Christine Whelan FEO, February 29, 2024, VOL. 5 ISSUE 13

The Fort Erie Antique Mall, located at 43 Jarvis Street, is working towards helping to keep history alive by encouraging everyone to incorporate something old into their more modern decor, keeping these treasures out of the landfills.

Diane Craig, founder and coordinator of the antique mall, is originally from the Toronto area, now living in Niagara Falls. She says she would like to eventually reside in the Fort Erie area.

“I’ve always had my radar on Fort Erie,” Craig admitted.

Since this is a new venture for Diane, she has done her research, as well as connected to other larger, more established antique malls for guidance.

Several years ago, she had gone as far as checking out a location for consideration when plans were put aside as the pandemic set in, causing Diane to go a different direction during those years.

“Once things cleared up,” referring to the pandemic restrictions, “I decided to go brick and mortar, I knew I wanted to be in Fort Erie.”

New to Fort Erie – New to Jarvis Street

Diane says she’s been enjoying these days of getting to know Jarvis Street for the first time.

“We opened up our doors at the very end of December, just to introduce ourselves to the community. And then we had our Grand Opening at the end of January. The mayor came in and officially opened everything.”

The antique mall provides a combination of shopping opportunities — antique, vintage, and handcrafted.

“What we have is a store that has several vendors, who rent space. They bring in their antiques.”

Diane says these types of shopping centres have been trending for about ten years. “A lot of the time, when you go into what is called an antique mall, it’s more than just antiques. It’s vintage and it’s new and handcrafted.”

Craig talked about times when she’s walked through the store, “Every booth is different. Some are collecting very old items, some are groovy and funky. Some are very elegant. This is what I appreciate, all the different personalities.” She says there’s something for everybody.

“So, that was the idea I had when I first opened up, that it would be an eclectic mix of old and new,” Adding, “It seems to be working,”

Online to Brick and Mortar

The store’s Facebook Page and Instagram Account are very active. “I try to post every day.”

The 17 vendors have created a network. They are also active on social media so they can keep connected, “The vendors don’t always see each other at the same time.”

Through social media, they can help each other by referring buyers in search of something specific to them.

Shoppers can begin here, online, and then complete their experience on Jarvis Street.

Appreciation For History

“Not only are we an antique store but — and this goes hand in hand — we are about history.”

Diane admitted that, even when she was young, she’s been fascinated with history. “And fascinated with historical artifacts. So, it would almost seem fitting that I would open up a store that was full of antiques.”

She tells her vendors that it’s important to keep historical pieces out of the landfill sites. “We should try to sell them and get them into homes instead for the next forty years.”

If there is a bit of a history to an item, anything of significance, Diane encourages the vendors to share these details. “A lot of the vendors will automatically write the history of the item on the tag.” She described one item, a sword, that was used as a prop for a TV movie around 1950, for example.

She hopes people will try to incorporate something old into their newer home decor.

When asked to elaborate on historical artifacts, Diane explained, “If a family member has passed on and there are items, such as dishes received as a bride many years ago, that other family or friends don’t want. What bothers me is that they get thrown out. Maybe no one in the family wants granny’s candy dish but it might be a treasure to someone else.”

There are trends. Craig says uranium is a wanted commodity these days, “So, we’re trying to get as many pieces with uranium as we can get in right now.”

Diane commented, “I love being at the store. I am happy to be on Jarvis Street,” Diane commented. “It’s also the vendors’ ‘happy place’.”

Check out the Fort Erie Antique Mall on Facebook and Instagram and visit the store at 43 Jarvis Street, Fort Erie, open Mondays to Fridays 10:00 am – 4:00 pm, Saturday and Sundays 10:00 am – 2:00 pm.