Jim’s Garage finds a new life as Old Soul

NORTH CANAAN — This holiday season, the building that was the home for many years of Jim’s Garage, on Railroad Street, will once again be open for business. This time, however, the space will have a new purpose.

Switching from auto services to retail, the new business, called Old Soul, will offer vintage furniture and new home decor items.

Deb Keller, Old Soul’s owner, has worked with property owner Bill Hower to develop the business

The shop is scheduled to open the day after Thanksgiving, on Black Friday, the traditional beginning of the holiday shopping season. Her hours will be 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Fridays, and noon to 5 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.

Keller will offer a wide variety of older items that “just needed to be reimagined.”

For example, she offers a Chippendale-style cabinet with a glass door and detailed Greek key trim.  Also for sale is a hall “tree” recovered from a 200-year-old farmhouse in New Preston, Conn. Complete with a marble surface and side pockets for umbrellas and walking sticks, it is signed by the cabinetmaker who built it. 

Old Soul will also sell Chinese porcelains, lamps, rugs, artwork, scarves and even inexpensive “stocking stuffers” such as vintage key-shaped bottle openers.

Keller said that her products will cover a wide price range, but she’s less interested in selling high-end products than items for everyday use.

Old Soul is just one part of the new look for Jim’s Garage.

Hower and Keller gave a tour of the building last week and said that a second new business will be a complementary male-oriented retail shop, a “man cave” that will be called … Jim’s Garage.

Also selling vintage and one-of-a-kind items, the products at Jim’s will have a more mechanical slant. There will be rare and historic items from automobiles, planes and industry as well as sports memorabilia and more.

Hower showed off an aged lantern from the Erie Canal, a pair of early 1900s children’s skis and some aluminum maps that show Manhattan’s public transportation system.

Keller and Hower feel that between their two shops, with “careful curation,” there will be something that piques the interest of everyone.

Giving the building new life has been important for Hower. Originally built in 1941, it was  home to Jim’s Garage and to a popular downtown restaurant. It “creates an emotional charge” for North Canaan residents, he said.  “It’s very nostalgic.”

 

When both businesses are up and running, Hower hopes they will become a destination, enticing shoppers to come visit, and to walk around and explore downtown North Canaan. 

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