Years ago, a trip to Woolfitt's meant making the trek to nowhere land Queen Street. The store was the hidden gem for Toronto art supplies. It was beyond the park . Past CAMH . It was almost all the way to the shoddy Gladstone .

Woolfitts' was at the epicentre of the West Queen West gallery scene before there was a gallery scene. Now it sits smack dab across the street from the resurgent Drake , has a parking lot that's pay by the hour and is surrounded by galleries and condo developments on all sides.

Established in 1978, Woofitt's is now polishing off its 30th year in business. Over this time it has become one of Canada's largest wholesale distributors of artist's materials, fine art papers, boards, brushes, stretched canvas, canvas panels, colour lines, archival supplies and frames. And while the wholesale business might keep the accountants happy, its retail business at its massive store on Queen is still a destination for hobbyists, students and professional artists from across the city.

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