Penticton’s Hidden Treasures is all about providing locals with a collection of gifts and home decor that you won’t find anywhere else.
The owners, Mike and Roxanne Wolanski, want their store to be the first stop for anyone looking for a present, and for people who want a different experience. The store is located at 2018 Main St. and is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday to Friday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday.
“The idea was, well I hate gift shopping. If I go to Walmart or London Drugs or wherever it’s hard to find something that’s different than anywhere else, and that’s what we’re leaning towards,” said Mike Wolanski. “It’s kind of like finding your own little treasure, that’s different and special.”
The store has a wide range of local products year-round, and seasonal specialty items. The Wolanskis bring in items for autumn and Halloween, and starting November, Christmas as well, making them an ideal spot to hit for last-minute gifts or decorations.
The store isn’t just about being local, it’s about family too. Most of what is sold isn’t only made locally, it’s made by members of the Wolanski family.
“The signs, my wife prints out and I put together the frames for them,” said Mike. “We have five or six family members, and a lot of them came from professional backgrounds. About the only thing we don’t have in the family is a metal-worker, but one of my son’s friends is. He’s the one exception.”
The store carries a wide variety of items, ranging from pieces of home decor such as signs and wall-hangings; to gifts from metal figures and charcuterie boards to picture frames. One of the more popular items are the wine racks and crates that Mike builds. A number of the items are also repurposed or refurbished, from old chairs sanded down and repainted, to side tables made from combining golf-clubs sawn in half with old cupboard doors or an old clock face mounted on what used to be a candle-holder.
With the collection built by the family, the Wolanskis keep their prices low compared to other stores.
“We get questions a lot of the time, ‘Is this the right price?’ and yes, yes it is,” said Roxanne. “We know what it costs to make things.”
It’s all about keeping it local at Hidden Treasures, from their wide selection, to their reasonable prices, to the family who own and operate the store.
“We’re trying to give Penticton one more option before going to Kelowna, or wherever,” said Mike. “We hear a lot of that, that there’s not much in town, so right away they’re gone to Kelowna. We want to be for people here.”
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