Why This Swiss Family Chose Halifax To Open Their Award-Winning Store
HALIFAX–One of the beautiful aspects of Canada is the number of immigrants who have been able to find prosperity, and a new life, in a brand-new country. The number of immigrant business owners in Halifax alone offers a glimpse into some of their stories.
A new, Dartmouth-based store, One of a Kind Furniture, is no exception: all three co-owners are immigrants. But their story is also unique. They immigrated from Switzerland, of all countries, to realize their dream of owning a business.
Switzerland is consistently listed as one of the best countries to live in from a standards-of-living point of view. But the owners of One of a Kind Furniture, Grace Rufenacht, her father Ron Rufenacht, and Mother Jackie Schneider, thought it was too expensive to set up shop in their home country.
“We feel Canada is the land of opportunity,” said Grace Rufenacht. “And we knew that one day we would love to have our own business and kind of live the Canadian dream.
“In Switzerland, when you look at the ratio of people that own businesses, it’s very hard because it’s super expensive. I also think opening a furniture and decor store would be very hard as well. I don’t think it would have been possible to open such a business in Switzerland.”
The trio moved to Ontario, after first arriving from Switzerland in 2012, but after a few years decided it wasn’t the right place for them.
“In Ontario we felt, it’s beautiful, but it’s not really the Canada we were looking for,” said Rufenacht.
In 2018 they came to Halifax and knew this was the right place for them to realize their dreams.
“We fell in love and we didn’t want to leave.”
Covid Complications
Two years later, when the family was preparing to finally open their dream store, they were the victim of horrible luck. They were due to open in March of 2020, the same month the world came to a halt because of Covid-19.
Rufenacht and her parents were supposed to fly India and Indonesia to meet with craftspeople who would make them furniture but those flights were cancelled. Their first shipment of furniture and décor was also delayed by months due to the pandemic.
But the family didn’t panic.
“We’re a pretty strong family. We always deal with what gets thrown at us. Coming to a new continent, we really learned a lot, so we just roll with the punches,” said Rufenacht.
“We decided to just go with it, and here we are still kicking.”
Furniture Made By Local Craftspeople
One of a Kind Furniture officially opened in August of 2020, focusing on furniture and decor made by artisans and craftspeople, including some Nova Scotians.
Luckily, the Atlantic Bubble was in existence by this time, and a lot of people were doing home renos to pass the time. One of a Kind Furniture quickly became known as a great place to buy new furniture that is handmade, rather than mass-produced.
And because they don’t rely on shipments of mass-produced goods, customers never had to wait months to receive furniture they saw on display.
“The first few months were great because the Atlantic Bubble was open,” said Rufenacht. The cases were [relatively] low. People were getting comfortable going outside again, going shopping.”
“With us, still to this day, you don’t have to wait six-to-eight months for your furniture pieces to come in. With us, what you see, you get, and you can take it home the same day.”
Making It Through Bumpy Times
Despite the store’s early success, there were bumpy times. In November of 2020, cases rose again in Halifax and retail outlets had to operate at 25 percent capacity. And as usually happens when there is a spike in cases, consumer confidence dropped.
“In November, I believe, cases started to rise again, and we went down to 25 percent capacity with the new regulations, and that’s when Christmas business was very, very slow,” recalls Rufenacht.
To make matters worse, One of a Kind Furniture didn’t qualify for any of the major support programs offered by the federal government. That’s because they opened during 2020 and businesses needed to have a year’s worth of records to show the feds their revenue decline.
It was a policy that left many Halifax businesses out in the cold because they opened their doors during the pandemic. But Rufenacht and her parents never lost faith that everything would work out.
“We’re Christians, we say everything happens for a reason. If God brought you to it, he will bring you through it,” she stated confidently.
If one good thing did come to the furniture store from the pandemic it was their online shop. At first, the family was just planning a brick-and-mortar store. But Covid-19 made them pivot, which brought them extra sales and extra exposure.
This year, all the hard work and hardship paid off. One of a Kind Furniture won the Platinum award under the furniture category for CommunityVotes Halifax 2021. It is an award Rufenacht and her parents are proud of, since it’s Halifax’s attitude of supporting local business that has allowed their store to thrive.
“People actually supporting local and supporting your business. I think there’s such a community here in Canada where we try to focus on supporting small, local, businesses,” says Rufenacht.
“Small businesses, at the end of the day are the backbone of every country.”
Derek Montague is a Huddle reporter in Halifax. Send him your feedback and story ideas: [email protected].