Idomo furniture calls it quits

[attach]3338[/attach]After 40 years of travelling the world to find furniture to sell in his famed North York store, Gerrit ‘the Idomo Guy’ de Boer is calling it quits.

The bearded icon has announced he is retiring, and with that, the doors to Idomo at Sheppard Avenue West and Allen Road will be shuttered, too.

de Boer is well known for his commercials, which were often filmed in exotic locales as he toured the globe looking for eclectic furniture to bring back to his showroom. But all that travel has taken its toll, he said.

“I used to travel roughly about 24 countries every single year,” said de Boer, sitting in his showroom at a dinette set marked for clearance.

“People always say how interesting it is to travel but I won’t miss the traveling at all. “

If you do a lot of travelling like I do it’s very hard on family.”

Though he’s been across the globe, de Boer is probably best known to Torontonians. That’s one reason he has no intention of selling the store.

“The image of Idomo is who I am,” he said. “This has been my life for 40 years. I couldn’t see anybody ruining that image or changing who I’ve been for 40 years.”

De Boer owns the building that is home to the Idomo showroom. The building also features 33,000 feet of geothermal piping used for heating and cooling, the largest private geothermal field in Ontario.

The store moved to its current location by Downsview Park nearly 20 years ago when the area consisted of little more than empty fields. The intersection is now undergoing a great deal of development including four new condo buildings being built directly in front of Idomo. Despite the profits to be made, de Boer still has no intention of continuing to work. He is, however, concerned for his employees.

“I feel loyal to my employees and hopefully we can help them in the job search,” de Boer said.

De Boer will not have to search far when looking for things to do after his store is closed. His interests are as varied as the furniture he sells. He is currently building a pipe organ at his home, a lifelong goal of his. Other hobbies include sculpturing and gardening.

“I’m a Dutchman so plants are in my blood and I love to see things grow,” de Boer said.

And no, de Boer has no plans to retire the beard.

“I’m a child of the 60s so you know, the 60s was beards,” de Boer said, adding his wife also likes it.

Those hoping to catch a glimpse of the famous beard and also score a bargain have until the spring before doors close for good.

Idomo Furniture will be holding a clearance sale until their last day of business with items reduced up to 80 percent in some cases.

The soon-to-be-closed store is located at 1100 Sheppard Avenue West.