Village Squire, 1977-05, Page 5Beautiful butterflies on a beautiful coal -oil Tamp.
they could have bought a similar item in the store for less than
they paid at an auction.
One thing about an antique store, she says, is that you can
look at the ticket and know how much it will cost you. At an
auction, you're never sure about cost until the bidding is over.
Building up the present large stock took a long time, she
says. The longer you're in business, the more contacts you
have, and the more people bring you antiques.
It wasn't too long before the business grew to the point
Diane couldn't handle it by herself. Ralph got involved too
and now they're both involved full-time.
The village might seem like an out-of-the-way location for
an antique shop, but Diane thinks it's ideal. "People like to
take a drive in the country," she says. They like to get away
from the hustle and bustle." There are two big assets to the
location, she says, the large amount of space and the
abundant free parking, both items which hamper city shops.
Then too, she says, people like to come back to see an old
schoolhouse. Not many of the old schools are open to the
public since most are private homes now.
A major part of the clientele for the store comes from cities
like Kitchener, London, Toronto and Guelph but more and
more business is coming from closer to home, she says. One
of the trends she has noticed over the years is the new interest
in antiques in the smaller communities. The younger people
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36 North St. GODERICH 524-8572
VILLAGE SQUIRE/MAY 1977, 3,