Village Squire, 1975-07, Page 13Your ordinary merchant would be just
tickled pink if he had to move to a new larger
location only a few months after opening a
new shop. But Sandy Arlien is not your
ordinary merchant.
Sandy moved in mid -lune to a new shop on
the main street of Listowel from her cramped
quarters on a back street, next to a
supermarket, but she sounds a little wistful
when she remembers the old shop.
She was forced to move because the old
house in which her basement shop was
located was being torn down. Probably the
move was good in the long run, she says, but
somehow you get the feeling she left a lot of
good memories in the tiny back -street shop.
The move, however, was well timed, even if
unwanted. An old barber shop on main street
was closing down and The Heritage Shop took
over. The new shop is larger, but not as large
as most other stores in the main shopping
area of the town. It's gut just the right feeling
The Heritage Shop...expanding,
yet staying the same
Sandy Arlien enjoys her new shop on Listowel's main street but
has fond memories of her tiny, back street shop where the
Heritage Shop started out.
for the kind of merchandise she sells.
The move to a barber shop provided
accidentally a unique decor for the shop.
Down one side of the long narrow shop are
beautiful old barbers' cabinets and large
mirrors. The barber was ready to tear them
out and move them, but Sandy thought they
were just right and salvaged them. She
simply added a coat of paint and they became
an instant plus for the shop. On the other side
of the shop there still sits the old barbershop
sink, ready to go if you'd ever like a wash and
style.
Some people couldn't figure out why she'd
ever want to locate in the tiny basement
room of her old shop in the first place. When
she asked the supermarket owner next door
who also owned the house where the shop
was located if he'd be interested in renfing
her the room he immediately gave her all the
reasons she shouldn't rent it. There'd be a
bread truck parked in front of the door half
the time, he said and went on to give other
reasons not to rent before he finally asked her
what she wanted the room for. But she
explained that she wanted to get into
business after 18 years in a classroom
. teaching elementary school and she wanted to
start small.
Had to start small was more Tike it. For one
thing, she had no business experience. She
didn't know anything about merchandising.
She didn't know anything about buying. And
furthermore, she didn't have much money to
invest in stock.
Her friends told her she was crazy to be
going into business, particularly such a risky
business as a boutique. But her family
supported her and so she started out in
business in a small way.
And small was the byword in the old shop.
She didn't have to invest a good deal in
merchandise because there wasn't room for it
anyway. It was the most intimate of the area's
VILLAGE SQUIRE/JULY 1975, 11