LIFE AT HOME
Something old, something new
When a short road trip is in order, I like to take a trip back in time.
Just an hour down the highway nestles Nanton, a town where some of the buildings are as antique as the goods inside. And in those buildings, with their sloping floors and vintage architectural details, I have spent some of my favourite Saturdays.
In this mini-mecca of antiques, I peruse the stores for hidden gems: tea cups with unusual patterns, milk glass, brightly coloured brooches, strands of vintage pearls, rolltop desks and ornate chairs that I wished fit into my apartment.
As a creature of habit, I have a routine that starts at Sentimental Journey Antiques, a large brick, two-storey building on the corner of the northbound highway.
One of the oldest buildings in Nanton, it dates to the turn of the century.
The main floor is full of bookcases, cabinets, cupboards and curios, tables and display cases replete with fine china, silver, jewelry, glassware and more.
Upstairs, rooms once used to house officers and their families after the Second World War are now rented out to smaller antique dealers. Although slightly warren-like, they are well worth a perusal. I picked up an aged rotary grater in one of those rooms that I continue to use in my kitchen, and I’m fascinated by the old tins and packaging for things like baking powder, spices and oddities such as Velveeta.
This time, it’s a 1930s chair, an old typewriter and a display of bowls, vases and a vintage clock that have me wishing my apartment was just a little bigger.
Down the street at Lost Ark Antiques, china, old tobacco cans and vintage radios are packed cheekto-jowl with books, mugs and a tiny toy oven made of tin. Although there are far fewer pieces of furniture in this shop, the curios are worth perusing. A stunning and ornate gilded mirror catches my attention and now I wish I had free wall space, too.
From there, I venture around the corner to Nostalgia Antiques and Collectibles, a shop that’s smaller still but home to a wide variety of vintage books and magazines, ta- blecloths and other linens (not to mention a healthy selection of hats).
My usual routine is shaken up when it’s suggested I head over to Antiques n’ Things, a relative newcomer to Nanton after opening about 18 months ago. Slightly off the beaten path, a bit further down the southbound highway than most stores, it’s worth the extra minute or two. Full of grandfather clocks, a lovely rolltop desk and old record players, it had a lot of unusual pieces.
I almost walk out with an antique pickle castor — a glass jar with ornate metal work and matching fork. Surely, this would be an improvement over fishing them out of the jar with my fingers?
Instead, I finish up my visit with a requisite stop at the Candy Store in Nanton, where British and U.S. chocolate bars, candy from my childhood — Nerds, Bottlecaps and Lotsa Fizz — and a wide assortment of gummies and penny candies fill the shelves. I pick up a few things to keep me sugared up for the drive home.
Even if there is nothing vintage in my haul, I never leave Nanton emptyhanded.