Retro treasure chest makes the best of things
By Anna-Grae York
EDMONTON — A tiny gem of a shop specializing in restored goods from the 1950’s to the 1980’s has found its niche on 124 Street, even though it is open rarely.
Populuxe, located just off the increasingly popular 124 Street at 12407 108 Ave., is a small, one-room shop that sells quirky pieces that have been restored to their former glory.
A display of retro furniture at Populuxe, a shop that sells houseware peices from the 1950's to the 1980's just off of 124 Street. The table in the photograph is teak, a furniture material that Populuxe employees say is in high demand right now. Photograph by Anna-Grae York.
Funky lamps, tiki statues, shaggy rugs, and colorful blown glass are among the treasures that can be found inside (check out our Populuxe photo gallery), but don’t expect them to be there for long. Owner Tony Vesseur says that if an item is interesting enough, it will be sold the same day it was brought in. In fact, some items will even spark disputes between customers.
“Sometimes I’ll have two or three people fighting over an item,” he says. “It’s a small store, so the turnover is pretty high.”
Vesseur acquires the items from auctions and elsewhere, and fixes them up himself. He says the items have to meet his standards before he can sell them—which means they must look like new.
“I’m one of the pickiest people I know,” he says. “Some people ask if the items are new. They can’t believe they’re old.”
The shop, which has been open nearly seven years, has a base of regulars who keep coming back for more treasure.
Populuxe is only open from noon to 5 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, as Vesseur’s health won’t allow him to be open any more than that per week right now. He has had operations recently that make it hard for him to be open all the time, but the small window of business arguably makes Populuxe wares an even bigger commodity.
However, Judy Smith of the 124 Street and Area Business Association says that although the association wishes Populuxe would be open more, the shop is still an important institution of the 124 Street area.
“They’ve been there a long time, and it seems to be working for them,” she said. “So as long as they’re happy, we’re happy.”
Vesseur has a couple more surgeries in sight, but says that as soon as he’s all healed up from those, he has plans to be open a lot more. Vesseur also works on finding and restoring furniture for the store during the week, so staying open all week would be difficult at this point.
Jody Boras of i.d.ah Interiors talks about how she’s used vintage and retro items in her clients homes in our slideshow:
