It seems as though nothing is built to last in these times of mass production and squeezed profit margins. Cheap, disposable and readily-replaceable is the order of the day, but not everyone thinks this is the way forward. Walter Manning and Savannah Olsen are of the school that don’t; both sets of Walter’s grandparents operated thriving general stores of the kind that you just don’t see any more, and he’s keeping the tradition alive with Old Faithful Shop. Manning and Olsen launched the business in Vancouver, and have now announced a second store on the back of great success.
This time they’ve branched out to Toronto, and as with the first Old Faithful Shop, they have chosen an old building that suits the traditional values of their products: quality items, built to outlast their owners. The Queen Street West premises, dated at around 100 years old, revealed a few surprises during the renovations, chief of which is a handsome brick archway that was hidden under a bulkhead. Other features to enjoy are the restored original floorboards, as well as some new additions including a section of hexagonal floor tiles and fine wall mouldings. With any luck, just like the Old Faithful Shop’s hardware, this place will still look great in another 100 years.
