{that one great thing} Lynda's clock collection

Check in on Covet Garden's 'About Us' page and you'll see that stylist Lynda Felton - one of the 3 folks who started the online mag - is in charge of Style Stuff. No big grand title for her or, for that matter, her two compadres Jessica and Rhonda, which is refreshingly laid-back and just how these 3 talented women roll. I asked Lynda a while back for that one great thing, and this gorgeous vintage collection showed up in my in-box. No surprise, since ask her to descibe her house and she'll say - "It's all old clocks, wasps nests, framed insects, and beat up furniture over here." Lovely!

Lynda Felton: My first clock belonged to my grandfather (the Westclox Big Ben, third from the left, with the silver ring on top) it is over 100 years old and still works perfectly. I love the sound it makes when it is ticking -  gentle and reliable - like my grandfather. The Lux Claridge (second from the right) is from the 30's and it was my grandmothers. My grandparents collected clocks and it was my job to help wind them  - all 37 of them, no matter how hard I tried I could never get them to go off at the same time. It felt like there was always a clock chiming off somewhere in the house.

When I see the old clocks I can't help but think about who might have owned it. What was that person doing in the 20's, 40's? Did this clock get them up for work? What kind of work? Most people had these clocks by their beds, they touched them everyday. These old timers have seen a lot.

My biggest splurge was my Early Bird clock (first on the left). I couldn't resist this fabulous little gem, the bird bobs up and down, pulling the worm out of it's hole in time with the ticking - come on - you have to admit that is pretty neat. See for yourself here... Other than the Early Bird I've never spent more than $5.00 on one and I'm always on the look out for a good deal.

TGIF with LTD

Ah, Friday, the best day of the week. And I'm ending it on a high with a new store that's opened up in my neck of the woods - Love The Design. Stationary designer/photographer Christine Flynn is the talent behind the place, which is jammed with tons of covetable gear - both vintage and new - and with walls filled with Christine's photography. I'm loving the shots of Levi the horse in that last snap, not to mention all the burlap upholstery and that newspaper wall (yum). LTD has been open for less than a week and already there's been a nice bit of buzz about the place (the folks from Covet Garden also stopped by), so it's definitely worth a peek. Ah, and talking of Covet Garden, keep your eyes peeled for a that one great thing post from one of the founders next week! Love The Design is at 1362 Queen St E in Toronto.