Twindmills Antiques opens in Colborne Ontario

Twindmills Antiques opened its doors today in the small town of Colborne Ontario, just in time for Christmas. This Dumpdiggers blog post, published minutes before either Ed van Egmond, a local counselor , or Lou Rinaldi the MP cuts the ribbon, celebrates the event, and marks the location as the new home of theappraiser.ca and Marshall Gummer Antiques.

One hour east of Toronto on Hwy 401 at exit #497 there's a big red plywood apple attraction. Although I don't wish to be negative about anything in Colborne, there is so much to be positive about. I must warn readers that the pies are not worth the price. Dumpdiggers advises all readers to ignore the landmark, and continue south into Colborne proper. The small city is famous for a rigid foam insulation forming plant that employs hundreds of people.

Explore the countryside. History abounds all through Cramahe township; there’s a dozen historic villages all along the top of Lake Ontario that date back to the early 1800s. A relic hunting road trip here might include stops in Castleton, Grafton, Dundonald, Edville, Greenleys Corners, Griffis Corners, Loughbreeze, Morganston, Purdy Corners, Salem, Shiloh, Tubbs Corners and Victoria Park. Not to mention the larger centers Brighton, Cobourg and Port Hope.

Originally named Keeler's Creek, the Town of Colborne was named after Sir John Colborne, Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada, by Joseph Abbott Keeler in 1829. The new Twindmills Antiques and Collectibles Market is Canada's first green energy self-sustaining market powered by twin windmills. Thirty independent dealers offer a wide variety of items for sale from the 1800s to the 20th century including vintage clothing and accessories, old fashion business phones jewelry, fine furnishings, ceramics, crystal, carnival glass, silverware, toys, records, postcards, books, lamps, art vintage tools and signs and even a rare working salesman’s model of an 1800s threshing machine. The miniature was imported from England to give Canadians their first glimpse at mechanized farm equipment. Now it’s a wonderful showpiece and something of an attraction inside the complex.

Twindmills Stain Glass Studio and Shop
While antique hunting, seek out Heather Watt and sign up for classes in the Twindmills Stain Glass studio. Her shop includes many colourful items for sale, such as Christmas pieces, lamps, candle holders, sun catchers, panels (small to large-abstracts, portraits, wildlife, florals and landscapes) and other stained glass works; gift certificates for lessons and supplies are available as well. Her facility does church restorations and creates wonderful window art in a very creative corner of the building.

Larry in the Chip Truck
Another popular attraction exists out front, in the parking lot. Larry is a friendly guy that sells the best poutine in Ontario. This is real cheese curd with fresh cut French Fries smothered in real beef gravy - its delicious. But best of all, even though he’s almost famous now, Larry still serves up a generous medium size portion for only $4.75 a plate. That price is unbeatable. see also Larry in Chip Truck by luscious web on Posterous.

Here's where Sandy Shibley is now!
Dumpdiggers remembers Sandy Shibley from ten years ago - she was the more attractive and polite proprietor / managing partner of the Showcase Antique Mall at Bathurst and Queen St in downtown Toronto. Dumpdiggers had a display case there in 1998 to sell the pretty blue poisons and amber sodas we found digging hard in downtown dumps - that was back when I collected anything and everything glass.

Marshall Gummer has some fine art attractions too - check out the Appraisers Treasure Blog for great pictures and stories of his stuff. Other pages detail recent appraisals which include a Frankart Lamp $2,700 or Sherman Bracelet $1,000 and some amazing Harlander pottery. Marshall's stall is rather central, and as usual Marshall will consult, do appraisals and offer excellent advice better than most experts on the Antiques Roadshow - he's generally the kindest and most helpful contact any Dumpdigger or home stager could ever have in the fine arts / antiques world outside of Toronto, Ontario

So take a trip east to Colborne, visit Twindmills Antiques, say hello to Marshall Gummer and Sandy Shipley, eat Larry's amazing poutine and go shopping. The place is chock full of paintings, art deco tableware, early Canadian primitives, beds and tables, and patio furniture. There's also collectible china, enamelware and Bakelite. Prices are affordable and shoppers will be delighted to find one-of-a-kind Christmas gifts.