Village Squire, 1975-12, Page 38ANTIQUES BY
HELEN BUTLER
SPECIALIZING IN ORIENTAL
.9.\"TIQUES
Joy Lon•is serves a customer in her little store. The Wedge.
than neighbouring stores, she says,
because she's selling top line merchandise.
The shop was well received when it first
opened, she says and she was very
thankful to the people who treated her so
"ell. despite those who didn't like the
t )1 Business then slackened for a while
but has picked up well again in the
Christmas period She realizes, however,
that the success of her store is probably a
long-term thing People are used to going
to the city for the kind of clothing she sells
and changing shopping patterns will be
hard. If she had to live off the money she
earns from the store she'd be going hungry
a lot. she says. In fact without her
husband, Paul, she wouldn't be in business
at all. The couple made a major investment
in the shop between renovations and a
large investment in stock.
All this was a calculated gamble since
Joy had absolutely no background in
retailing, not everr to having worked in a
store.
"When I wrote out my first bill my ha. .ds
were shaking so badly I had to redo it three
times," she remembers.
Now, however, though not exactly an old
iHo. she's settled into her new job quite
nicely She has some very definite ideas
however, about how things should be done.
She refuses, she says, to follow people
around in the store because she never felt
comfortable herself when shopping to have
a salesperson practically leaning over her
shoulder. She likes to let people browse
and be ready to help when they need help.
And she is outspoken, probably, she
admits, too outspoken for her own good
sometimes. She refuses, for instance, to
tell someone she likes an outfit on her if
,he doesn't think it suits her. It has
probably, she says, lost her one or two
customers but she'd rather do that than
have someone wear an outfit home and be
laughed at by her family or friends The
trouble is, some people who would rather
be flattered than told the truth sometime,
don't agree with her policy.
lint so( h are the lessons learned in
operating a business and despite the
headaches that have been involved so far
she's enjoying it. She finds she isn't really
as much her own boss as she thought she
might be before she opened but she's
enjoying it anyway. She enjoys being able
to meet and chat with people, even though,
she says, she sometimes spends too much
time talking when she should be doing
something else. But then, what's the sense
of running your own business if you can't
enjoy it
You don't
need a
green
thumb
•
IMK
72 Wellington St.
Stratford
273-0802
CLOSED MONDAY
HOURS: 10-6
SPECIALIZING IN ORIENTED
ANTIQUES
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~rig, Pilin G��
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Anybody can pick a flower.
Now, everyone can plant one.
Make the world a brighter place.
For you. For the mentally retarded.
Please contribute to the
Flowers of Hope campaign
in your community.
Thanks.
IR Canadian Association
111 For The Mentally Retarded
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VILLAGE SQUIRE/DECEMBER 1975, 3