RU G & W EAV E: V IC T
O R IA
RD S
110
YORK
RD
GUELPH
LIKE HOME AWAY FROM HOME BY CHRIS TIESSEN ‘Everything about this place is gorgeous,’ I
kitchen utensils. Beautiful handcrafted
remark. Then I whisper, only to myself, with a
keepsakes that can transform any place into a
smile: ‘I’m pretty sure I’d live here if you’d let
spectacular living space.
me.’ I step further into the space and revel in the details. The coarse brick walls and crude wood-slat ceiling – painted a brilliant white in defiance of their industrial past. The ample windows and exposed ductwork adding to the space’s condo chic aesthetic. So bright.
‘I could seriously live here,’ my inner self insists. And, after a second, demurs: ‘Or at least shop in this glorious showroom.’
And congenial. The perfect backdrop for
‘It’s certainly taken us a ton of work to get
showcasing beautiful things. Which are all
this far,’ Sarah McBean tells me, referring
around me.
to the space and the business that occupies
Colourful vintage Persian rugs hand-woven in Iran. Pillows, throws and blankets made out of gorgeous vintage Moroccan and Turkish fabrics and created in-house. Handcrafted ceramic mugs and dishes. Carved wooden
it. Her business – and that of her husband, Svein. Rug & Weave. Located in a sprawling one-storey industrial building on York Road in Guelph. In what’s got to be the city’s hippest nook. A ragtag of industrial buildings joined over the decades by some sort of wizardry.