Look, we're not here to preach to you at Ethel, but a thought did cross our minds the other day while shopping at an aircraft-hangar-sized big box store. While we don't normally shop at such places, this was a rare occasion where the convenience of their store hours won out over philosophy; in other words, we needed to buy a gift for someone (that wasn't something vintage!) and it was after all other stores had closed.
So we went in...and while it was a little scary not being able to see the other end of the store, what was scarier was just how many people were there. Buying EVERYTHING. Shopping carts full of shoes, milk, lamps, electronics. Some buggies were parked outside of the internal fast food restaurant because the shoppers had gotten so hungry from trekking from one end of the store to the other, they had to stop for lunch!
Anyhow, the thought is this. To each their own. A family on a budget has to do what it has to do. But there are similar places, owned by Canadians, that would do the trick. Keep the money in Canada, you know? And if you want a different experience, where the furniture and lighting wasn't made in China, why not come to Ethel? We can't possibly match the big box prices, but the things you buy here have a sort of 'built-in guarantee'. What's that? Well, we purchase most of our inventory from the original owners from the houses they've sat in their whole life: So we like to say "If it's lasted them 50 years, it'll last YOU 50 years." And your money is going to a small business owner who has a passion for what they sell...and a mortgage...and a lease.
You don't even need to shop at Ethel, either. If you find something at our neighbour, Upside Dive or AMA, or in Leslieville, our old stomping grounds, that's cool too. Come in and tell us about your experience, and maybe we can talk you into a nice vase for that table you bought elsewhere ;-)
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