Toronto's not lacking in options for places to trade-in old clothing that for one reason or another no longer belongs in one's wardrobe. Along with staples like Value Village and Goodwill, Leslieville's Common Sort acquires a chunk of its stock directly from customers. This newish store on Queen West offers a bit of both worlds by donating to charities and by stocking up on designer labels.

Read my profile of the Kind Exchange in the fashion stores section.

With the 2012 International Design Festival now underway, venues all over Toronto are in full swing with design exhibitions, artist talks, installations and more. We've already highlighted some of the not-to-be missed events at this year's festival, but leading into the biggest design weekend of the year, it makes sense to have a look at what's on offer from TO DO (Toronto Design Offsite), which started showcasing offsite exhibitions from on January 23rd and continues through this weekend (and in some cases beyond). Along with design products, there are also interactive workshops, artist talks, parties, and other events that resist conventional labels. Here are five exhibits/events worth checking out.

What can I say that a Tool fan doesn't already know about their epic live shows? Even if Maynard Keenan claimed the band was a "little rusty," you would have never known it as they took the ACC with full force last night.

They kicked off their set promptly at 9:05pm to a packed and amped crowd after openers Intronaut warmed everyone up with their fast and heavy riffs. Starting off hard and fast, they played "Hooker with a Penis," off of their critically acclaimed album from 1996, Ænima. Maynard's voice still has enviable range — one minute he's almost lulling you with and almost soothing monotone, and the next he's jolting you with his frantic screams into the mic.

The Drake Hotel's newest pop up experiment, Drake Lab, opened on Friday with an exhibit by Zack Slootsky. Found two doors east of the hotel, this new venture is intended, in the Drake's words, to be a jam space, exhibition venue and pop-up shop; as well as a lounge for the community where people can watch movies, play records, draw, jam and do all things creative.

The first installation runs until December 30th and will promote as well as coincide with the Drake's annual music festival What's in the box? There's a full calendar of events planned for the month including a record swap, acoustic jam, instrument workshop and speaker series.

Joel Richardson, a Toronto based artist and filmmaker, has garnered a lot of attention of late. His work was featured in a major exhibit for Occupy Wall Street at the Chelsea Museum, which was picked up by the New York Times and the Washington Post, the latter of which called his contribution some of "the most controversial art" to be featured. On a local level, the artist also made headlines earlier this year, when the City of Toronto buffed one of his murals near Lansdowne and Dupont when it was later revealed that the project had received funding from the Clean and Beautiful secretariat. Richardson has since replaced the mural, and is experiencing what you might call a mid-career resurgence.