Bradford's Decorator's Edge paint store turned 30 on Monday.
Husband and wife Lawrence and Gail Hellings first opened the store in 1991 at 107 Holland St. East and relocated to its current location at 284 Holland St. West in 1999.
The couple has been married for 35 years, and first met at Bradford District High School. They live in Gilford but have always considered Bradford home. They have two children, a 25-year-old daughter, and a 22-year-old son.
Lawrence's father was a painter, which is how he got started in the business. He started selling paint in 1984 and worked at another Benjamin Moore paint retailer before being opening up his own store in Bradford.
It's a family affair at the shop, with Lawrence and Gail's daughter Jade sells blinds inside the store under the name Bradford Blinds.
Lawrence's brother Jeff Hellings is another familiar face at the store. He is a professional painter and is very much involved in the store's community initiatives like their annual Christmas Toy Drive.
Jeff used to be an active member of the Bradford Rotary Club and started the Bradford Rotary Toy Drive, collecting Christmas gifts for children in need.
When the Bradford Rotary Club disbanded in 2013, the brothers continued to collect toys at the store and donated them to Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH) in Barrie and, most recently, the Innisfil Food Bank which partners with C4Kids Charity.
Sadly in 2010, Jeff and his wife, Sharon, lost their son Bob to cancer at the age of 25.
After Bob’s passing, the Hellings started ‘The B.O.B. Fund’ at RVH, where people can donate to families going through cancer treatments.
Jeff and Sharon also host a golf tournament every summer where proceeds are donated to RVH to help cancer patients and their families dealing with day-to-day expenses during treatment.
Jeff also volunteers at the Community Church in Alcona, helping the Innisfil Food Bank with their gift hampers.
Most recently, Lawrence and Gail donated cans of paint to W.O.W Living as they redecorate some of the living spaces for victims of the Bradford apartment fire at 114 Holland St. West.
The store also had a six-day event where a portion of their sales went toward supporting the fire victims.
"We do what we can," said Gail. "We like to help out the community."
The Hellings have seen Bradford grow over the years, and note some of their current customers are second and third generation.
Due to the current lockdown, the store is only open for curbside pickup but look forward to welcoming their clients back in the store soon.
"We can't thank the town of Bradford enough for the continued support and loyalty over all these years, here's to many more!"
