Beaux Mondes

Needlework

With a giant Valentine displayed in the window, your heart can't help but go pitter patter over this new shop on James North. Needlework is the venture of Kate Hunter and Liz Simpson. These lovely ladies first met at The Brain's knit night, but their friendship grew after joining the Beehive Craft Collective. "As we got talking, we both quickly realized we had similar dreams of bringing a shop like Needlework to downtown Hamilton," says Liz, "And here we are!" Kate began her studies in studio art and biology at the University of Guelph, before going on to study furniture and textile design at Sheridan. Liz on the other hand embarked on an exchange program with Canada World Youth and volunteered at community organizations in China and Alberta. "While volunteering at a seniors lodge I met the loveliest of ladies, Velma Clearwater, " explains Liz, "She taught me how to knit and sparked my love for craft as a young adult."

"Since moving to Hamilton I've wished that there was a crafty place where I could find neat sewing books and patterns, interesting fabric, and good notions," says Kate. While Ottawa Street definitely has some nice fabric shops, she points out there was nothing available in the heart of downtown. Plus there were no shops carrying modern designer quilting cottons and young fun books and patterns that they were looking for. "After many months of writing a business plan, sourcing fabric, and going through the Canadian Youth Business Foundation to secure funding, we signed a lease and started ordering inventory!" explains Kate, "It's sort of crazy. Neither of us have a formal background in business, so it has definitely been (and will continue to be) an interesting adventure."

The girls have sourced some really gorgeous fabric. Our friend Danielle sent us texts after the opening raving about the quality and designs. Our favourite of the selection was from Cloud 9, a company that makes organic cotton fabrics using low-impact dyes. Love. You'll also find designer fabrics by Amy Butler, Anna Maria Horner and Heather Moore.  "Our vision for the shop is to become a home base for Hamilton's craft community," says Liz, "Eventually we would like to expand our inventory to include fibre, yarns, knitting and crocheting supplies but for the time being we decided that it's best to focus on fabric and get a feel for what the craft community wants." The girls have definitely created a space where craft loving individuals will come together and do their crafty thing in an environment that supports shared learning, resource, and skills. How can you not feel inspired to make something when surrounded by such  beautiful fabrics? 

Kate and Liz are also planning to offer a range of classes at Needlework. "We'll offer beginner sewing classes for people who've never used a sewing machine before," Kate tells us, "Project based classes where we teach you how to follow a pattern to create a garment or bag, zippered pouches, quilting, felting, knitting, crochet, machine and hand embroidery, and many more." Being part of the Beehive Craft Collective and attending Sheridan College's Textile Design program has introduced the girls to a wealth of talented individuals with a great range of skills. Their friends and acquaintances of will be teaching many of the classes, as will Liz and Kate. 

Above, Flora by Julia Rothman for Cloud 9

We love the incredible selection of sewing and DIY books and all the patterns, especially the ones by Colette. There is also a wide range of  sewing notions from Clover, Omnigrid rulers, Gingher scissors and Soak wash. 

Having been painting, cleaning and hunting for furnishing for a number of weeks, Kate and Liz are settling nicely into their new space. Their grand opening kicked off on Art Crawl. "Our first art crawl was amazing!" Kate enthuses. We can attest that when we dropped by it was super busy in the shop. "We had such a wonderful response from everyone who came through. We heard from so many people that they had been waiting with anticipation for us to open, so that was really great," says Kate. To that Liz adds, "We received a wealth of well wishes and flowers, so many encouraging and supportive comments -- and even some bubbly!"

Stay tuned to their website as the girls are currently putting together their first calendar of classes. Or just drop in and say hello!

Needlework
174 James St. North
Hamilton, Ontario
L8R 2L1 

Save The Board of Education Building

We wanted to take a moment to share this moving video and campaign created by Matt Jelly. Many people in the community are involved with this campaign initiative and we wanted to show our support. You can get involved at facebook.com/100MainSt. Take a few minutes today -- write to your Councillor, Trustee, The Minister of Education and McMaster University (their contacts are listed in the links) and share this video with your friends. Spread the word far and wide. Far too much of Hamilton's heritage has been lost. We deserve a better solution for 100 Main Street West. Together we can save The Board of Education building.

NàRoma Pizza Bar

When we see papered up windows we get excited. So much so that our curiosity gets the best of us, and we'll look for ways to peak inside buildings to see what new developments are happening in the neighbourhood. It just so happened that when we were trying to sneak a peak in what would become NàRoma Pizza Bar, the owner, Mario Spina, was inside (and likely thinking we were a bit crazy). He opened the door and invited us in to have a look at the renovations. So make note, if you see us creeping don't be alarmed. NàRoma has been open for about nine months now and its one of our regular spots. There is something really authentic about the atmosphere. You'll see family and friends drop by to say a quick hello and have an espresso. "We want our customers to feel at home," says Mario. In between making pizzas the staff plays intense games of chess. It's so welcoming that you'll want to spend a whole afternoon there. And that's exactly what we did on this snowy day.

The building had been a vacant house for seven years, before Mario took it over, restored the exterior architecture and renovated the interior to house his pizza shop. "I have been in love with Locke Street and the community for ten years, " enthuses Mario, "I wanted to reveal my concept five years ago but I needed time to bring it to life."

Using slow, time-honoured methods, Mario makes authentic Italian pizza. And its a very labour intensive process. "The dough process is a 72 hour rising method," explains Mario, "The secret is time." He uses very little yeast, and tell us that less yeast means more flavour. The dough is kneaded repeatedly by hand, allowed to relax and rise for a minimum of 72 hours before it’s ready for the oven. All of his produce is purchased fresh from the Hamilton Farmer's Market. The meats and flour are imported from Italy.

So what pizza should you try? We recommend the Patata Dolce, a combination of mozzarella and goat cheese with sweet potato, sage and maple syrup. Stephanie's favourite is the brie e prosciutto -- a blend of mozzarella, triple cream brie cheese, prosciutto, fig jam, caramelized onions, arugula and reduced balsamic. We ask Mario what his favourite pizza is and he says, "The Margherita. It reflects the natural taste of the dough and the sauce."

And don't miss the made-from-scratch daily soups, especially the stracciatella, an Italian egg-drop soup. 

NàRoma offers a unique selection of wines. Camporsino's Chianti goes well with oil based pizzas. The Moltepucliano D'Abruzzo from Italy best compliments a vegetarian pizza and the Pinot Grigio from East Dell Estates pairs well with the salads and soups.

Our friend Josh just joined the NàRoma team. It's no question he makes the best espresso and all things coffee in the city. Josh and Mario are are busy revamping the staff uniform. They are following the cue of those Euro men jazzing up their look with bright coloured trousers. We dig it.

Below, that's the homemade cannoli. We had way too many of them. It's a must have when you visit NàRoma.

Mario is planning for a 24 seat patio this summer which we are eagerly awaiting. His delivery service is so popular that people just a couple blocks over call to order pizza. With all this success,  plans for two more possible locations are in the works. So stay tuned..

215 Locke Street South
Hamilton, Ontario
L8P 4B4
(905) 525-6699