Nic Bax, owner Carefree Hobbies, Models & Collectibles

It’s nice to see good things happen to nice people. And good things have been happening to Nic Bax, co-owner and operator of Carefree Hobbies & Models. When Toys & Games last profiled the Burlington, Ontario retailer in 2008, Nic and his wife Karen were operating their business out of a cramped 1,127-square-foot storefront in a strip mall on the city’s eastern edge. The couple, both retired from their previous careers, opened the shop in 2005, deciding to build on Nic’s love of hobbies, which included model-building to collecting vintage diecast.

Stocking the store with everything from snap-together model kits and slot-car racing sets to board games, jigsaw puzzles and doll-house kits, the shop had appeal for a wide demographic of customers. Although space was at a premium, Nic and Karen managed to fill the shelves with 15,000 skus — vintage product rubbed shoulders with new items from well known toy and hobby suppliers, such as Kroeger Inc., Revell-Monogram, P.M.Hansen, Valley Trading and Quebec’s Gateway Autoart and D’Artagnan Distribution.

It didn’t take long for Carefree to become a destination spot for the neighbourhood’s serious hobbyists, as well as 30-something-age dads out for a Saturday morning of browsing with their young sons. With his extensive knowledge, Nic was always ready to “talk hobbies” with everyone who came through the door. He welcomed all with a smile, inviting them to try their hand at slot-car racing, or just sit and chat at the rear of the store in an area set up especially for veterans and seniors eager to reminisce. Nic had definitely found his niche as an “old style” retailer, sometimes hand-delivering product to his customers and even running an after-hours model-building club with young local Air Cadets.

In just five years, Nic and Karen had amassed a loyal clientele and enough product —new and old — to fill a store three times the size of their current real estate. Needless to say, many items, especially vintage collectibles Nic accepted to sell on consignment for collectors around the world, could not be displayed and were relegated to storage.

Knowing the business would soon outgrow the small premises, the Baxes decided to plan and budget for a move to a bigger location by 2010. And that’s exactly what happened. After much searching, the couple found the perfect store in the nearby city of Oakville, a 15 minute drive from the old store. Located at a major intersection (Speers Road and Fourth Line) in another busy strip mall, the new store was bounded by businesses of all kinds — everything from an auto accessories retailer and a jujitsu studio to a water products store and a family restaurant — resulting in almost 24/7 traffic.

Because the previous tenant had been a golf retailer, the new premises required little in the way of renovations other than a new paint job on the walls and the installation of shelving. It featured 2,900 square feet of selling space, an impressively high ceiling throughout, 1,000 square feet of storage, and 30-foot display windows around the main entrance, which fronted onto a large parking lot.

In February 2010, the Baxes closed their tiny Burlington shop to begin the daunting process of packing product safely for the journey to the glistening new premises. The fact that 21 customers driving pick-up trucks arrived on moving-day morning to cart Nic and product — free of charge — to the new location is evidence of the special relationship the couple enjoyed with their community. Three hours later, Nic and Karen were busy unpacking and reshelving.

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