Hailing originally from England, proprietors Amanda and David Terry have a life-long passion for fine quality anitques. "Antiques are the ultimate in recycling," laughs Amanda. "They also offer the best opportunity to find original, beautifully crafted pieces."

David and Amanda shop the world for antique and unique hand crafted treasures, attending estate auctions in many countries and often finding some of their best pieces at these auctions. David and Amanda's home is furnished with beautiful antiques.

Amanda's passion and skill at cleaning and restoring antiques to their original glory soon outstripped the available space the couple had in their home to house these remarkable pieces - and Amanda kept collecting more! A store to display and sell the fruits of Amanda's labours quickly became the only realistic solution, giving birth to Quaker Barrel Unique Antique & General Store.

Having many friends with a similar passion and eye for the unique and the unusual, it was not long before other vendors were welcomed to the store. With so much of beauty and value, Amanda and David quickly set up one of the showrooms with glass cabinets to best display some of the finest of the available collections of china, glassware, jewellery, coins, vases and figurines.

Then what should happen but David meet a childhood school chum from England in, of all places, Sparta, Ontario! Peter O'Leary and wife Roz Dow have a passion for the classic story of Alice in Wonderland, collecting old prints, china, gifts and all sorts of items connected with this story and its illustrations. Of course, the combined passions of the two couples gave birth to the Mad Hatter Tea Room, set to open April 15, 2010.

Now customers will be able to step into the pages of history and into the pages of this classic and much loved story book!