Old Firehall Turned Make-Up College


When I got the call asking if I would be into photographing a restored historical building in the city, there was nothing else I could say except for, YES!!!!  

It's not every day that a girl get's to photograph an old Toronto Fire Hall originally built back in 1886, now turned MakeUp College. 


The fire folks moved in 1969, and the building had begun transforming.  It was used as the famous Second City Theatre, then a Hospice known as Gilda’s Club, after that, the building sat empty for years.  During the last 40+ years, walls went up, original details covered up, and sadly, the beauty of the building from 1886 had disappeared.
                                                                                               



When the owner of Complections College of Make Up Art and Design purchased the building on Lombard Street not long ago, Pamela Earle had her work cut out for her.  Her school was growing and she wanted to give her students a beautiful new place to learn about hair and make-up styling, special effects for film and theatre, creature design and prosthetic creation. 
She hired an architectural firm to do the renovations and they got to work.   Her goal was to restore the building back to it’s original beauty, and to reveal it's old architectural detail.












I loved Pamela's personal touches, like these old wooden doors that were added to each classroom's entry.








On my first visit to the college earlier on this year, the reno’s were almost complete.  Whatever was boarded up, covered up, and built up over the years, was removed to reveal the original beauty in the building.   





On my next visit, I had my camera and gear, and was ready for my photo-shoot.  The school was in even better shape and I didn’t know where to start.  I took WAY too many pictures, I couldn’t help myself!!  It was gorgeous!!  The endless winding staircase alone was amazing, and all painted a deep dark grey (my best-loved colour these days).  The original details revealed  were exquisite, not to mention the fun, quirky décor that the creative folks at the Make-Up school had included to personalize the space.  I had so many favourite areas and tried to capture them all along with the essence of the school itself and the architectural characteristics.  The school was approaching their grand opening and the staff was already buzzing around.





The original fireman's pole remains, sliding you down to the main floor! It's adorned with an orange octopus creature made by the students of Complections College. 











Going back a few weeks later to finish off the shoot, the store was now open and ready for business.  

Anything you could possibly need as a Make-Up artist, THIS was the place to pick it up!  












The students were already enjoying the new semester and busy learning about hair, prosthetics and make-up










I was so happy to be a part of capturing this beautiful restoration and the energized life within it's new walls.  The students of Complections College of Make-Up Art and Design are likely inundated with inspiration as they walk through the halls of this College, I know I was! 


Thanks to Pam, Christine, Stefanie, and Marcia for all of your help with organizing the photo shoot.  And to my lovely assistant Esther. 

-Joanne

RIP Robert Kennedy (1938-2012)

I was so sad to hear about Robert Kennedy's passing last night. He lost his battle with cancer but he will certainly not be forgotten. He launched his first magazine, Muscle Mag in 1974 and since then has gone on to publish other magazines as, Reps!, Clean Eating, Oxygen and American Curves not to mention the several books he's published. 

I had never had the pleasure of personally meeting Robert Kennedy, but I felt as though I had with hearing the stories from the RK Publishing staff.  A typical Clean Eating or Oxygen shoot day at the studio did not end without a story about Robert, his encouragement or his inspiration. Robert has left a legacy and a little bit of himself in everyone that had known him. I was so proud to be a contributing photographer with the RK Publishing world, working with the great women's fitness magazine, Oxygen and the healthy food and living magazine, Clean Eating.  I know that the amazing crew at RKPubs will continue his work and keep spreading the word to bring awareness to the health and wellness world.

Read Robert's story at RKPublishing


Stuffed Dates

As much as I love my job as a food photographer, it's always a great time when we can do something a little more creative and fun with food.  This was one of those days.

The recipe for these Stuffed Dates with Ricotta, Pistachios & Honey can be found in the Jan/Feb 2012 issue of Clean Eating Magazine!

Stacking these yummy Ricotta, Pistachio and Honey stuffed Dates were not easy!  First of all, these dates are basically the size of small eggs and a little slippery, but with the magic (and a few pins and sticky tack) of Sugar Tart's food styling, a few more adjustments along the way (and a few hours), we had a dish of beautifully stacked stuffed dates! 


Photography by Joanne Tsakos
Food Styling by Sugar Tart 


I hadn't noticed this until now, but it looks like the magazine ran out of room on the page for the final date topper!  We were having so much fun and probably could of gone on all day but at some point, you have to go home :) 


Wall Paper



Digging through some old photo's in an attempt to clean out my computer, I found some images from an old renovation project. 

During this project, we discovered some pretty neat things that the previous (previous, previous, previous, and maybe even previous) owners or renovators had left behind. 




Although drywall has replaced the once common plaster and lath, what we found might not have been such a common practice. These plaster walls were covered with paper, perhaps to keep the paster from crumbling or cracking. 








Sure, old newspapers with the date on it would of impressed me, but this was something else! Carefully selected photo's cut out of magazines.  Colourful, interesting, even strangely bizarre images were covering the plaster walls!  I though about keeping a souvenir, a chunk of the wall covered with the eccentric paper, but I decided that a photo would be more hygienic.  





Maybe this will inspire you with a really great way to cover your existing walls!  Find some images you love, get some glue, and go to town!  Yeah, maybe way too much work ;) 




The P.G.13 rated version ;) 








I wonder who the crafty person was behind this clever wall paper job? 



The Panorama
Love this one!  Maybe this is one that will make it to my wall. 


Life for me has taken a different turn these days, but I'm really looking forward to my next renovation project and I'm building up my idea bank in the meantime.  Inspiration can come from anywhere.  Sure, home decor magazines make it easy, but can be expensive!  Look around you, what inspires you most?  Where does it come from? From the fashionista's walking around, the view from where you sit, something from childhood?  What's most important to you?  For me these days, it's about having a little more fun.  Life can be way too serious some times, why bring that home with you?  A jolt of colour with paint, or pillows, a quirky vintage find, hidden amongst the serious. Maybe even a little fun on your walls with your favourite quirky art?  Have some fun!  

2012, Looking Forward


Resolution : A firm decision to do, or not to do something

Intention : An aim that guides action

A new year brings new hope to all.  Hope that this year will be better than the last.  New Years Resolutions are what people often think about, "what do I want for 2012".  

I prefer to steer clear of making resolutions.  Resolutions are always BIG, they seem like a lot of pressure and they're usually created out of a negative aspect of yourself that you want to change.  Common resolutions for people might be, I want to quit drinking, quit smoking, I want to go to lose 10 pounds, etc...  And once that negative habit starts creeping back into your life, you can give up as quickly as you gave in.  

No, I don't like resolutions. They've never worked for me, besides, I'm more of a practical and realistic girl.  I tend to set goals for myself that I know I can achieve.  For me, intentions are what works best.  I make plans, set realistic goals and always keep my eye on the prize throughout  the year.  A brief conversation with my life long friend just before the New Year had reminded me of this. She thought 2012 would be a great year for me and I would achieve everything I had set my mind to as I had always done so in the past and had always somehow found a way to my goals.  I sometimes forget that I have the power (as we all do) to do so and it was really special to hear this from one of my closest friends who sometime's know's me better than I know myself.  Thanks CK! xo 

So, my intentions for 2012? Well, I will keep most of them to myself since I'm a shy and modest blogger but I will happily share them with the world when I have achieved them! 

What I can share with you is this:  
  • I intend to do everything I can, to live and be healthy in my body, mind, and spirit.
  • I intend to be fearless and unstoppable.                   


Yoda : Do... or do not. There is no try