Annual Holiday Sale Raises Funds for Child and Maternal Health

Local Artisan Fred Quist has been producing woodworking items for sale for at least a decade now, putting up pop-up shops in locations such as galleries and community halls until he found a permanent, seasonal home a couple of years ago - the Salvation Army Thrift Store.

Fred’s work ranges from scroll saw pieces to lathe work to intarsia (wood mosaic) art to painting, although his specialty, especially at the holidays, is wooden children’s toys. He’s been working with wood since childhood and produces items using a myriad techniques. Fred creates works year round and brings them out into the community every November and December, just in time for holiday shopping.

Fred has been retired for several years and does this work for the love of it rather than as a business; prices are low enough that everyone can find something they can afford, ranging from $1 tree ornaments to $40 paintings and everything in between. That’s very deliberate and not because he doesn’t know the value of his work, which makes the thrift store a very apt location to display his pieces. Fred’s items include such things as toy trains and airplanes, puzzle games, keepsake boxes, and wood-turned bowls.

Everything he raises - fully one hundred percent - is donated to Compassion Canada, a faith-based charity that tackles childhood poverty around the world. Specifically, Fred contributes to the Child Survival Program which works with new mothers and their infant children to provide for their immediate needs and ensure they have essentials such as basic hygiene and health information.