November 2006
The city's best loot By Jennifer Cranston
Home & Garden Guide › Housewares
William Ashley
- 55 Bloor St. W. (at Bay), Manulife Centre More locations ( 1 ) • View on map »
- 416-964-2900
Known far and wide for its two W’s—weddings and warehouse sales—William Ashley remains, in its 61st year of business, the crystal palace of table settings and gourmet pursuits. The Bloor store is partitioned into specialties: there’s the paper room, with its forest of invitations in luxury stocks; the art deco–style rotunda, with its giftware, including vases and frames (many of them surprisingly under $100); a suite for silver-plated and sterling flatware; the gourmet shop, selling Le Creuset cookware and Alessi gadgets; an entire room devoted to Wedgwood; and yet others covering the major leagues in china, including Spode and Rosenthal. The service is thorough, and the gold-box gift-wrap is a badge of honour. The annual warehouse sale—at 70 per cent off retail prices—is worth the lineups.
- Hours:
- Manulife, M–W 10–6, Th–F 10–7:30, Sa 9:30–6; Square One, M–F 10–9, Sa 9:30–6, Su noon–5
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