With the Cirque du Soleil in town, I was thinking of how it holds a special place in our hearts as it spreads our Quebecois joie de vivre and creativity around the world. We are as proud of it as if it were our own personal offspring – one who grew up here, learned the ropes on our streets and then went on to became an international pop star.

Since the Cirque is headquartered in Montreal North, that means that its design team uses Montreal businesses as its palette to create the costumes (and some scenery) that wow the planet. This time when you go to see Kooza, watch it differently. Look more carefully at what is being worn in each act – notice the feathered headpieces, neck feathers, glittery legs, metallic and rhinestoned bodies, and especially the big Hollywood number in part two with tuxedos and chorus girl high feathered hats. It adds a whole new dimension to the show – like tasting each bite of food on a gorgeous dinner plate instead of wolfing down the plateful as a whole.

So it is possible for those of you who have creative itches to shop in the very same stores that the Cirque teams go to .These businesses sell fabric-related products with high visibility levels, be they sparkly, glittery, shiny, glow-in-the-dark, or just plain feathery. For them all the detail is usually sewn or attached to a base suit of spandex (look for the boas in act two of Kooza). You too can have access to this exciting merchandise, which can inspire sparks of creativity for projects you have coming up.

Les Textiles Bon-mar, 8448 St. Laurent Blvd. at De Liege St. Phone: 514-382-2275. Hours: Monday to Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. www.bon-mar.com This is one of the stores that the Cirque du Soleil designers head to first for the yards and yards of spandex that they need for that second skin that the performers wear. Some of it gets printed on with animal-like or other patterns, while the rest incorporates metallics, shiny fabrics, glitter fabrics, holograms, netting or glow-in-the dark fabrics into the designs. The new state-of-the art fabrics that they are using are photonics. These are electronic fabrics which have thread like electric wiring running through them and are powered by a power source. The costumes can then light up in the dark in all kinds of patterns. The rest of this unusual fabric store is full of yardage worn in athletics – swimming, figure skating, dance, gymnastics, wind-surfing, aerobics and also for theatrical events. Their products go from keeping you warm to cooling you off. Other hard to find items are the Wonderflex and Fosshape for mask making, Scotchlite and reflective tapes and bejewelers for rhinestones and Swarovsky crystals.

F.F.F. French Feather & Flowers, 6565 Henri Bourassa Blvd. West at Sartelon St. Phone: 514-332-8584. Hours: by appointment, Monday to Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Cirque du Soleil also need feathery things – flowers, veils, feathers and boas (in white, red, black, burgundy, fuchsia, hot pink, bright yellow, forest green, lime, light pink, orange, brown, etc.). Hand made flowers are a big specialty here, not only for the Cirque but for the bridal parties coming up this season. They can be made into headpieces or centerpieces, and the flowers can be created out of your own fabric or out of feathers. Feathers are being added to real-flower bridal centerpieces as well as those for baby baptism parties or used on lamps. Bridal headpieces (rhinestone tiaras) can be purchased at wholesale prices as well as bouquets, garters, silk flowers and ring bearer cushions. There are 1st communion veils, purses, gloves and parasols, too.

Frabels, 5580 Pare St. at Devonshire Rd. Phone: 514-842-8561. Hours: Monday to Thursday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. http://www.frabels.com The Cirque du Soleil designers shop here for rhinestones, rhinestone banding, sequins, sequin appliques, sew-on stones (flat stones with two holes in them), beads and lots of chain. The company, around for 64 years, has a showroom that is full of findings, beads, rhinestones, pearls, semi-precious stones, resin beads and Swarovski crystal for jewelry-making. All kinds of rhinestone trim, tools, chain, wire, etc. are here along with catalogues to look through to find exactly what else you might need. You must spend at least $200.

Men don’t understand why women need so many pairs of shoes. Shoes are an accessory for us, while they are more of just a serviceable item for men. Shoes are part of the overall look for the ladies, so women’s shoes come in many styles and heels, which they match to different outfits.

This season, the styles of shoes have really taken off in so many directions that you almost have to buy a whole new wardrobe of them. Animal prints are out there and patent leather in many colors is hot. Peep toes – remember those from the forties – are fun in all kinds of heel configurations. Ballerina flats are so comfy that they are taking over. Little “kitten heels” are another style you see around. Wedges are useful to go from casual to dressy, so you’ll see lots of them. Colors are popping – reds, greens and yellows are being shown in shoes along with lots of floral patterns.

Whew! Can you see, guys, why we need so many pairs? You can’t possibly wear your polka dot kitten heels with the same outfit with which you would wear the lime green ballerina flats. If it’s a day that you’re out walking, the wedgies might be comfy, but your feet wouldn’t be happy if you were sporting the ones with high heel peep toes – you’d save those for the day you were sitting in the office. And we haven’t even touched on the tie-up sport shoes here.

Thank goodness there are some shoe stores around town that can let you support your habit for very few bucks. At prices around $40, shoes become a disposable item. You can have fun and buy a wild print or canary yellow patent leather sandal this year and toss it away next year when the styles and colors change – and not feel guilty about it.

Strata, 4279 St. Jean Blvd. at Roger Pilon Blvd. Phone: 514-624-3629. Hours: Monday and Tuesday 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Wednesday to Friday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday and Sunday 10 a.m to 5 p.m Other locations: 1625B Daniel Johnson Blvd., Laval (450-978-0920); 8025 Taschereau Blvd. (450-462-9996). At $40 (tax included) or less, women are walking out of here with four or five pairs of shoes (sizes 5-11) at a time. They only feature this season’s hot styles, and you will find names here (Delicious, KGB, Shelly’s of London, Jessica Simpson, Totes and Guido Martinez purses) that are selling for double the price at trendy stores around town.

House of Shoes, Phone: 514-783-1727. Hours: by appointment. It’s hard to believe you can buy major name brand shoes – BCBG, Enzo Angiolini, Nine West, AK, Aerosoles, Franco Sarto, Nina Michael Kors, Diesel and Guess for $28-$40 including tax. This home-based business is open less than a year and is already booking shoe parties. They’re on the idea of the Tupperware ones, but you get to buy famous labeled shoes, and the person who organizes it earns “shoe dollars”. Of course, there isn’t everything in every size (6-10), but what there is, is a steal.

Chaussures X2B, 8484 Lacordaire Blvd. at Langelier Blvd. Phone: 514-324-2510. Hours: Monday to Wednesday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Thursday and Friday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday and Sunday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. It’s like a circus of colors when you walk in here and see the youthful shoes lined up. There are lots of ballerina flats, pointy high heels, desert boots, sneaks and flip flops in prices similar to Payless shoes. The purses have lots of bling (some by Guess and Betty Boop), and there’s belts and jewelry. Other location (mostly purses): 7144 St. Laurent Blvd.

Shoe Liquidation, 5643 Cote des Neiges Rd. at Cote Ste-Catherine Rd. Phone: 514-344-8894. Hours: Monday to Wednesday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Thursday and Friday 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday 12 p.m. to 5p.m. The price for ladies’ (5-11) and men’s (7-12) shoes in this shop, which has been open for eleven years, are all in the $10-$70 range (tax included). Since it’s mostly clearances, you never know what brands will be there or in which sizes you’ll find each style. You could come across: Nine West, Rockport, Clark’s, Stonefly, Soft Spots, Ferra Giacomo, Steve Madden, Sacha of London or Franco Sarto.

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Super-sizing mattresses seems to be all the rage. Why are we surprised? After we super-sized our meals, we had to super-size our dinner plates, and then our coffee cups too. Go take a look at the cups you got when you first set up house – they probably hold half the amount of coffee of the mug in your newest set. All of the couches being sold in furniture stores today are so super-sized that anyone under six feet tall cannot reach the floor when sitting on them.

Mattress super-sizing is happening in two directions. The average life of an older mattress was fifteen years. Anyone who is replacing one from that long ago will be in for a shock. Mattresses are so thick that you cannot use your old sheets. You will have to buy all new ones – the deep pocket kind. Some short people will even have a hard time having their legs reach the floor, since the mattress is so much higher up.

New mattresses are also being built with pillow-tops on one side only, so they are being sold with the added feature that “you no longer have to turn them over”. This is because they are so heavy that most people can’t flip them! Not rotating them matters, however, since that shortens their life span, because you are always sleeping in one spot. Also, due to the fact that mattresses are so full of padding, which wears out quicker, they are only guaranteed for ten years now.

The second super-sizing that happened is in the size of the bed itself. New Moms and Dads who have little ones creep into bed at night are tired of fighting for room, so they are upgrading from the most popular queen size bed to king size beds. Couples sharing a bed but with different sleep patterns may opt for a king split. You’re in the same bed, but since you each have your own mattress, you can choose a comfort level that you each prefer. Most importantly, the other person’s movements don’t affect your sleep.

The most important thing to do when buying a new mattress is for both of the people who will be sleeping on it to go try it out, since it must be comfortable to each of you. You will not know how it feels for a whole night if you don’t lie on it for a while. When you do try it out, don’t do it for only five seconds. Plan to spend the afternoon and lie down for ten minutes or so – bring a book and your teddy bear.

You change your car every three or four years, your computer and your cell phone even more often than that, but you sleep on your mattress for eight hours a night and keep it forever. If it costs you an average of $1,000 to buy a new one, that’s only $100 a year over a ten year span. A good night’s sleep makes a huge difference in your life, so perhaps you should be thinking of buying a better night’s sleep instead of a new electronic gadget.

Dormez-vous, 3379 Sources Blvd. at Brunswick Blvd. Phone: 514-684-4927. Hours: Monday to Wednesday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Thursday and Friday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Frere Jacques would be happy shopping here for the choice of fifty to sixty models of mattresses on the floor and for the sales help who get six weeks of training to help take the confusion out of the selection process. Now partnered with Sleep Country, Canada’s largest mattress retailer, prices are even better. The brand names (Simmons, Sealy, Serta, Stearns & Foster, Primo, Temperpedic, Select Comfort) are all displayed for you to lie down on and try out. Head boards, foot boards, sleigh beds, adjustable beds and brass beds are all here, and look for the Coin des Petits area in some of the stores. Other locations: 6870 Jean Talon St. E. (514-252-4927); 7216 Newman Blvd. (514-595-4927); Laval, 1070 Desserte W. (450-969-4927); 6444 Somerled Ave. (514-482-9927); 550 Sherbrooke St. W. (514-845-9927); Longueuil, 2029 Roland Therrien Blvd. W. (450-448-4927); 4226 St. Laurent Blvd. (514-844-7927); 1070 Autoroute Chomedey (450-969-4927) and more.

Laval Bedding, 950 Berlier St. at Industriel Blvd. Phone: 450-663-5921. Hours: Monday to Friday 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. If you’ve ever wanted a made-to-measure mattress, this company has been making them for years. You can choose one with a pillow top, and even have it made on both sides, if you still want to be able to flip it regularly. Memory foam mattresses are available, even in a round bed, or you can have them put a memory foam pillow top on a regular mattress. If regular size mattresses do not fit your irregular-sized body, then this quality mattress factory can make one up to fit. A twin set starts at only $225, and an extra-long 80″ twin box spring with firm mattress would only be about 15% more.

Cameo Convertibles, 7905 Transcanada Highway at Cote Vertu Rd. Phone: 514-337-2933. Hours: Monday to Wednesday 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., Thursday 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., Friday 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sometimes you only have room for a sofa bed in your apartment, and you want it to be as comfortable as possible – both as a couch and especially as a bed; the mattress that is the most critical part. This company has been custom- making them for forty-seven years, and knows how important the mattress is to the finished product. Their extra firm inner spring mattress is constructed with 13 gauge steel coils, which are more resistant, and there are 312 of them on a queen bed. For ticking, they use the same silk-like fabric you would find on a regular mattress instead of the commercial duck cotton that others might use. Yes, it does come in pillow top or even memory foam topped. At this manufacturer you are buying direct (read: savings) for every kind, style and price of sofa (and chair) bed you can imagine. The couches can be made into singles, junior doubles, doubles or queen size beds. You choose your own fabric to match your decor and pocketbook, and they will turn it into a well-made piece of furniture as well as a comfortable bed. You can also order made-to-measure couches, sectionals and chairs. Other location (note new address): 1150 Union St. (514-861-0537).

Do you know about the cupcake craze that is sweeping North America? I remember seeing cupcake stores open in New York City, and my thought was that any kind of store seems to be able to survive in my home town, with its eight million or so tightly packed shoppers nearby. But here?

Once the craze hit Montreal and stores dedicated to the little morsels started opening (Petits Gateaux in the Plateau, Itsi Bitsi on Notre Dame, Cocoa Locale on Ave du Parc, for example), I decided it was time to help you to start making cupcakes, because in a minute it’s going to hit your neighborhood. Cupcakes are cute. Cupcakes remind us of our youth. Cupcakes are so decorate-able. Cupcakes can be mixed and matched on a cupcake stand quite prettily for any kind of event, be it a little birthday party or a big wedding reception. I even saw a cupcake stand in a Walmart ad for $16.97 a couple of weeks ago.

If your arts and crafts genes are going wild from all those cooking and decorating shows, you can easily let them all out on wee cupcake toppings – and then you can eat your creations!

The stores below specialize in cake decorating supplies. With some of you planning weddings in the next few months, you too will need to know where to get the provisions to make that special cake for the big event. You can all meet at the stores below:

Vixit France Decor, 290 Henri Bourassa Blvd. West at Jeanne-Mance St. Phone: 514-337-0814. Hours: Monday to Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. For the multitudes of Montrealers who love baking, this is the shop for you! Treat yourself to professional equipment or just buy the many hard to find decorating items that you always need. Every kind and size of cake pan, mold (silicon ones too), decorating bags and tips, doilies, cardboard platters and cookie molds are piled as high as an elephant’s eye. Cake baking books can help you with ideas and cake decorating characters (even fisherman, hunters, sportsmen, graduation, etc.) can help with themes. Upstairs is the wedding cake, chocolate-making and candy-making center, with lots of boxes and ribbons to put them in. They stock Barry-Callebaut chocolates, which have different flavors depending on which part of the world they hail from – Cuba, Tanzania, Grenada, Santo Domingo, etc. Try them all and have a tasting party. http://www.vixit.com

Accessoires Rose Blanche, 665 1st Avenue at Provost St., Lachine. Phone: 514-634-0017. Hours: Monday to Wednesday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursday and Friday 10 a.m. t o7 p.m., Saturday 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. When you plan to bake a wedding cake or any fancy creation, head for this spot. The special items you’ll need, like rolled fondant, almond paste, covo shortening, apricot glaze, tips, clear gel and sugar flowers are here. Your project might require cake boxes, boards, ribbons and leaves or the brides and grooms and all other cake ornaments to top them off, and they’re here too. To save a buck you can rent specialty shape pans (newest ones are Diago, Tinkerbell and Little Mermaid) or cake fountains. Stuffings for balloons are stocked, and to adorn the top of your cake you can have an edible image made from a digital photo. A large selection of chocolate and chocolate molds and paper party supplies line the shelves. They will even bake specialty and wedding cakes for you.

Epices “Anatol” Spices, 6822 St. Laurent Blvd at Dante St. Phone: 514-276-0107. Hours: Monday to Wednesday 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Thursday and Friday 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. This by the pound wholesaler also sells retail, so the prices you pay are quite good. For baking decorating, there are all kinds of sprinkles: mixed rainbow sprinkles, mixed rice shaped sprinkles, chocolate sprinkles and ten shapes of the popular silver sparklies along with gold balls. You can top your cupcakes with caramel chips, carob chips, coconut chips, Smarties, M&M’s and other candies. Or how about some healthy dried fruits – papaya, pineapple, cherries or cranberries? For flavoring, Dutch cocoa powder comes in dark and light, and they stock coconut powder, carob powder, Belgian chocolate and vanilla beans. You may want to fancy up the outside with coconut flakes, sweet or unsweetened or toasted. And to wash it all down there is a huge inventory of tea with about sixty varieties, and it’s only $5.99 lb. for coffee.

Seven years ago when I first wrote a column about re-filling computer printer cartridges, it was like searching for an underground illicit society. At that time, we were brainwashed into thinking that if we didn’t buy brand new cartridges each time we needed them, we would ruin our machines.

Since then, we’ve gotten both smarter and more eco-friendly, and at the same time stores that sell re-furbished cartridges (for both ink and laser printers) are popping up all over the city. You can bring them in and get them refilled or you can buy the inks and learn to refill them yourselves.

In order to be able to get cartridges refilled however, there are some basics to be aware of for ink cartridges. If you replace an ink cartridge with a spare one, don’t just stick it in a drawer until you have a moment to get it replenished, since the inks dry out. At the very least, put the cartridge along with a moist paper towel into a sealed plastic bag. Interestingly, putting it in the fridge (in the bag) at this point is the best case scenario.

When the printer warning light indicates that you are about to run out of ink, don’t keep going until the well runs dry. The reason for this is that many cartridges have the print head right on the cartridge. The ink acts as a coolant for that head. If the ink runs out you can damage the head by burning out some of the little ink nozzles. If this happens, it is no longer refillable and you must buy a new one. Also, if your print head is on the cartridge, the technicians who do the re-filling can also clean the head and fix problems.

But that low level warning is set at a different level for every printer. Sometimes there is still between 3 and 5% of ink left (or more!), so there is a little bit of wiggle room. The real test is to look at the print coming out, and when it starts to deteriorate, you know you must, at that point, stop using the cartridge.

Not all printer cartridges can be refilled by the after-market dealers below. Their companies spend lots of time figuring out the chemical recipe for each printer – both for the ink and its viscosity. Some printers are not worth the company’s time to develop the ink, so cartridges may not be available. Therefore, no matter how good the deal in the flyer looks for a printer, before you buy you might want to find out if that machine’s cartridge is refillable by these dealers. Otherwise you may be stuck buying at full price from the manufacturer.

Cartridge World, 4808 Pierrefonds Blvd. at Harry Worth St. Phone: 514-626-3455. Hours: Monday to Wednesday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Thursday and Friday 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. This is a franchise operation run by a friendly husband and wife team. They sell new cartridges and refill ink and laser ones. The company uses quality OCP inks from Germany, and in order to be able to match the needs of different printers, they come in about 170 different viscosities. When you buy a cartridge here, it has been test printed to make sure it will work on your machine, and they replace broken cartridge components after performing a stress test. http://www.cartridgeworld.ca

I-matek, 539 Lepine Ave. at Guthrie St., Dorval. Phone: 514-636-5211. Hours: Monday to Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. This was the first company I found re-filling cartridges. You can save 80% on the cost of your ink jet printer cartridges (Epson, Lexmark, Canon, HP) by learning how to fill them yourselves. Average costs of buying a new ink jet cartridge would be $30 – $50, but refilling costs only $2-$8 Bring your cartridge in and these friendly people will demystify the process, show you how to do it and sell you the kit you need. Laser cartridges can also be refilled by this company for about half the price of a new one. http://www.i-matek.ca

Micro-Jet Technologies, 5512 Sherbrooke St. West at Girouard Ave. Phone: 514-487-4657. Hours: Monday to Friday 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. This shop specializes in cartridges for printers (brother, HP, Lexmark, Canon, Epson) and can special order any that they don’t have. New and already re-cycled laser and ink-jet cartridges are available along with kits to do it yourself. Their re-manufactured ink cartridges are machine filled. Photocopy, fax and thermal paper round out the inventory. If you have empty cartridges, you can bring them here, since they donate the value to the NDG minor baseball league.

Island Ink-Jet, Centre Laval, 1600 Le Courbusier Blvd. at St.Martin Blvd. Hours: Monday to Wednesday 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., Thursday and Friday 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sun 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. This franchise chain has little kiosks in malls, and markets a broad range of aftermarket ink-jet and laser printing products. These include ink-jet refill services, do-it-yourself refill kits, compatible ink-jet cartridges and re-manufactured laser toner cartridges. Other locations: 5181 St. Laurent Blvd. (514-278-7658); Plaza Cote des Neiges (514-739-6193); 5400 Jean Talon St. W. (514-344-4096); Plaza Alexis Nihon (514-846-3377); Carrefour Angrignon (514-595-4655); Centre Laval (450-680-1538); Place Vertu (514-335-9645); Mail Champlain (450-671-5100: Fairview Pointe Claire (514-694-4555).