Haliburton’s Handmade Heaven – a business that opened its doors this past July 27 – has suddenly closed. So, too, have all other outlets across Ontario.
The space at 160 Highland St. is up for rent, the store’s phone number is no longer in service, social media pages have been taken down, and The Highlander was unable to contact owner Sam Milne.
However, a Facebook page called Ontario Small Business CT said last week, “it has come to our attention that in the last 48 hours, the owner of Handmade Heaven deleted all the businesses’ social media, closed their website, and sent out an email indicating that all locations are closing.
“We have been informed by over 50 of the vendors across all locations that Handmade Heaven has not paid their vendors in months and has collected significant sums of money from vendors for 2025 rentals.” None of this has been proven.
However, vendors did share a letter they said was sent to them by Handmade Heaven in the early morning hours of March 4. It said, “effective immediately, we are closing all Handmade Heaven locations. This was a very hard choice but due to the ongoing online harassment, bullying and now threats, we can’t successfully continue. The staff has now been at risk. This is now before the courts as a legal matter. Those that participated will each be held accountable.”
It went on to ask vendors to make arrangements to pick up their items and displays. It said the Haliburton location would be closed March 3 and 4, and be open March 5 until March 9, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
A vendor at the Haliburton location, who requested anonymity, said they had paid rent until the end of April. They said they have not gotten the money back. The vendor said they emailed Milne with no response.
The Haliburton vendor added they were able to get their stock. “We went Wednesday and took it out. I wasn’t taking any chances. Chalk it up to ‘I’ll know better next time’.”
Adrian Grigore, of Lynx 87, based in Eagle Lake, said he was a vendor from opening day until Jan. 1. He said he decided to end his arrangement because he was paying more to rent the space than he was making in sales. He was unaware of last week’s sudden closure.
After launching Handmade Heaven in early 2023, Milne told The Highlander he was excited to set up shop in Haliburton; his sixth location, joining stores in Peterborough, Barrie, Oakville, Markham, and Toronto.
A “modern” take on the community marketplace model, Handmade Heaven provided hobbyists and up-and-coming entrepreneurs space to promote and sell their goods. The Highlander was unable to reach the building’s owner for comment.
