Ottawa House Vintage Market
Ottawa House Vintage Market co-owner Marley Guinta
New Local Market Opens in Historic Building
Story and photos by Sidney Ulakovic
The historic Ottawa House standing at the corner of Cumberland and Lincoln Street is now home to a collective of vendors interested in reviving the past with the grand opening of Ottawa House Vintage Market this past weekend.
Walking through the doors of the market, there’s a homey, eclectic vibe that pulls you in to explore—the warm glow of string lights, patterned rugs, and each corner taking you to different moments in time with their curated inventory. Co-owners Allison Modin and Marley Guinta say their intention with the business is to create a Thunder Bay spin on Kensington Market in Toronto.
Modin and Guinta connected on Facebook Marketplace over an ad Guinta placed to see if there was any interest from local vintage vendors in consolidating their efforts with a market space. However, the idea for the space had been brewing for some time before that.
“I came up with this idea with Ricky Kruger, who lived upstairs [in the Ottawa House], and he passed away in March. But before he passed away, we thought about this idea,” Guinta says. “He studied fashion at Ryerson and was really into vintage thrifting. We both spent a lot of time in Toronto, and there’s lots of stuff like that there but nothing like that here. So we came up with this idea.” Guinta says that following Kruger’s passing, the idea really catalyzed when she met Modin.
Currently, there are nearly a dozen vendors operating in the space with plans to bring more on board. “Vendors rent by the square foot, so you could potentially have a full space that's 10 by 10, or simply one shelf that's just a spot on the wall,” Modin says. “We want to encourage resellers to join no matter how large their inventory is, because we all start somewhere.” The Ottawa House Vintage Market features a range of different goods including both men and women’s wear, children’s clothing, houseware, and decor spanning from the 1940s to Y2K era.
“We'd like to eventually branch out and do some more fun fashion things,” Modin says. In time, Modin and Guinta say they intend to host monthly fashion shows alongside the market’s vendors or tea parties in conjunction with neighbours Café Ora where customers can pick out something unique to wear for afternoon tea in an effort to contribute to a growing fashion community in the city.
In keeping with community building, Guinta says that honouring Kruger’s memory with the business he helped inspire is near to her heart. “Ricky was really grassroots, like a tour de force of his own initiatives to help the community,” Guinta says. “A lot of people knew him for that, and it really left a huge hole when he passed. So we are going to be putting aside a percentage of our proceeds every month to a grant-type program.” Guinta explains that people will be able to apply each month with their ideas to build community—whether it’s supplying essential resources to folks in need, recycling initiatives, or a neighbourhood art project—and herself and other friends of Kruger will select initiatives to honour Kruger’s memory.
Ottawa House Vintage is open from 10 am to 8 pm seven days a week. You can find Ottawa House Vintage Market on Instagram @ottawahouse_vintage. If you’re interested in becoming a vendor, send them a direct message or email them at ottawahouse.vintage@gmail.com.