Emily Kelly of This Little Hill was the featured artisan at The Maker’s Hub on Shop Crawl Saturday. She had several of her hand-crafted wreaths with her but is always ready to create just what you want. Tinkess Photo

WINCHESTER – There is one thing that has always struck me about Winchester, and that it has a real main street. It may seem odd to find that unusual, but many of the communities that were impacted by the creation of the St. Lawrence Seaway lost their main street, so when you discover one as alive as Winchester’s, it is something to appreciate and take advantage of.

Sat., Nov. 1 was the perfect time to do so, as that was the day of the annual Winchester Shop Crawl, the kick-off to the Christmas season. The event ran from 10:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. and involved many of the downtown businesses, such as:

  • The Planted Arrow Flowers and Gifts
  • Simply Baked Catering
  • Trixie’s Trinkets
  • Samantha’s Emporium
  • Bridals by Al-mor
  • The Odd Stop
  • The Heritage House Health Spa
  • The Makers Hub
  • Main Street Clothing Company

A check with many of the participating businesses revealed that most enjoyed a very productive day, with a steady flow of customers. The diversity of the products being offered made it a great way to start or finish your Christmas shopping.

The Odd Stop, at 501 St. Lawrence St. for example could be described as unique, eclectic, or unusual, but the flow of people in and out was steady. Everyone wouldn’t necessarily find something they were looking for, but anyone could find something that touched a chord within them. Records, video games, vintage toys, examples of taxidermy, sports cards, Pokémon, and that doesn’t even scratch the surface. Chris Alves, when he opened his first location just a bit south of the four corners said he had to do so to have a place to keep all his collections. Now he is in a larger storefront and seems to have had no problem filling it. Everyone, if they are being honest, needs an Odd Stop in their life.

Samantha Chadwick, the owner of Samantha’s Emporium at 503 Main St. was happy with the day she had. She says people seemed to be starting their Christmas shopping and it wasn’t just local shoppers either. “People are coming from Ottawa. People are coming from Cornwall, the Kemptville area, because it’s a little bit different coming here.

“It is a real Main Street,” she adds, “And they say that it’s different, the customer service they get is a little more personal, and we love them coming in here. we get people from Orleans, and we’ve had a few from as far, as Brockville the other day.”

If you’re looking for a personalized Christmas gift, then Samantha’s would be a good place to check out. “Our main service is personalizing,” said Chadwick. Stickers, posters, you name it, we can personalize it.”

Just a bit west from Samantha’s Emporium you will find the Maker’s Hub, owned by Carol Robillard, who was very happy with the day she had. “it’s a great day,” said Robillard. It was great. There was lots of traffic. People love it. This year each merchant is doing separate gift basket draws. Our basket alone is worth $450, and that is all contributions from the vendors.

Robillard says she has noticed that people were being a little more careful on their spending this year. “I noticed that they’re shopping more,” she adds, “Like, we’re getting more traffic than, say, in the summer, I think people are afraid, so when we’re looking at the sales, the items that they’re buying, it may be a little less value, but they’re now starting to pick up. People are excited about Christmas.”

The Maker’s Hub is unique in that it gives local artists and artisans a place to display their work. This day, the feature artist was Emily Kelly, and her business is named This Little Hill. She makes custom wreaths and holds workshops teaching people how to make wreaths.

“I make them with all, mostly all local materials,” said Kelly. “So, all my evergreen comes from Johnson brothers farm, in Hexton. I make them to last, so they’re live wreaths. I only have a few selections that are, aren’t natural. They have, you know, some not natural elements, to go through Christmas into the winter.”

What is the most unusual request she has had for a wreath? “Ones with feathers,” said Kelly, “I have a couple of feathers and, you know, some different elements like that.”

You can find out more about Emily Kelly and This Little Hill on Facebook.

The 2025 Shop Crawl ran from 10:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. but if you didn’t make it, don’t despair. The Garden Party Christmas Market will take place from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. on Sat., Nov. 22 at Sweet Corner Park, and it will have an even longer list of vendors and Santa is expected to be there as well. You won’t want to miss it.