By Catherine Brunelle
Vanier keeps it real. While other neighbourhoods have organic markets, craft shops and entrepreneurism advertised via community boards, crowdfunding, and instagram feeds – the entrepreneurs of Vanier often tackle sales in a far more grassroots fashion. Things like handwritten notes go on fence posts advertising kittens, e-bikes, trailors and more without any website or email listed. (What?!) All you often get is a phone number, and sometimes not even that. Who is Frank, and how much does his trailer cost? I have no idea. But he’s out there, and he’s selling it.
Another instance of Vanier keeping it real, and what I really want to talk about today is our neighbourhood’s version of “The Pop Up Shop.” Pop up shops are well-organized events where online retailers set up a one-day-only brick & mortar shop/tent and sell their stylish bits of handmade goodness. But of course, “Pop Up” is way too trendy for Vanier. What we do have, and the folks here are really good at, is the old fashioned-every-weekend-random-corner-no-announcement-forget-social-media garage sale.
Over the September Labour Day weekend, my husband and I were walking to a friend’s house in Vanier for some BBQ, when everything became sidetracked by one of the loveliest garage sales I’ve ever seen. This sale could have easily competed with any pop up shop taking place on the Shopify parking lot. At first glance it was a mixed collection of random “stuff” – but looking closer, this wasn’t just selling stuff to clear out the apartment. This was craftmenship and entrepreneurism in action.
Of course, the biggest difference being between pop up vs. garage sale, was that Robert & Erica weren’t particularly bothered whether anyone bought stuff or not. It was a sunny day, and they wanted to sit outside with the cats. Robert was organizing his Lego collection. Erica was laughing along.
That’s how they met, actually. Years ago Erica had her garage sales along Marier, and Robert would come along to look. Somehow between selling old kitchen, and knick-knacks from childhood, a friendship had developed. The way these two talk, it’s as if everyone was holding garage sales back then in Vanier. And if I think about it, it seems many people are holding them still. And I don’t mean in a sense of cleaning out the house once a year – but rather as a weekly social occasion to sit with a few old dolls, dishes and books by the side of the road all day long, and talk with friends.
Poking through the bits and bobs of Erica & Robert’s sale, there were wooden tree houses with little log pile & axe details.
There were Erica’s wooden heads. There were Robert’s brother’s hand-made oversized fishing lures.
There were tin boxes with Mounties and Niagara Falls upon them, dating back to Erica’s childhood. She can remember her father buying them for her, and she’d been keeping them forever.
There were more tins, rather large, of Fishermen’s Friend – Erica had collected them while working in a shop years ago.
There was a table painted with gorillas.
There was random stuff taken out from cluttered drawers.
There were piles and piles of Robert’s knitted slippers.
I personally felt a little frustrated for them; they had all these lovely things, and no one even realized this wonderful little garage sale was happening! But Erica seemed to have a different perspective. It got them outside, she told me, and that was really great. Most of the items would go to the Sally Ann at the end of the day, and many sales or not, it would be a good day.
So maybe that’s my biggest take-away from the Vanier garage sales. Sometimes it’s good to slow down and separate from the buzz. It’s not always about the sales or exposure. Instead, it can be about good weather, laughter and the company of good friends. And that’s just another way that Vanier keeps it real.
Photos: Catherine Brunelle 2014