Bradford artisan opens new store at Upper Canada Mall (12 photos)

Bradford artisan opens new store at Upper Canada Mall (12 photos)

Bradford woman opens new jewellery store inside Upper Canada Mall

When COVID hit in March, Bradford entreprenuer Kimberly Harvey didn’t know what was going to happen to her jewellery business. Her income relied soley on the sales she made at various vendor and craft markets across the province.

With gathering restrictions and events cancelled, Harvey was forced to think of other ways to sell her products. She sells her products online, but it just wasn’t enough to keep afloat.

“When everything closed and all the festivals started closing, I can tell you I had a major mental breakdown,” she said. “I feel like my hands are tied I couldn’t go anywhere, I couldn’t do anything, my business was crumbling.”

It took her years to build up her business, getting herself booth space into popular in-demand festivals, “and it was all taken away from me in a matter of days,” including her tens of thousands of dollars invested in vendor fees. In 2019 alone she spent $25K in booth fees.

“There is so much uncertainty right if big festivals will reopen,” she commented. “I know so many full time vendors like myself are losing everything right now.”

“With everything shutting down I had no work, and CERB was ending, I had no choice but to do something radical,” she said.

With the pandemic pushing into the summer months, Harvey decided to take a leap of faith and open her own store inside the Upper Canada Mall, with support from the Ontario Made program from Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CME). The program helps retailers and consumers promote and identify local products.

“All the big companies are flooding the ads on social media so you can’t get many views,” she said. “Since I announced the store opening I’ve had a lot more people interacting with me online and they’re excited about the store and they want to come see so I think I’m making the right move.”

Harvey has invested every last penny she has to open her store, My Lil Gem. Prior to starting her own business, she worked at Peoples Jewellers as a manager and customer designer.

“I always love making that unique hard to find anywhere else styles for people,” she explained. “Simple but meaningful.”

She creates all her inventory of necklaces, bracelets, and earrings. The only items she doesn’t make are her rings, which she purchases from a supplier. To make her jewellery, she sources supplies from all over the world, and other local craft stores.

She has become quick at her craft, and able to make many pieces in a few hours, but once a week she challenges herself to make something unique that she’s never made before, just for fun.

“It just makes me happy,” she said.

She has spent the past few months renovating the space to have it ready for opening day, Oct. 1.

“The demo proved to take three times as long as I originally planned,” she explained. “I was so surprised how many of my friends just showed up to come help, they would be at the door of the store in the mall and I wouldn’t even know they were coming.”

To show her support for local business, she enlisted the help of local business E-Signs in Bradford to make her store signage, and had decor pieces made by Innisfil businesses, Anchored Signs and Knot House.

Selling out of a brick and mortar location will be different than travelling to sell her items she says, but admits it will be nice to keep her stock in one spot without the hassle of travelling and setting up. Another added bonus is she now has more space to showcase her products.

Currently she has two employees, but hopes to be able to hire a few more before the holiday shopping season. Eventually, she would like to open up a few other store locations.

My Lil Gem is located in the lower level of Upper Canada Mall in the former Things Engraved space. You can also visit their online store here.

Changing lives of those with arthritis one finger splint at a time

LONDON, ONT. – Thousands of custom finger splints are made each year at DigiSplint in Exeter, Ont. for clients with arthritis.

“There are things now we can do to slow down or stop the progression of arthritis, we can control the pain in the joint,” says Derek Bakelaar, founder of Digisplint.

Bakelaar, a goldsmith who used to own and operate a jewellery store, started building finger splints after experiencing his own hand injury.

It wasn’t long after that he closed down his jewelry store and opened up Digisplints 23 years ago.

Digisplint has around 10,000 clients across the country and is the only place in Canada that makes finger splints for orthopaedic therapy use.

“It’s grown to the point now where we work with 300 therapists…across the country and we are providers for all the workers' compensation now for workplace injuries across the country,” says Bakelaar.

Each splint is custom, made-to-order and can be made on the spot or shipped within days to the patient.

“It’s not like what you would see in a jewelry store for round rings, we have about 60 different sizes so we have about 60 different moulds one for each one.”

The design is specifically unique because they are handcrafted.

“We build them in a way where they don’t look like splints it’s a combination of rings,” says Bakelaar. “It’s about reaching certain pressure points on the finger to stabilize joints and to align and to take care of a finger that way.”

Bakelaar says he loves what he does because he’s able to use his trade as a gold and silversmith to make a difference in peoples lives, in many cases hearing success stories from clients who can go back to work or do what they love again because of the splints.

“If we can stabilize a joint that’s causing pain so that it no longer hurts, quite often, you’re using your hands more and when you’re using your hand more your strength starts to come back and people stop dropping things because it no longer hurts.”

The DigiSplint team is small but mighty, and the hopes are to be able to add a hand therapist to the team in the near future and continue to make a life-changing difference for tens of thousands of Canadians.

In just one week, COVID-19 forces closure of 48 stores in Sault’s Station Mall

Sport Chek and Atmosphere are temporarily closing starting today because of the coronavirus emergency

At 7 p.m. on Wednesday, March 18, 2020, the Station Mall parking lot was nearly empty. David Helwig/SooToday

1 / 1 At 7 p.m. on Wednesday, March 18, 2020, the Station Mall parking lot was nearly empty. David Helwig/SooToday

SAULT STE. MARIE — A SooToday count Wednesday at Station Mall found that all but 27 stores had been temporarily closed.

That’s a loss of 46 retail outlets – 63 per cent of Station Mall’s business locations – in less than one accursed week.

And SportChek and Atmosphere announced late Wednesday night that they would also temporarly close, effective Thursday.

Since the loss of Sears and Walmart, the mall has promoted four businesses as anchor tenants: SportChek, Atmosphere, Dollarama and Galaxy Cinemas.

As of Thursday, the only anchor remaining open was Dollarama, which together with Station Mall Drug Mart substantially increased its stock of grocery items recently to address downtown’s food-desert problem.

The food court’s dining area has been cordoned off-limits and only two outlets are open to sell takeout: McDonald’s and Taco Bell.

Security is advising patrons sitting on benches in other parts of the mall to “keep moving.”

The Sault Community Theatre Box Office was still open Wednesday, but no tickets were available for any performances over the next two weeks.

The April 11 Road Hammers concert at the Machine Shop has so far not been cancelled, customers were told.

Many of the 25 businesses that remain open at Station Mall have reduced their hours.

Scotiabank, for example, started closing its Station Mall branch early at 3 p.m. yesterday.

Even as SooToday walked the 51,600-square-metre shopping centre, some businesses could be seen locking their doors and posting closure notices.

Businesses that temporarily closed starting Wednesday to help prevent spread of the novel coronavirus included Ricki’s, Angel Nails, Bootlegger, Cleo and Tip Top Tailors.

Not so long ago, Sault Ste. Marie’s Station Mall was the largest shopping centre in northern Ontario, with more than 120 bustling shops and services.

After the loss of its anchor tenants Sears Canada and Walmart in 2017 and 2019 respectively, the once-mighty ‘centre of it all’ was reduced to a shadow of its former self.

Last week, it was down to just 73 tenants.

The following, is the status of Station Malls’s 73 remaining businesses, as compiled by SooToday between 1 and 5 p.m. Wednesday:

Station Mall Clinic - open, but no walk-ins, appointments only

Tootsie’s Shoe Market - closed as of March 17

Tbooth Wireless - closed

Ricki’s - closed March 18

Showcase - open, reduced hours

Angel Nails - closed, March 18

ZooZoo - closed

Hilltribe - closed

Charm Diamond Centres - open, reduced hours

Body Shop - closed until at least March 27

Sault Community Theatre Box Office - open

Lids - open

Station Mall Drug Mart - open

Eddie Bauer - closed

Le Chateau - closed

Hallmark - open, reduced hours

Nygard Plus - closed as of March 16

Ardene - closed

Bootlegger - closed as of March 18

Savoy’s Jewellers - closed until March 23

Cleo - closed as of March 18

The Shoe Fits - open

Bell - closed

Spencer’s - open

Alia n TanJay - closed 14 days or until further notice

Vacation Station - open

Rogers - closed

SportChek - open yesterday (but closing today)

Atmosphere - open yesterday (but closing today)

Carter’s/Oshkosh - closed until early April

Scotiabank - open, but branch closes at 3 p.m. starting March 18

Northern Reflections - open

New York News - closed

Tim Horton’s - closed

New York Fries - closed

Freshly Squeezed - closed

Subway - closed

Sault Ste. Marie Police Service Satellite office - open

McDonald’s - open for takeout only

Taco Bell - open for takeout only

Woking Chopstix - closed

Ricardo’s Big Slice Pizza and Gelato - closed

Laura Secord - closed

David’s Tea - closed as of March 16

Safe Communities office - closed

Peoples Jewellers - closed

Oscar & Dario Unisex Hairstyling and Barbering - open

Dollarama - open

Virgin Mobile - closed

Cineplex - closed

CellRox - closed

Roots - closed

The Shoe Fits! - open reduced hours

Think Kitchen - open

Coles - closed until March 27

Bath and Body Works - closed

Telus - closed

EB Games - open

Quilts Etc. - closed

Tip Top Tailors - closed March 18

HR Block - open

Eclipse - closed

GNC - open

La Senza - closed

H&M - closed

Boathouse - closed

Fairweather - open

Koodo - closed

Hollywood - closed as of March 17

Vivah Jewellry - closed

The Source - closed

Sunrise Records - closed

LCBO - open, reduced hours

Station Mall also advises that all community events planned at the mall have been cancelled until further notice.