The biggest donation in the history of Ottawa’s ReStores is bringing a touch of elegance at a bargain to local shoppers.
The ReStore is the retail arm of Habitat for Humanity Greater Ottawa. It accepts donations of new and gently used home building materials, furniture, decor and more and sells it well below retail prices to raise funds to aid the charity’s efforts to build affordable housing for those with lower incomes.
Recently, Habitat was offered an astounding $2.7 million donation of luxury bathroom fixtures from Montreal-based Paris Mirror, a designer and supplier of high-end LED mirrors, as well as tubs and vanities under its brand Cozy in Paris.
“We are tremendously grateful for (the donation),” says Patrick Barker, Habitat for Humanity Greater Ottawa’s director of social enterprise, which includes the ReStores. “It’s the largest single donation that the ReStore has received.”
The donation was made in part because “we’re firmly in line with (Habitat’s) mission statement of providing homes. It’s such a sacred place, the home, and the work that they do is unbelievable for families in need,” says Raffi Narayan, CEO of Parris Mirror.
The donated items total more than 1,700, made up of about 1,400 LED mirrors of various sizes, 63 solid-surface standalone tubs and 273 single and double vanities that Narayan says all have soft-close doors, are made of hardwood and come with countertops that are either Carrara marble, porcelain or a type of glazed glass.
Retailing between $450 and $6,000, Barker says the items are being offered at Habitat’s three ReStore locations for 45 per cent of their retail price or less. And since funnelling such a large quantity of fixtures through the stores is a logistical issue, he’s hoping to find a partner or partners willing to take many of them. But that will still leave quite a selection for the ReStores’ shoppers.
The donation was prompted by U.S. tariffs and trade regulations that have impacted Paris Mirror. With the majority of its clients in the United States, the company had to pivot when it came to its manufacturing supplies, leaving it with overstock that it could not ship south of the border.
“It causes a lot of turbulence,” says Narayan. “And turbulence is usually associated as a negative, but sometimes positive things do come out of it,” including being able to make the donation to Habitat.
Barker says some of the items will also be available for sale at Habitat’s booth at the Ottawa Fall Home Show Oct. 2-5. He cautions that the tubs in particular are quite heavy and buyers will be responsible for transporting whatever they buy, either at the ReStore or the home show. And if you don’t see what you’re looking for among the displays, just ask if it’s available in the inventory.
The ReStore’s three locations are:
- 3 Iber Rd. in Stittsville
- 768 Belfast Rd. at Ottawa Train Yards
- 250 City Centre Ave., unit 118.
