The art of Revival

Jerrold and Marta Hewson aim to make their newly opened art store, café, photography studio and event space on Cannon Street East near Ottawa a hub for ‘creative disruptors.’

It might be hard to immediately see the silver lining in being struck by a car while crossing at a stop sign, smashing head first into the windshield, and being left with a brain trauma so severe it meant you had to change jobs.

But for Jerrold Hewson, that has all led to a journey to open an art supply store, café, and arts-focused event space in Crown Point West.

Hewson and wife Marta, a photographer, took possession of two buildings at the corner of Cannon Street East and Grosvenor Avenue North at the end of May. Marta’s studio is located out front, at 1165 Cannon St. E., in a light-filled space with brick walls, a roll-up garage door, and post and beams. It will double as a rentable event space.

The Revival Art Store is located behind, with an entrance that opens onto Grosvenor Avenue.

The property’s new life ties directly into its past as longtime Hamilton streetscape artist Paul Elia’s Crown Point West gallery and studio. Elia, who has moved to Port Hope, Ont., also rented out a large portion of the sprawling two-storey brick building to other artists as studio space.  

Marta and Jerrold feel fortunate to have found the property that perfectly suits their two ventures. And Marta, who moved her studio at the end of September after 15 years at the Cotton Factory, has always wanted to own her own space.

She’s significantly cut her commute, too, because she and Jerrold have moved into the loft space on the second and third floors. Their two early-20s children and a few of their friends now rent their central Mountain home.

 It has taken the work of a business plan and market research company and creative financing to pull it all together. They’ve also relied on the advice of Matt Kershaw and Erin Dunham at The Other Bird about operating the café.

In the aftermath of Jerrold’s accident in April 2024, he could no longer withstand the flashes of light in Marta’s photo studio where he worked as a studio assistant. And his previous career as a restaurant server was out of the question, too.

“I just can’t manage chaos anymore.”  

But he’s long been a visual artist and after Curry’s Artists’ Materials on King Street West closed last fall, he started to think about opening his own shop. He pitched the idea to Marta and then started looking for rental space. It proved difficult to find something suitable.

Then he found an expired listing — on page 58 of a real estate website — for the Cannon Street property. It became the perfect solution in a great neighbourhood.

The store will include a café serving coffee and alcohol, and Marta’s studio will double as rentable event space for parties of up to 60 people. There is also outdoor space that will have seating.

“People are always looking for places for breakfast meetings, or cute weddings, and we want to do paint and sip nights and life drawing classes,” says Marta.  

“We want this to become an artist hub, and that’s why our tagline is: The headquarters for creative disruptors.”

The Hewsons have purposely designed the art store in such a way that it doesn’t have aisles and won’t cage up products. They want to encourage conversation and trust.

“This won’t be big brother,” says Jerrold. “This is a family run, community business. We want to make sure that it’s a place where people come and are comfortable to hang out.”

That could mean taking a sketchbook into the backyard or sitting with a coffee from the café while reading a coffee table art book.

Jerrold has spent many months connecting with art suppliers from around the world.

“We’re trying to buy as much Canadian as possible and then as much European as possible. We’re not boycotting stuff from the U.S., but we are already getting tariff receipts.”

He had a company in China ask him to be its North American distributor, even before he opened for business.  

 There have been plenty of challenges, including managing the allocation of the bank loan during the extensive renovations, getting permits, and receiving supplies. That has all delayed getting the art store open.

And without any retail experience, they could only qualify for a high-risk mortgage.

Then there are the realities of renovating a 125-year-old building that actually takes up three city addresses. It opened as a bakery in 1900 and was a bakery again in the 1970s. Along the way, it was also a factory for air conditioners, a car dealership, and a garage.

Marta and Jerrold know from the people who stopped in to ask when the store will open, that there is pent-up demand. It’s certainly the case that, in addition to Hamilton’s thriving professional arts community, many hobbyists have turned to art as a means of expression, relaxation, and escape, especially during and after the pandemic.

Even so, the easy narrative is that online retailing is killing brick-and-mortar art shops. Curry’s, which was founded in Toronto in 1911 and grew to at least 10 stores in southern Ontario, was locked out of its Hamilton store in November 2024 for failure to pay rent. It was the chain’s last location and the business entered bankruptcy in July.

But the Hewsons feel confident that with good products, personal customer service, and a focus on building a community, they will succeed.

“The market research shows that artists want physical things. They want to touch a brush; they want to feel it in their hand. They want to see the colours of paint, how they look under the light. And they also want to just come and get inspired by new products,” says Jerrold.

Add to that being located within a stone’s throw of the eclectic, artsy Ottawa Street and an overall surge in buy local and buy Canadian sentiment, and the Hewsons feel they are on the right track.

“It just feels like the whole corporate shopping experience has become awful,” adds Marta. “You can go in and never see a (staff) person. No one is paying attention to you. And you go to self-checkout and they’ve got a camera on you.”

Big-box may have buying power but they don’t have product knowledge or provide a personal experience, adds Jerrold. And the nearest dedicated, independent stores for serious artists are in Guelph or Oakville.

When we visit Revival in early October, construction is still happening in the art store and café. Box upon box of art supplies are neatly stacked in what will become office space for Marta and Jerrold. She has just vacated her Cotton Factory space and is getting the studio set up for her first shoot the following week.

They’ve had to move back a projected opening date several times, so they’ve decided to concentrate on getting the art store up and running first, followed by the café.

They are waiting on a large sign for the front of the store and plans are in motion for folk artist Lewis Mallard to paint a mural on the east wall of the building facing Grosvenor Avenue.

In all things, they are going for a rebel and throwback vibe. They’ve left brick exposed and a concrete floor was painted with a stencil to look like tile.

“We want it to be like a revival of how art stores have been, but a new thing, too. And it’s a headquarters for creative disruptors, because we don’t want just pretty stuff. If you’re different, you belong here. So we’re kind of going for a bit of a retro punk kind of thing,” says Jerrold.

“We’re also reviving my ability to work again. Revival is also a play on words for renaissance, but that would have been too cliché to call an art store. Revival is perfect.”