toy maker and the fourth largest in North America."

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original source Canadian Business Online

Tourism Toronto recently completed its first ever in-market media mission to India. As reported by India Infoline News, Tourism Toronto officials spent a week meeting with the editors of India's leading travel, lifestyle and trade publications, discussing what makes Toronto--already a popular destination for Indian travelers--one of the world's best cities to visit.

"India is one of the top five fastest growing international markets for overnight visitors to Toronto," said Tourism Toronto's Media Relations Manager, Michele Simpson.  "We're looking forward to bringing a taste of Toronto to India and meeting with our Indian media partners to further spread the word."

"In 2009, more than 50,000 visitors from India came to experience Toronto's offerings.  In 2010, the number grew to 65,000 � a 28.7 percent growth in just one year � spending $57,000 in Toronto while in town during the year.Toronto is one of the most multicultural cities in the world. More than 140-languages and dialects are spoken in the city, and just over 30 per cent of Toronto residents speak a language other than English or French at home.  Toronto also hosts numerous Indian events."

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original source India Info Line News