Being A Regional Muskoka Dealer

UPON BEING A REGIONAL ANTIQUE DEALER - KNOWING LOCAL HISTORY AS IT RELATES TO THE ANTIQUES AND COLLECTABLES BEING SOLD

BEING IN A TOURISM AREA FORCES MUSKOKA DEALERS TO REPRESENT REGIONAL HERITAGE

     MY STARTING INVENTORY ON THE FIRST DAY, IN MY FIRST ANTIQUE SHOP, IN THE TOWN OF BRACEBRIDGE, WAS AT LEAST "HALF" (IN INDIVIDUAL ITEMS) REPRESENTATIVE OF OUR REGION OF ONTARIO. I HAD ADVICE ON THIS FROM SEVERAL MUSKOKA DEALERS WHO I TRUSTED, DURING MY APPRENTICESHIP…..THAT IT WAS DESIRABLE TO HAVE LOCALLY SIGNIFICANT PIECES FOR COLLECTORS OF MUSKOKA MEMORABILIA. I DIDN'T HAVE A LOT OF MUSKOKA RELATED PIECES, BUT ENOUGH TO SATISFY SOME OF THE COLLECTOR INTERESTS, AND YES IT WAS HIGHLY PROFITABLE TO KEEP A STOCK OF GOOD QUALITY REGIONAL PIECES; ESPECIALLY WHEN THE VICTORIA DAY WEEKEND ROLLED AROUND. THIS, IN SO CALLED "COTTAGE COUNTRY," IS THE "WELCOME BACK" TIME OF YEAR, FOR OUR SUMMER SEASON VISITORS. THE VICTORIA DAY WEEKEND IS CUSTOMARILY FOR COTTAGE OPENING AND CLEANING, SO IT'S NOT A ROBUST WEEKEND IN THE ANTIQUE TRADE. BUT IT DOES MAKE MANY RETAILERS HAPPY, THAT'S FOR SURE, AND AN UPSWING OF BUSINESS THAT SHOULD BE PRETTY FAIR UNTIL THANKSGIVING. IN MUSKOKA, WHEN I WAS GROWING UP, THE SUMMER SEASON WAS PRETTY MUCH CONFINED TO JULY AND AUGUST, WINDING DOWN BY THE START OF THE CANADIAN NATIONAL EXHIBITION IN TORONTO. REALLY! BUT THESE DAYS, WITH BETTER HIGHWAY AND ROAD MAINTENANCE, AND COTTAGE  IMPROVEMENTS AROUND THE REGION……, PLUS OF COURSE, MORE FOUR SEASON COTTAGES BEING BUILT, TOURIST SEASON HAS BULGED NICELY INTO SPRING AND AUTUMN. THERE ARE FEWER BUSINESS BOARDING-UP FOR THE LONG WINTER SEASON.

     WE HAVE ALWAYS BELIEVED IN THE IMPORTANCE, OF BEING A "MUSKOKA" ANTIQUE AND COLLECTABLE SHOP, HAVING THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE REGION WE LIVE AND WORK. WE DON'T WANT OUR COMBINED SHOPS, OF VINTAGE MUSIC COLLECTABLES AND GENERAL ANTIQUES, TO GIVE THE APPEARANCE OF A CITY SHOP…..REFLECTIVE OF URBAN VALUES INSTEAD OF OUR OWN RURAL ATTRIBUTES. WHEN WE GO TO OTHER REGIONS TO HUNT AND GATHER ANTIQUES, WE WANT TO SEE REPRESENTATION OF THAT PARTICULAR HAMLET, VILLAGE, TOWN OR CITY. IF I'M IN HALIBURTON, I DON'T WANT TO VISIT AN ANTIQUE SHOP THAT REMINDS ME OF TORONTO'S YORKVILLE. BUT WE DO FIND SHOPS THAT HAVE LITTLE CONNECTION TO THE REGION AND COMMUNITY IN WHICH THEY OPERATE, OTHER THAN THE MAILING ADDRESS, AND I ALWAYS THINK THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY MISSED. IT'S ONE THING FOR A RESTAURANT TO SPECIALIZE IN CHINESE, GREEK, OR MEXICAN FOOD, BECAUSE IT WOULD BE OVERKILL; IF EVERY RESTAURANT REPRESENTED THE CUISINE OF COLLINGWOOD, OR MEAFORD, WITHOUT THE VARIETY IN DINING EXPERIENCES FOLKS DESIRE, SOME WOULD SIMPLY CEASE OPERATION DUE TO LACK OF BUSINESS. AS FAR AS ANTIQUES AND COLLECTABLES GO, IF YOU HAD TWENTY SIDE BY SIDE SHOPS, ALL SIGNIFICANTLY REPRESENTATIVE OF THE SUBJECT COMMUNITY, THIS WOULD BECOME "DESTINATION SHOPPING," AND WOULD BE HIGHLY REGARDED……AS A TRIBUTE TO THE HOST TOWN OR CITY. THIS IS THE WAY WE FEEL ABOUT MUSKOKA. WE'RE PROUD OF THE DIVERSITY IN OUR DISTRICT, AND WITHOUT ANY OVERKILL POSSIBILITIES, WE WANT TO SHARE ALL OF IT WITH OUR HOMETOWN CUSTOMERS, SECOND HOME OWNERS (COTTAGERS) AND VISITORS.

     MY FIRST ADVICE TO ANYONE SETTING UP A COLLECTABLE SHOP IN MUSKOKA, IS TO MAKE TWENTY-FIVE PERCENT OF THE SHOP MUSKOKA-RELATED. IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE IN ONE CORNER OF THE STORE, OR SEPARATED FROM THE REST OF THE INVENTORY. WHAT SHOULD BE IN THE SHOP COLLECTION, ARE PIECES THAT ARE CLEARLY MARKED AS BEING "FOUND" OR "MADE" IN MUSKOKA, WHETHER IT IS THE PROVENANCE ON A CRAZY QUILT, A PINE CUPBOARD, OLD SKATES, PADDLES OR THE COMPANION CANOE. THE MOST CUSTOMERS A MUSKOKA ANTIQUE BUSINESS WILL HAVE, THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, WILL BE DURING THE PERIOD FROM EASTER TO THANKSGIVING. IN AN HISTORIC TOURISM REGION, LIKE OURS, WHICH HAS BEEN PROVIDING HOSPITALITY AND SERVICES TO OUR VISITORS SINCE THE MID 1870'S ONWARD, IT IS ONE OF THOSE PREVAILING REALITIES THAT DEFIES BEING CHANGED. DESPITED DECADES OF CONCERTED EFFORT AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, THE TOURISM SEASON PRETTY MUCH STICKS TO ITS TRADITIONAL BOUNDARIES…..WITH A FEW EXCEPTIONS. ONE NEW-AGE CHANGE, HAS BEEN THE DRAW OF THE ANNUAL BALA CRANBERRY FESTIVAL, IN LATE OCTOBER, WHICH HAS BROUGHT MANY THOUSANDS OF VISITORS TO THE WESTERN AREA OF THE DISTRICT, FOLLOWING THE THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY. AS A GRAVENHURST BUSINESS, WE HAVE BENEFITTED IN SALES, BY THE SHEER NUMBERS OF BALA-GOERS, PASSING THROUGH OUR TOWN TO GET TO THE TOWNSHIP OF MUSKOKA LAKES, AND THE HOST COMMUNITY, BALA.

HAVING A LOCAL, REGIONAL CHARACTER, IS WHAT PLEASES OUR CUSTOMERS

     There are lots of Toronto area antique shops, that parallel the urban environs, with an inventory to attract their regional customers. There really isn't a great need to re-establish urban themed antique shops, here in the hinterland. I've known quite a few antique upstarts, who figured that was the way to satisfy all concerns and interests of their customers. What customers emerged saying, time and time again, was that it was a typical antique shop you could find anywhere. Shops having little character other than what you'd expect from an inventory of old stuff stacked to the ceiling tiles. I've tried to help out a lot of dealer associates who thought it would be easy to sell a general array of antique pieces, hauled from Quebec, the Maritimes, Southern Ontario and the United States. I know a few who opted for the "antique container" shipment of odds and sods, purchased from British antique wholesalers, and I'm pretty sure this worked out as you might expect. If your shop was in the city? You'd have a much better chance of selling European antiques, than if you have an antique business here, in a pastoral setting, with a heavy tourist clientele. I guarantee you, most of these folks want the full Muskoka experience, and this affords us a great opportunity to exploit the great history we've enjoyed here…….and yes, it will take a little historical delving, but it will be worth the effort.

     As I've explained previously, we attempt to get as much provenance on our antique and collectable pieces as possible, so that we can pass it on to the eventual new owners. Even if it is something that can stand on its own, without provenance, like a jug and bowl set. If we can, we want to know where it served its tour of duty. What farmhouse? Where in Muskoka? In the case of a glass oil lamp, or jug and bowl, the provenance isn't of striking importance, to valuations, unless it can be proven, to have been part of the inventory of a major Muskoka resort, such as Bigwin Inn, the historic resort on Lake of Bays, near Baysville. Suzanne has just recently, wrapped up restoration on a "Bigwin Inn" labelled blanket, that was in rough shape. The grey single-size blanket has two sewn on labels, for authenticity, but the repairs to the borders, and some holes, would represent at least fifteen percent modernization. Twenty-five percent restoration is considered the limit, for antique value, of replacement materials. Suzanne was clever on this one, using vintage wool for the binding, that she had in her sewing room at home, from the Bird's Woollen Mill in Bracebridge. Years ago, we were given numerous balls of black wool, that was in the possession of a former mill worker, with the company tag still in place. She has used it sparingly to repair the best vintage blankets we get, including Bird's. The Bigwin blanket was produced by Horn Brothers Mill, of Lindsay, Ontario. This company used an "HB" logo, which many blanket buyers confuse as being "Hudson Bay Blankets."

     Having locally made, and regionally significant pieces has always been one of our business mainstays, and we will never have a day go by, where it will fall below twenty-five percent of our shop inventory, being reflective in some way of our district. Crested pieces of hotel-ware, (cups, saucers, jugs and plates) from the steamship lines, hotels, resorts and camps, are huge revenue generators, when they can be found in good shape. In some cases, I've seen shards of crested hotel-ware, for sale in antique malls, for what I feel is a king's ransom. Rosseau's "Monteith House," and Windermere's "Rostrevor Lodge," are two I recall seeing. But even having the basic provenance, that attributes a collectable piece, to a locale within Muskoka, is significant to the tourist clientele…..who may know that location, or have an interest in items from that particular resort or summer camp. If I could run our shop at one hundred percent Muskoka materials, I would gladly do so……at no sacrifice to quality of diversification. A bench out of Windermere House, or a pine cupboard from Britannia Lodge, will sell as well, if not better, than a parallel piece with no provenance. A chandelier from Wigwassan Lodge, on Lake Rosseau, or a store counter from the Windermere Marina, will attract much more interest to Muskoka visitors, than these items without any accompanying identification or history. Most successful Muskoka antique dealers know all about the attractiveness associated with Muskoka connected pieces. I'm told, that these Muskoka heirloom collectables, especially ephemera (print, postcards and photographs) sell well at the Harbor-Front market, held on weekends in Toronto. I'm not surprised but I'm always impressed to find out how popular Muskoka is on the rebound.

     While you may think this is antique opportunism, cut and dried, the truth is quite the opposite for me. When I returned to Muskoka, Bracebridge specifically, after attending university in Toronto, I had no other plan, than to get into the history business in this region of the province. I did everything I planned out, including the creation of an antique shop, on the main street of Bracebridge; helping to organize the local historical society, which went on to establish the town's first community museum, in recognition of Birds Woollen Mill founder, Henry Bird. I became the youngest non-family editor of The Herald-Gazette, (Muskoka Publications), at age twenty-three, and made my office in one of the most historic buildings in town, at 27 Dominion Street, next to Town Hall. If I harp on about this stuff, to the point of nausea, I'm sorry about this. But at least you'll appreciate where I'm coming from……although I confess, these days, to not always knowing where I'm going…..especially on antique hunts. When we set up our new "Cookery Archives," there will be a strong Muskoka collection within, because we are a Muskoka business, first and foremost, based on a heritage theme. Suzanne's family of "Sheas" and "Veitches," were amongst the early homesteaders in Muskoka, and her great-grandfather's dug-out canoe is on display at the Muskoka Lakes Museum in Port Carling. So when we insist that our antique business, portray the characteristics and history of Muskoka, we aren't fudging the truth with wishful thinking. We may not have thousands of identifiable Muskoka pieces at any one time, but we make up for this, with our own presence in the shop……..answering lots of questions weekly about all aspects of town and regional history. We're in our element, you might say. One of our longtime Muskoka collectors, suggested we should put a price on ourselves…..to be rented out for "heritage weekend" lectures, at resorts around the district. I didn't comment, because she was just kidding. I've already done that! I didn't really enjoy the speaking tour of the lakes however, because as a public speaker, I'm told by my critics, I make a really good writer.

     When we head out on a typical yard sale Saturday, from our little abode here at Birch Hollow, we commence yet another Muskoka-themed adventure. It's how we think about each day, traveling through this beautiful lakeland. This was our choice when we got married……to stay here and raise a family, (or head south where there were more job opportunities). We gave that a full minute's contemplation. So here we are, running a Muskoka antique business, and loving every minute of it. Thanks for taking a few moments to visit us here at Birch Hollow. And yes, the fireplace is still crackling away, with a new piece of cedar thrown atop…….as the wind still howls out over The Bog, with snowflurries dusting over the evergreens. As for the weather, well, you know the best is yet to come. Hope you had a wonderful Easter weekend.

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