‘Different’ flea market helps kids
Designer Seldon donates $11,000 from sale Family delivers Star gift boxes to needy kids
The idea for Kimberly Seldon’s Christmas By Design holiday sale came from a visit to France. The idea for what to do with the proceeds came from a doorstep in Parkdale.
While visiting a flea market in Paris, the home décor guru was impressed by the range and quality of the sprawling “ Europeanstyle” market.
“ That’s actually how it started,” Seldon said, amid yesterday’s glittering bazaar of home accessories in Toronto’s Distillery District. “ You can buy everything from the finest in antiques to vintage to modern to antique jewellery and it’s all really good quality. It’s a very different connotation of flea market.” About 45 vendors showcased their wares — many of them below the usual retail prices — for the two- day event that ended yesterday at 55 Mill St.
“We’ve encouraged them to come down to the sale and bring items that would be in their stores regularly,” Seldon said. The sale, in its third year, featured chandeliers, Oriental carpets and mammoth blueberry muffins. But the real bottom line was a cheque for $ 11,000 — the biggest yet in the sale’s short history — for the Toronto Star Santa Claus Fund. So far, Seldon’s annual sale has amounted to $26,000 for the charity that delivers Christmas presents to children from struggling families throughout Greater Toronto.
“ Because it’s a Christmas sale it seemed like an obvious fit,” Seldon said.
Well, obvious to someone who spends part of her own Christmas delivering presents to those children. When Seldon first volunteered to deliver gifts for the charity in 2003, she took her husband and two children along.
“ That was the best thing I ever did for my little teenagers,” she recalls.
“ We had one mother burst into tears, insist on giving everybody iced tea. We sat down with her in her living room and she told us about her luck and everything.”
In its 100th year, the Santa Claus Fund aims to raise $ 1.35 million — to ensure 45,000 underprivileged children across Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Ajax and Pickering receive Christmas presents this year.
If you have been touched by the Santa Claus Fund, or have a story to tell, email ccotron@ thestar. ca or call 416- 814- 2751.