Blue Violin
Stories of Downtown
Blue Violin. Owners, Kim Fedore and Zubin Gillespie
When visiting the businesses of Downtown Belleville you get to take in the beautiful facade of the store front, discover unique local and international products and dine on delicious food. You may catch a glimpse of the owner as they wize by, the life of a small business owner is hectic – They want to engage with the customer though they also must be the boss, the marketing expert, the cleaner, the server, the accountant and that could be all before noon! We wanted to give those business owners an opportunity to slow down for a moment and share their stories. Because behind each storefront are people who had a dream and put in a whole lot of work to make it come to life. These are some of the stories of Downtown Belleville.
Kim Fedore and Zubin Gillespie are originally from Calgary but moved to Downtown Belleville in 2011 after closing their Antique shops in Alberta and British Columbia. Before making the big move to Belleville both Kim and Zubin spent 20 years travelling the world finding unique pieces for their stores. Zubin spent 6 months a year for 20 years in Afghanistan looking through 100 thousands of carpets to find the few 100 to put in his stores, while Kim travelled all over Asia and Europe learning the deep history of the antique pieces she collected. Both have a passion for finding and creating beautiful, quality pieces and that is what they have done with the Blue Violin.
The pair decided that Downtown Belleville was the place for them after coming down in 2009 to visit a friend from Prince Edward County. When their friend suggested that they visit Downtown Belleville during they stay in the area, it was love at first sight said Kim and Zubin. “Walking through downtown Belleville, it’s impossible not to fall in love with the buildings. Each structure tells a story, blending historic charm with contemporary flair, creating a captivating and endearing community. The beauty and charm of the city’s core is completely irresistible.” Kim states. Zubin then adds “We hadn’t seen many buildings like these during our time in the West. All the buildings there are made of wood, so it’s hard to come across buildings with character like you do here”.
It was wonderful getting the chance to speak to Heather and learn more about one of the delicious cafes in Downtown Belleville. Before we left we had to ask one last tough question, what is her favourite cafe/restaurant downtown? “This is the hardest question of them all, but we would have to say that Gourmet Diem is our favourite place for coffee and L’Auberge de France is our favourite restaurant, their food is unbeatable!” the pair agreed. Keep following along for our next Story of Downtown.
Click here to visit Blue Violin’s Website
For behind the scenes fun head to the Downtown Belleville Instagram and Facebook!
Stay tuned for more Stories of Downtown coming your way in 2024
Funded by Bay of Quinte Regional Marketing Board
