BRADSHAWS HISTORY TIMELINE:

Spring 1895
Peter Watson, proprietor of P. Watson & Son China Hall (selling china, crockery, tinware, glassware, cutlery, tea and spices), dies. In May 1895, local businessman (furniture and undertaking) John Leeming Bradshaw buys the P. Watson & Son stock to clear it out. In the following four months, Bradshaw decides he likes the business so much that he will carry it on for himself.

October 16, 1895
J.L. Bradshaw moves his China Hall to new, larger premises at 84 Ontario St. in Stratford.

1900
J.L. Bradshaw establishes a wholesale business, buying large quantities direct from manufacturers in England and continental Europe, and distributing this merchandise to other Canadian shops.

1914-1918 World War I
J.L. Bradshaw is the only chinaware dealer from the whole of America who maintains his annual business trips overseas through U-boat infested waters. Between 1896 and 1937, he was reputed to have crossed the Atlantic Ocean 87 times.

1942
J.L. Bradshaw dies. The business passes to his son, Harold, who runs it for the next 23 years. Also in 1942, David Bradshaw, son of Harold, starts working in the family shop as a student for $2.00 a week.

1965
Harold Bradshaw retires and David Bradshaw officially takes over. Harold Bradshaw dies 3 years later in 1968.

1970
Bill Wreford starts working for J.L. Bradshaw Ltd. in the traveling end of the import business.

January 1975
Bill Wreford (age 28), and his father Gordon Wreford, buy the retail business, marking the end of 3rd generation ownership by the Bradshaw family, but keeping the Bradshaws name for the store. David Bradshaw continues running the wholesale operation as a completely separate business.

1978
Bradshaws is awarded the Retail award for excellence in the first year that the Canadian Gift & Tableware Association gives awards.

1984
Bradshaws moves across the road to its present location at 129 Ontario St. Major renovation includes installation of a number of large wooden display cabinets obtained from Linkert's Jewelry when it closed in 1980. The Crabtree & Evelyn line of products is added.

1985
A second Bradshaws store opens in London, Ontario. The store is eventually purchased by a former employee of Bradshaws Stratford, Myra Tuer, who operates it for many years before moving on to pursue other interests.

Late 1980's
Bradshaws in Stratford wins the prestigious Canadian Retailer of the Year award. In the years that follow, Bradshaws wins three more awards for retail excellence, (for a total of five awards since 1978), more than any other Canadian Retailer. A stand alone Crabtree & Evelyn and Kichen Detail store are opened, later to be located in an expanded main location.

1995
Bradshaws celebrates its 100th Anniversary in Stratford. Operated by Bill and Sharon Wreford, the store continues to be one of the country's truly unique stores. Bill and Sharon adapt to the changing face of the tableware and gift industry by continuing to introduce new and innovative product. The store is sought out by the trade every time new product is to be introduced into the marketplace.

2006
Bill and Sharon Wreford retire. Their son, Jeremy Wreford, along with his wife Carrie, buys the business, becoming the 3rd generation of the Wreford family, and the 6th generation of Stratford families, to be involved with Bradshaws. The couple continues in their parent's practice of acknowledging the past, yet constantly moving forward.

2007+
Despite a retail landscape dramatically different from the one that existed in 1895, Bradshaws continues to be the foremost examples in retail of its kind. Even in the age of the chain store and the big box, Bradshaws remains as one of Canada's Great Stores.
J.L. Bradshaw would be proud.

Biographies:
Jeremy Wreford was born and raised in Stratford, Ontario. He attended Falstaff, Juliet and Stratford Central Secondary School. As a teenager, he exhibited an interest in building, design and the culinary arts, working at various upscale restaurants and design/build firms in the city. After graduating high school with honours in 1991, and having received various awards and scholarships, he attended The Ryerson School of Interior Design in Toronto, where he eventually graduated with a B.A.A.I.D. (Bachelor of Applied Arts in Interior Design). He also won numerous awards at the university level, including two from A.R.I.D.O. (The Association of Registered Interior Designers of Ontario) for achieving the highest academic standing in the 3rd and 4th years of the program. At a certain point during his studies, Jeremy became interested in film production and design, tailoring his thesis project accordingly. His thesis, a design proposal for a multi-media film production facility, received perfect marks from his professors and advisors. Upon graduating, he went to work in Toronto's burgeoning film production business, starting as a carpenter and props stylist, then quickly working through the ranks to become one of the youngest production designers practicing in the city, specializing in music videos and television commercials. This is where he met his future wife, Carrie, who was then working as a wardrobe stylist (the couple were married in 2005). Jeremy worked in the film business for 11 years, and had a successful production design company, Blackdot Incorporated, when the couple decided to move to Stratford and buy the family business.

Carrie (Schwartz) Wreford was born and raised in Toronto. After an education that consisted of private Hebrew school, high school and a period at York University, Carrie's love of travel took her around the world, living for periods in Vancouver, Grand Cayman Island, and Taiwan. Settling back in Toronto, Carrie began a five-year stint in the film industry working as an assistant producer and wardrobe stylist.
Wanting to exercise her creative talents beyond the film industry, Carrie undertook in 2001 to study the fundamentals of graphic design, with her own extensive research and a series of courses offered at Toronto Image Works. When she felt sufficiently confident, and with a number of freelance jobs under her belt, Carrie worked for a period at Studio Zoo, a successful Toronto design studio, before starting her own company, Cherry Productions, whose clients include the city of Vaughan Playhouse Theatre, The Gestalt Institute, Luxe Destination Weddings, André Souroujon Photography, Pikto, The Jewish National Fund and The Foundation for the Defense of Democracies.
In 2003 Carrie left the freelance world and accepted a position in the art department at Roots, the leading Canadian clothing manufacturer and retailer. In a very short time period, Carrie was made head of the department, and was charged with working directly with the owners, creative director and fashion designers overseeing the Roots graphic embellishments and logos on their successful clothing line. She was sent on numerous research trips to New York, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and New Delhi. It was at Roots that Carrie developed a love for retail, taking satisfaction in her part of the development of commercially successful Roots product.

In 2006, Jeremy and Carrie were presented with the opportunity to purchase Bradshaws. They would become the third generation of the Wreford family to be involved, after 3 generations of the Bradshaw family. Pulling up roots in Toronto, Jeremy and Carrie moved to Stratford and haven't looked back. The new business allows the couple to exercise their past loves of retail and design in this beautifully small yet cosmopolitan city.