It’s not often you find an ideal pairing of location and business idea, but that’s exactly what Angela Hook has done.
Given that a large portion of her business revolves around “upcycling” — restoring items and finding a new purpose for them — the Cannery Trade Centre may be the perfect location for Hook’s WasteNots Repurpose Shoppe, which held its grand opening earlier this month.
The historic building, once the Alymer Cannery, was converted to an indoor market in 1984 and now houses many of Penticton’s artisans and eclectic businesses.
In the WasteNots shop — located near the GetBent yoga studio in the Cannery — you can find a little bit of everything: cool vintage items from the 60s and 70s, farmhouse antiques and Hook’s own rescued and repurposed items.
That might include an old wooden toolbox that Hook has repainted and set up to mount sideways on a wall, making a combination shelf and towel rack.
“We are looking at ways to repurpose things. So it is a little bit crafty creative and a little bit antique collectible,” said Hook, who locates many of her found items at garage and estate sales, thrift shops and any place where it could be the end of the line for items.
“I am a creative person, I have a degree in fine arts and I am a graphic designer. I look at things a bit differently. I am extremely visual and looking to solve problems in different ways,” said Hook.
Some items are found in the truest sense of the word.
“I do literally find things on the side of the road. People put so much stuff out for free, and I am the one who stops and picks it up,” Hook joked. “I love saving things that are for free, destined for the landfill. So we scoop them up and they become home decor items.”
Hook said she is obsessed with old and vintage items and loves to see them retired to a life of luxury, admired for their appearance, cherished for the memories they evoke and even used again for a new purpose.
“There is so many beautiful things from the past. For instance, I have some stoneware crocks and those were used for making sauerkraut and pickling things back in the day, but they are such stunningly beautiful pieces. They deserve to be preserved,” said Hook. “These are big symbols of the past that have now worked their way into the home decor world.”
More information is available from Hook at angela@wastenots.com, online at www.wastenots.com or facebook.com/wastenots.
The shop is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 207-1475 Fairview Rd.