{"id":21150,"date":"2016-09-30T16:47:25","date_gmt":"2016-09-30T20:47:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/huntsville.dopperonline.ca\/?p=21150"},"modified":"2016-10-01T09:59:20","modified_gmt":"2016-10-01T13:59:20","slug":"wilsons-paint-store-40th-anniversary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/wilsons-paint-store-40th-anniversary\/","title":{"rendered":"Wilson’s The Paint Store celebrates 40 years"},"content":{"rendered":"

THIS BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT SHINES ON<\/em>
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Brought to you by these community-minded organizations because they recognize that
\ngood business is good for everyone:<\/h6>\n

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The Wilsons know paint. Three generations of the family have been involved in their store for the past 40 years.<\/p>\n

It all started in 1976 when Doug Wilson, then a sales rep for a paint company, drove through Huntsville and saw a building for lease. \u201cIt was the best job I could have had from an employment point of view but I always wanted to be in business for myself,\u201d says Doug. \u201cI went home \u2013 we were living in Barrie at the time \u2013 and said to Marian, ‘I found a place in Huntsville to open a business’. And she said, \u2018where\u2019s Huntsville?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

They leased the store \u2013 at 5 Cann Street where Moose Delaney\u2019s is now \u2013 and opened on May 21, 1976. Marian and an employee ran the business for three years, bringing it to the point where Doug could leave his job in 1979. After 10 years in that location, they purchased the building on the corner, where So Many Looks is now, and remained there until building their current location in Commerce Park in 2005. Darryl took over the business that year after spending many years running a painting business \u2013 he ran both until 2012.<\/p>\n

Those early years in a small town where they didn\u2019t know anyone were hard, but they persisted and are now solidly embedded in the community. Doug and Marian belong to the Dorset Lions Club, and the family supports the Huntsville Hospital, Hospice Huntsville, Paddle for Fairvern, and many, many small groups and charities.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not just the three generations of Wilsons that you’ll find in the store \u2013 Doug and Marian, Darryl and his wife Cheryl, and their son Chris; they see third generations of many of their early customers now coming in.<\/p>\n

Their tag line sums up why they\u2019ve been so successful \u2013 \u2018We\u2019re a paint store, not a paint department\u2019. \u201cWe are always updating our skills as things change,” says Darryl. Their shortest term employee has worked in the store for seven years.<\/p>\n

Even Chris, who now works at the store full-time, has been there a long time \u2013 he started as a stock boy, then worked weekends helping customers. People often overlooked him because of his young age, but he was usually the most knowledgeable person in the store because he’d been the one to do the most recent courses. \u201cHe had a hard time with it so he moved to painting,\u201d says Darryl, which further increased his knowledge. He\u2019s back now and can be found on the floor advising customers on the products that will meet their needs \u2013 or not. \u201cWe sell the right product today so they don\u2019t have problems tomorrow,\u201d says Darryl. \u201cAnd we quite often send people out the door without paint \u2013 \u2018you don\u2019t want to paint that\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

The store has always been a Benjamin Moore dealer, but also sells Para, Sikkens and Sansin products to the unique Muskoka market. \u201cWe sell a lot of stain, it\u2019s a unique market,\u201d says Doug.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re over in Commerce Park, stop in and wish the Wilsons a happy 40 years. Here\u2019s to many more.<\/p>\n\n\t\t