Community News

'IT'S A REALLY BIG PART OF MY LIFE'

MOTHER/DAUGHTER DUO TINA HILL AND ROBYN HINTON OF THE ARTSTRACT CO. SAY VERY SLIM CHANCE OF STAYING OPEN

BRENT COOPER

Tina Hill's eyes told the whole story. The owner of The Artstract Co. tried not to cry as she spoke of what she was going to miss most when the business closes at the end of April.

"The people," she said, while wiping the corner of her eye. "Everybody has been so wonderful ... we have had a lot of support, from people saying 'What can we do? You can't leave.'"

Business partner and daughter Robyn Hinton was equally emotional about saying goodbye to a business she has been a part of since she was a young teen.

"It's a community that I've grown up with ... I've been in the business with my parents since I was 13 years old, so it's a really big part of my life," she said.

The business has been a staple in downtown Gravenhurst for almost three decades.

Hill said reality is the main reason behind the decision to end a company that has been serving area customers since 1994, offering printing, copying, design and framing skills to the townspeople.

She said the landlord told them in March they would not renew the lease, which ends in June, giving the mother-daughter duo only a short period of time to find a new home.

"We have been looking around, but spaces are either too small or too expensive," said Hill. "We haven't been able to find something suitable for our needs. We have as much equipment in the basement as we do out (in the front), and the cost of moving the equipment is high."

The store began with humble beginnings, first occupying a space in a downtown business until Hill and her husband, Robert, grew it to the point where they had to find a place of their own.

The company settled in another location for a four-year period before eventually taking up home at 240-1 Muskoka Rd. South Gravenhurst the past 25 years.

There is still a minute chance the company can live on. Both women say people in the community, including town officials, have been working to find a another location that would keep the business operating in Gravenhurst.

However, time is running out as Hill and

Hinton say they must make decisions soon regarding their inventory and business equipment.

"We are closing April 30, and then we have the month of May (to wind up the business). If somebody can magically find us a place that is move-in ready with all the electrical, where we can set up, then we would move the equipment from here ... but we haven't been able to find that place," Hinton said.

Hinton added the day the last customer walks out that door will be hard for both of them.

"The number of people coming in now are saying, 'What are we going to do without you?' or 'How am I going to run my business without having you here to help with other things?'"

"It's going to be emotional."

BUSINESS

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2023-03-23T07:00:00.0000000Z

2023-03-23T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://communitynews.pressreader.com/article/281586654843506

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