In a space once devoted to the telling of time, time will do the telling, but so far so good for Pastime, at 91 John St. S.

It's only a few days old, having opened on the weekend, and yet the new art emporium, which grew out of the very successful Sabawoon Art Market on the waterfront that ran during the summer, looks as though it has been in place for 120 years.

That's because the Pass family took such good care of the historic premises. Until he retired last year Edwin Pass -- and his father and grandfather before him (also named Edwin Pass) -- made and repaired timepieces at 91 John St. S., in the shop the family owned since 1887, in a building that has sections that date back to the 1830s.

Pass sold the shop in 2007 to local history enthusiast Robin McKee, because he knew McKee would respect the building's heritage and vintage detail.

And McKee, in turn, has entrusted the space to the use of Lance Darren Cole, Roger Ferreira, Olga Serna-Rivas, and Maria Isabel Garcia-Castro because he knew they would do the same.

The four artists -- bookbinder, painter, jeweller and jeweller, respectively -- met at Sabawoon and wanted to keep some of that energy going on a more permanent basis.

It was Cole's idea originally, to set up in the old watchmaker's/ jeweller's shop. He happened by 91 John St. S. one day and nipped in on a whim.

"It was so authentic," says Cole, with its pressed-copper ceiling and walls, the vintage glass display cases, the antique cash desk, the intricately frosted glass and lead-weighted pulleys that work the mirror in the window display, the beautifully tiled floor.

In the middle of the customer area of the new boutique squats the Pass family's one-ton Taylor safe, more than a hundred years old, a work of art in itself, with the massive door kept ajar to reveal some of Serna-Rivas's and Garcia-Castro's jewellery sitting in boxes inside.

"My parents are celebrating their 50th in December," says Cole. "They bought their ring in this store."

Cole has a more than passing acquaintance with themes of time and preservation.

A trained actor and singer, he helped with the restoration of the Elgin Theatre in Toronto.

And most of the books he makes are, in a sense, time pieces. For instance, he says, "I made Bridget Jones's 'real' diary."

He fashioned one of his distinctive, personalized journals for Renee Zellweger, the actress who played Bridget Jones in the movies.

His books -- objects of timeless beauty in which to record subjects of timely impression -- contain sheets of English watercolour paper bound in wraparound covers of printed leather and suede, stitched with waxed linen thread exposed on the spine.

And they are in the belonging of the likes of Adrienne Clarkson, actress Judy Davis and, as he points out with equal pride, ordinary Hamiltonians.

Cole was born in Ancaster ("right at the moment when Martin Luther King was making his 'I have a dream' speech," he notes), trained in Venice, and made such an impression with his bookbinding that he almost found himself on the Oprah Winfrey Show.

In 2000 his work had been featured in a big spread in the National Post and then on CBC-TV. He had set up for a trade show in Chicago, when he was asked to phone one of Winfrey's producers for a possible segment on her program.

"I didn't do it. I couldn't handle it," he says. He was overwhelmed by the demand.

"I just dropped it all for a while and moved to Montreal to figure myself out. I learned some cocktail party French."

He doesn't regret it for a minute.

Pastime is open from noon to 7 p.m. Tuesdays to Fridays, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturdays. And the artist welcome submissions of nostalgic items and memorabilia from the public.

jmahoney@thespec.com

905-526-3306