Since 2012, Lunenburg Community Consignment has been a one-stop shop for household goods, antiques, and funky trinkets galore. Founded by the late Col. Cheryl Lamerson in her retirement to fulfill her dream of owning an antique shop, it is now run by Jamie Gray, who graciously fit me into his hectic schedule to chat about the shop.
Jamie grew up in Halifax but has always had a strong connection to the South Shore. “My mom’s family has been here since forever, way back in the 1750s, and I always used to come down and visit my grandparents,” he said. “It’s really nice to live here full-time now.”
Before owning the shop, Jamie attended Dalhousie and art schools in Toronto and Italy. He worked independently as an artist and taught overseas in Asia for several years before moving back to Canada during COVID-19.
For the last four years, Jamie has been coordinating with a team of 70 volunteers to run the shop. Their goals are simple: raise money for local charities, give meaningful work to volunteers, help people declutter their houses, and get those people a little extra money in their pockets. The shop does a 25% return on consigned items and donates 20% to 85+ local charities and arts foundations, where several of their volunteers also help out. People are also welcome to donate items rather than consign.
Since it opened in 2012, Lunenburg Community Consignment has donated over $235,000 to local organizations. For example, all jewelry sales are donated to Second Story Women’s Centre, and in May, all donated item sales will go toward ovarian cancer research.
Lunenburg Community Consignment is currently open Wednesday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Drop by sometime and say hello to Jamie, and find yourself a new-to-you treasure while you’re at it!
