Since opening its doors in 2019, the Old World Marketplace has become one of the most popular vintage and antique shops in Brantford.
Lizanna Koster and Susan Bridle, the mother-daughter team behind the shop, have worked hard in realizing their dream.
“In 2019, Susan and I decided that it might be a nice idea to open an antique and vintage store. I had been retired by then and I thought it was going to be something exciting for us to do. We wanted to have people enjoy taking a walk down memory lane and just to get a good feeling from their past, “said Koster. “We were pretty well stocked to begin with, getting a lot of items from garage sales; estate sales and thrift shops, but then, after opening the shop, we just kept getting more and more things.”
However, the building was originally bought in 2015 and renovations were started a few years after that.
“We found this building here downtown…it needed a lot of updating and renovating, but Susan loved the idea of an old building, and so she, her sister and I did [the majority of] renovations ourselves. We did everything at the shop level and the apartments upstairs. A lot of sweat went into this, and we were very excited when we finally got it together,” recalled Koster.
Although the pandemic made things a little difficult for getting the business going, Koster and Bridle were determined to get things ready, while always keeping the customers in mind.
“It took us a lot of years to do these few phases. We first opened the vintage antique side [covering] about 5,000 square feet, and then we expanded to the thrift store, which added another 5,000 square feet…with each shutdown, we did more renovations to incorporate the two stores as one. It’s kind of one big shopping experience now,” said Bridle. “We have tried to create something very nostalgic for people to experience [where they can] stroll down memory lane. It’s nice to bring a little joy to people while we’re saving a lot of items from going to the dump. We’re very much into being green, saving the environment, [and] giving items new life. We love to repurpose, [and] fix things up that otherwise might be lost,” added Bridle.
However, both Koster and Bridle have been diligent in acquiring products that people will like.
“The popular items are the more vintage 60s, and 70s cameras that the college kids are looking for. Every time they come in, they just flock to our camera station; they like the Polaroids, the digital cameras [which] are vintage to them…our shoppers also like the tangible aspects of our media collection including record albums, cassette tapes, VHS videos, and books. Pyrex and Corningware products are always popular as they remind some of our younger clients of their parents and grandparents’ homes and kitchens,” stated Bridle. “Vintage tables like Arborite tables, with the chrome accents and vinyl seats are popular as well as vintage toys. We have a vast collection of Cabbage Patch dolls, for example, which really brings a smile to a lot of people’s faces when they see [we have a room filled with them.]”
Within the shop, there are several other smaller shops for customers to enjoy including little one’s started by Bridle’s children, Ginger, Joey and Max.
“My grandkids have their own stores that they started here. One of them is called ‘Ginger’s Nook”, started by my granddaughter Ginger, which has all kinds of children’s items like vintage toys. Joey, who started with us many years ago, has a little coffee shop called ‘Cuppa Joe Cafe.’ And Max runs ‘Max’s Underground’ , a trendy clothing shop,” said Koster.
Koster and Bridle have also been brainstorming on other ideas to attract people to the shop and grow their business.
“We are thinking about a fashion show [as] we have [a variety of] gowns and a lot of vintage clothing…so people could enjoy seeing what we’re selling. The other thing we have been thinking of doing is having a section in our store where people could hold parties and have small events…we are also in the process of making a year-round Christmas store. We have already started to sort items and to price them, and that will be exciting to have that,” said Koster. “We are also thinking of offering discounts for students as we have the Brantford campus for both Wilfrid Laurier University and Conestoga College close to us…we feel we can really help a lot of students with clothing, furniture, and dishes at very reasonable prices.”
Nevertheless, the shop has not only appealed to those locally but people visiting from out of town.
“We have had people from all over Ontario like Ottawa and Toronto and even guests from the United States come in and tell us this is one of the best vintage places they have seen despite us being in a smaller city,” stated Koster. “We are in Brantford, so it’s not as popular with some of the people here, because they’re not into antiques and vintage items. However, it’s growing and more people in the area are coming in and enjoying what we have to offer, especially our younger customers when they find us.”
