CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — For 55 years, The Showcase Gift Shop has been a true showcase for the creative and diverse talents of many artisans.
Suzanne Scott, owner of the Village Pottery in New London, P.E.I., says the shop located in the lobby of the Confederation Centre of the Arts in Charlottetown has not only been a good place to sell her work but also a fine marketing tool to introduce tourists and locals alike to her products.
Pottery finely crafted by her mother, Daphne Large, has been sold at The Showcase for 25 years. Scott's father, Ian Scott, used to sell his leather work there almost 50 years ago. Suzanne has also had many of her pottery creations sold at the shop over the years.
Not surprisingly, Suzanne was saddened to learn the shop is set to close on Sept. 5.
“It is definitely going to be a loss there for sure," she says. “It is just the loss of the nice cultural aspect that it added."
Confederation Centre CEO Steve Bellamy says the shop is closing to make way for a new lobby design with additional features for guests.
“Retail will continue to be an important component of this engagement, but the retail space will be changed so that we can also accommodate more gathering spaces for food and beverage service and pre- and post-show public activity," says Bellamy.
“The Showcase is a special part of the centre and has been greatly appreciated by the community for years. As we begin reimagining a new retail operation for the centre, we will work hard to ensure it continues to serve our community."
Bellamy praised manager Sandra Jeffery and assistant manager Mary Hemphill for their dedicated service as well as givng a special nod to all other staff and the many volunteers.
Jeffery, who is preparing to end her 34-year run with the store, has mixed emotions.
“I feel ready to retire, so that’s a big thing, and I made the decision about a year or so ago," she says.
“It is rather sad seeing things change – close. But the good thing is I know it is going to reopen and somebody else is going to take it on with new energy and new ideas and that is nice to see happening."
Lending a hand
- A small army of approximately 75 volunteers have helped out at the The Showcase Gift Shop, which has been a part of the Confederation Centre of the Arts, a not-for-profit, charitable organization, since 1965. All profits from The Showcase go back to the centre to support arts programming. The Showcase is closing on Sept. 5 to make way for a new lobby design.
The operation began in 1965 — one year after the centre opened to commemorate the historic 1964 Charlottetown Conference.
The shop was originally located at the bottom of the Confederation Centre Art Gallery in a small space. The shelves were filled with all Canadian-made product, which included jewelry, pottery, glass, art work and books.
Jeffery has had the pleasure of selling a wide array of impressive works at The Showcase over the years.
Jewelry has been the top seller for a long time, she notes, but pottery and glass products, particularly fused glass art, has been very popular as well. The most expensive item she recalls being sold during her many years at the gift shop was a painting purchased for $1,000.
The shop over the years has typically enjoyed a nice spike in business before and after shows at the centre.
“Matinee days were wonderful, of course, because you would have the rush before the show and at intermission and after the show and then the next show in the evening," says Jeffery.
“It’s such an interesting building to work in," she adds, “and in May when everything is very quiet, you get this influx of creativity and all these actors and stage crew and the building just comes to life."
