Lawrence Hellings and his wife Gail have deep roots in Bradford. They met while attending Bradford District High School, and have now been married for decades and run a business together. Decorator’s Edge has been serving the community of Bradford since 1991.
Between Gail, Lawrence, and longtime employee Carolyn, the team has a wide knowledge base of everything paint-related. They are happy to offer customers advice and input, and each of them has their own area of expertise. Gail calls Carolyn their colour expert. “a lot of people know her and come in for her, because she can see colours that I can’t even see,” says Gail.
Lawrence knows a lot about paint and can match anything that customers bring in. And as for Gail, she refers to herself as the most friendly and chatty one— “like a Walmart greeter.”
Customers remark on all of the staff’s friendliness and kindness. Lawrence and Gail’s favourite part of the job is the people, and having customers return to tell them how happy they are with their paint, showing them before and after photos. “We’ve become friends with a lot of them,” says Gail.
As lifelong Bradford residents, the couple enjoys that while the town is growing, it still has a small-town, community feel. Their daughter runs Bradford Blinds, and the whole family enjoys shopping at other local businesses. Decorator’s Edge has sponsored many kids’ sports teams over the years, as well as supporting the local food bank.
Every year, the store collects toys for their annual holiday toy drive to support children in need. They usually start accepting donations of new, unwrapped toys on the weekend of Bradford’s annual Santa Claus Parade, and they continue right up until Christmas Eve— so now is a great time to drop off donations.
Lawrence’s brother Jeff started the toy drive collection at the store over 20 years ago, when he was a member of the Bradford Rotary Club. When the Rotary Club was dissolved in 2013, the family continued collecting toys at Decorator’s Edge, donating them them to Barrie’s Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre. They now donate the toys to Innisfil Food Bank, who partners with Christmas 4 Kids Charity, which provides holiday and birthday gifts to local children in need.
All of the toy donations are distributed within the Simcoe County area, and are much appreciated by the Decorator’s Edge team, as they work to give every child a happy holiday season.
For more information on Decorator’s Edge, visit their website