Well, here we are blogging once again. Seeing as how I have not had time to figure out how to put pictures on this blog, all you soon to be faithful readers are stuck with my writing once more. Today I am going to give you a birds eye view of the people who make One of a Kind Antique Mall truly one of a kind. People have been known to say that we are a very unique group; that is putting it mildly. Jack and John are two brothers; grown but still brotherly in many of their ways (if you get my meaning). They say that some kids never grow up. Well, these two guys have grown up and along with them has grown a successful business as well. They started out very young and inexperienced, with natural smarts and an abundance of confidence. Beginning at a mall kiosk applying transfers, they moved on to the t-shirt manufacturing business and soon found themselves the owners of one of the original "Harvey Woods" factories in Woodstock where they manufactured their own brand "Sun Wear" . Hence the huge Sun Wear sign on the outside of the building. As well as manufacturing their own line of clothing, the brothers also became distributors for Fruit of the Loom. The manufacturing of their own stock came to a timely end but Jack and John continue to be the primary distributor of Fruit of the Loom clothing in Ontario. With a big (and I do mean big) empty factory building and nothing to fill it with, the brothers searched their inner selves and asked what they would like to be doing in ten years. Hence One of a Kind Antiques & Collectibles was born. The factory was quickly renovated with hundreds of booths constructed by these two ultimate DIY's (do it yourselfer's). They started recruiting vendors and were finally able to indulge themselves in all the thrift store shopping they wanted to do. They now had a place to sell everything they could buy. The story of One of a Kind does not end there though. That was only the beginning. One of a Kind has continued to grow and improve. With over 400 booths and a wide range of eclectic vendors, there is not much that you cannot find at One of a Kind.
Staff has come and gone over the years but one clever and oh so tolerant woman has been an anchor for the brothers since almost the beginning of the t-shirt craze. Chris has metamorphasized as needed in order to continue running the Fruit of the Loom distributorship while implementing a system that could accommodate the many vendors as well as customers who have passed through the doors of One of a Kind in the last ten years. All of this while dealing with both Jack and John's idiosyncracies
A year ago Jack and John started noticing Wendy, a new vendor, hanging around the building putting in her two cents whenever she could. After awhile Wendy (aka, myself) talked them into hiring her for occasional work at One of a Kind. One year later I am here to greet and serve the customers every weekend and occasionally during the week when one of the guys (or Chris) takes a much needed break. When I am not busy helping customers I try to keep Jack and John in line. Recently they hired Sharon (another vendor)to help out as needed.
Customers who started shopping at One of a Kind in 2000 still come for the smiling faces and great bargains that they find. New customers are discovering us all the time. The business continues to grow and the customer list gets longer every year. While time does not change some things, other things just keep getting better. One of a Kind is one of these things. We want you, our customers, to like us. Plain and simple. And, oh yeah, don't forget......the coffee pot is always on.
Staff has come and gone over the years but one clever and oh so tolerant woman has been an anchor for the brothers since almost the beginning of the t-shirt craze. Chris has metamorphasized as needed in order to continue running the Fruit of the Loom distributorship while implementing a system that could accommodate the many vendors as well as customers who have passed through the doors of One of a Kind in the last ten years. All of this while dealing with both Jack and John's idiosyncracies
A year ago Jack and John started noticing Wendy, a new vendor, hanging around the building putting in her two cents whenever she could. After awhile Wendy (aka, myself) talked them into hiring her for occasional work at One of a Kind. One year later I am here to greet and serve the customers every weekend and occasionally during the week when one of the guys (or Chris) takes a much needed break. When I am not busy helping customers I try to keep Jack and John in line. Recently they hired Sharon (another vendor)to help out as needed.
Customers who started shopping at One of a Kind in 2000 still come for the smiling faces and great bargains that they find. New customers are discovering us all the time. The business continues to grow and the customer list gets longer every year. While time does not change some things, other things just keep getting better. One of a Kind is one of these things. We want you, our customers, to like us. Plain and simple. And, oh yeah, don't forget......the coffee pot is always on.
Until next time,
Jack, John and Staff
