by Tanya B
When shopping for the thrill of some great vintage finds, look no further than Royal flush Vintage Goods in the Barton Village community. I had the chance to talk with vintage store owners Zach Worton and Liisa Graham about all things vintage. They specialize in Arts, Graphics Design, Vintage Home Decor, Vintage Accessories, Vintage Clothing, and Visible Mending.
They began selling online in 2015 while living in Toronto, and then opened their first storefront in December 2019, up in Gravenhurst (Muskoka), Ontario. The pandemic derailed their plans, so they decided to move back south, and opened their current location in Hamilton in October 2020.
Zach and Liisa are big fans of the Russian Avant-Garde, Constructivism, etc., artists like Lissitsky, Rodchenko, and Stepanova. Also, the Swiss School of Design, Canadian Modernism, Bauhaus, and Cubism. They both love mid-century modern design as well, Scandinavian/Nordic, and modern Japanese design.
Zach and Liisa expressed that vintage to them isn’t just something that’s between 20-100 years old because not all vintage has quality. The value lies in objects that are well crafted, and well designed. They gravitate towards items that have character, and a link to an aspect of history that is worth highlighting, and more importantly, preserving.
As a small business, since they opened their store mere months before an unknown pandemic, it felt like all they experienced was a struggle The biggest challenge, obviously, was the financial one. They went from having full-time jobs with benefits to owning a new store that was continuously closed by lockdowns. This whole experience really pushed Zach and Liisa to be more creative and inventive in how to keep the doors open and has certainly tested their resilience.
As for a current quirky or unique item, that our readers need to know about they described to me an amazing chair called the Nipigon chair, designed by Jan Kuypers. He was a Dutch designer who worked for Imperial Furniture in Stratford Ontario. “It is a beautiful chair, like a museum piece!” They also have a giant ice cream costume head that’s kind of freakish looking.
For more amazing vintage finds, please find Royal Flush on Instagram and Twitter.
