12 Things You Didn’t Know About Tommy Smythe

Tommy: “Um, I take it a few ways, but do you really want to hear what my Starbucks order is? Sarah knows it.”Sarah Richardson (who was present for this interview), says: “I was in New York last week, and as I was walking to get my coffee, for some reason, as I was skipping along the street, I was reciting in my head Tommy’s order: A Venti, five-shot, half sweet, sugar-free, vanilla, Americano.”

Tommy: “That’s it! It’s a lot of words. I’m a little person who likes big coffee. But just one in the morning.”

Tommy: Red. Just about any shade of red. I don’t really like it when it goes too pinky. But red, jewel-toned ruby red.

Tommy: “My first job as a kid was flipping hamburgers at Clevelands House. Very similar to Sarah’s first job of serving at Clevelands House. Not at the same time, but at the same place, same resort in Northern Ontario.”

Tommy: “I always feel like my last vacation is the best one I ever took, so I was in Paris and London over the holidays. I do cultural travel. I don’t tend to do beaches. I don’t think I’ve been on a beach for at least four or five years. ”

Sarah Richardson (who was present for this interview), says: “You’ve been to Miami”

Tommy: “Miami but not on the beach. Miami in the restaurants, the nightclubs, the hotels. And then museums, and the art galleries. And the piscine. I’m more piscine than plage. ” (All laugh)

Tommy: “Cooking!”

Tommy: “That’s impossible for me to say one favourite flea market find. But, I will tell you, one of my favourite flea market finds was when I was in Lisbon, Portugal. I was taken to a magnificent market in the heart of Lisbon and I found a beautiful canary yellow, ceramic jug, from the mid-century that is Portuguese pottery. So it sort of hit a couple of different things for me: it was vintage-modern, which I love; it was a colourful primary colour which I love; it was an authentic souvenir from where I was; and it’s a pretty darn awesome flower vase.”

Tommy: “Fall.”

Tommy: “I have three siblings. One sister and two step-sisters. I’m the oldest of all of them. Not at all the smartest or the prettiest, but certainly the oldest.”

Tommy: “I’m actually reading right now ‘Gods and Kings’ and it’s the story of the rise and fall of John Galliano and Alexander McQueen. I’ve always been fascinated by fashion, and it’s an excellent, excellent book.”

Tommy: “I loved History. English and history. I love language and history.”

Tommy: “TV. I love watching TV. I’m a binge watcher, I love watching marathon binges of hit shows. I’m an equal opportunity viewer. I’m a bit pop-culture obsessed, so if there’s a hot show that’s on, I’m obsessed with watching it. I watch everything, I have a very expensive cable package. I’m not ashamed of it either. A lot of people are really weird about it, like ‘I don’t watch TV.’ I’m like, ‘Congratulations! You’re not having any fun and I am” (laughs).”

Tommy: “Probably watch a TV marathon (laughs). Actually I do a lot of different things, like yesterday I did a puzzle. For real. I don’t know why. I have this Harold Town puzzle, it’s a vintage puzzle by a famous Canadian artist.”

“I’m very good at nesting. I like to visit my library when it’s rainy.”