By Curtis Berkman
On Saturday May 6th from 12-3pm Shore Things ( http://www.shorethings.ca/ ) will be celebrating their 10th anniversary with a free family event. Derek Stewart and his wife Michelle are the owners and have had community support since day one when Shore Things opened ten years ago. Stewart had an unfortunate car accident that took him off from work and with the time off he had time to reflect on what to do moving forward. Stewart decided to use his 40 years of retail experience, and love for handmade crafts to create Shore Things.
Shore Things started as a smaller store a couple of shops down where the shop’s current location is. Stewart had to decide whether to keep making his merchandise to sell and make less money or move into a larger shop, create less, and have more consignments. Stewart packed up the Small shop, went a couple of doors over, and had his hand made crafts to sell with 75 consignments from Nova Scotia and all over Canada.
With his Nova Scotian roots, the love he has for not just this province but the town he calls home he feels a very special connection with Eastern passage. Normally Stewart gets a mix of tourists and local consumers but during Covid the locals are who kept the store going throughout the pandemic. ”It’s an event when you come here, not just a shop.” says Stewart. Having Nova Scotian music playing, the local handcrafted merchandise, and the kind friendly atmosphere really blossoms how beautiful this shop is and makes you feel like you’re in the heart of Nova Scotia.
Stewart looks forward to keeping Shore Things doors open for another ten years, “The community really enjoys their time in the shop and as long as people keep coming in the doors will stay open.” Says Stewart. Stewart has signed out the Fisherman’s Cove Heritage Centre ( https://www.fishermanscove.ca/fishermans-cove-heritage-centre ) where you can look forward to entertainment from the Halifax mermaids, a colouring, and costume contest. Dress up as a pirate or mermaid and have a chance to win a Monofin donated by the Halifax mermaids ( https://halifaxmermaids.weebly.com/ https://halifaxmermaids.com/ ). There will also be 3 donated door prizes for moms and dads courtesy of Shore things. Face painting by the Violet Unicorn just a few shops down. If you want to enjoy a nice family fun outing and support your local business owners, Shore Things at Fisherman’s Cove is the place to be.
Facebook event ( https://www.facebook.com/events/1935170510002062 )