I was drawn to this community by a suggestion from Primaldog, and am very pleased with it thus far. I am a jeweler and sculptor who does my own lapidary stone cutting, metalwork and work with bone, fossils, clay, stones, wood, shell, fur, antler, teeth, claws and anything else I can get my hands on. I admire you taxidermists a great deal, but it is too rare that I need fur or hide for jewelry for me to start that kind of work at this time.

Primarily I sell through my shop on Etsy, but as my work is rather unusual, I have not had too many clients so far. Also, the amount of time and work my pieces take and the rarity of some of these materials (lion bone or wolf teeth for example) causes me to have to charge a bit more for them.

I do not specifically collect bones for their own sakes, but as art materials and components in my pieces. From rare and hard to find animals I might keep a piece I make from the bones for sentimental reasons. I am drawn to large cats and materials from them, but enjoy working with just about any animal.

Here is a link to my Etsy store, and feel free to let me know if I can make anything for any of you as custom work. I rarely deal in raw materials, but will gladly sell, trade or barter finished jewelry pieces.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/orthaevelve

My original post is here: http://community.livejournal.com/toronto/8577866.html
tldr: I joined Extreme Fitness, heard millions of bad things about them from everybody, saw they have an F rating on the BBB, and consulted with the community. The replies made up my mind to cancel, and I did so the day after that post.

The manager swore up and down I would get my refund within 15 days (the cancellation paper corroborated this). It's now been closer to 3 weeks, and of course I've received nothing. I phoned to inquire about it, and after first insisting they had no record of me, the guy told me it was probably because I had paid it all upfront. (Really? Why would this delay my refund, and if it actually did, why wouldn't they tell me that upfront?) Anyway, he offered no help at all and told me to call back next week.

I had such a terrible feeling about this, and now all of my fears are coming true. That's $300 on my credit card that I can't afford interest on, and feel I shouldn't have to pay interest at all, because I was PROMISED that refund, and am legally entitled to it.

I have no idea who to go to about this, but I know a lottt of people have had trouble with this company. Where do I go? Who do I talk to? I really don't want them to get away with this, it's complete bs.

Edit: Okay, here's another fun part. When I cancelled, they issued me some paperwork, which I didn't really bother to look over at the time because I was so relieved. When I got home, I noticed it said the refund amount was what I had paid WITHOUT TAX (so about $40 short of what I actually paid). I called to ask about this and the manager very convincingly assured me they would refund the tax as well. I realize now this is bs, and am kicking myself for not pushing the issue further. So basically, if I try to resolve this through Visa, the only paperwork I have states I'm owed an amount $40 less from what I actually am. And I know, it's only $40, but at this point it's largely about principle. Is there anybody else I can contact regarding these sort of unethical business practices?

Current Mood: furious!!!

Hi guys.

Is it legal to rollerskate or rollerblade in downtown Toronto (on the sidewalk, in parks)?

Do you know of any preferred roller locations in downtown? Indoor or outdoor is great.

I looked at the tags & found nothing.

Tags: sports & recreation

Hi guys, I have some nice glasses frames and want to get them fitted with my perscription lens with these guys: http://www.opticcreations.com/locations.html

They're pretty cheap - has anyone had any experiences with them?

Hi folks,

I need a t-shirt made with my logo on it within one day. Any suggestions downtown? As close to TTC as possible would be ideal.

Thanks for your help!

Ok, this community has come through for me every time I've had a question in the past, but this time I present a real challenge: a friend of mine is celebrating their birthday this Sunday, the 10th. I need suggestions for interesting things to do, but this is a very difficult task because of all the restrictions involved. It can't be a lounge, because the person does not drink alcohol. It can't be an outdoor activity because of the cold. No bars or strip clubs. They aren't really into the club idea because it's not special. There aren't any interesting shows or concerts that night. Can you guys think of anything cool to do on Sunday, both during the day and the evening? I've been trying to think outside the box, and so far haven't really come up with anything. Please help!

I am looking to buy a January 2010 Metropass. Mine STUPIDLY slipped out of my pocket on Tuesday, must have been in the Dundas streetcar headed east. I cannot afford to eat if i pay ttc by tokens/ cash this month...

I've searched craigslist, asked my friends, nothing. There must be someone out there who can afford to part with theirs this month...

I would greatly appreciate it if anybody has any leads. Come on Toronto!


Thank you.


Jiuna

I am desperately (term used loosely) trying to find the red Vancouver 2010 mitts but have come up short. I've searched numerous Bay stores but they all say they were sold out eons ago.

Would anyone know where I would be able to find a pair in the GTA? I don't want to resort to eBay or buying online.

Thanks!

dearest font of knowledge:
I know this isn't super Toronto-specific, but it is a fairly specific question I can't seem to find answers for so far. We're currently subletting one of the rooms we have in our townhouse, and our subletter has asked for rent receipts, which I'll be giving her (since she pays her rent to me directly, and I pay the townhouse corporation). The question is, when I'm claiming rent on my taxes, do I fill out something for income rec'd from the subletter, as well as what I pay rent for?

I have done some google-fu ing to no avail, I'm anxious to know how we do this in Toronto. :-)

Thanks in advance for your help!!

Hello there! Unfortunately my ex-voice coach back in Ottawa finds the commute here just a little long, haha...so can anyone recommend me a person/place I can go for voice lessons (singing)?

I'm looking for a place to go that has similar benefits as I had in Ottawa...workshops beyond the lessons, performance opportunities, etc. I've done some googling and found some, but I'd love input from people here if you know of somewhere really great.

Bonus points if it's close to Yonge and Davisville, or Union station.