We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Julia Littlewood. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Julia below.

Alright, Julia thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What do you think it takes to be successful?

St. Joseph Auction & Antique Mart: Your Premier Antique Mall in St. Joseph, Missouri. Since opening our doors on December 5, 2005, St. Joseph Auction & Antique Mart has proudly served as a cornerstone for antique enthusiasts and collectors alike. Nestled in the historic former Chase Candy Company building, our 20,000 square foot space in St. Joseph, Missouri, offers an unparalleled selection of antiques, vintage, collectibles, and timeless treasures. At St. Joseph Auction & Antique Mart, we’re passionate about uncovering and sharing the charm of the past. Our diverse inventory includes everything from delicate stemware and robust stoneware to handy tools, eclectic tokens, elegant antique furniture, vintage pinball machines, and vintage vinyl records.

That is what it takes to be successful. Finding a niche, developing a plan, setting yourself apart from your competition and showing your pride in all you do. We looked at how other antique malls done business. We visited area malls for ideas on what we could do to set us apart.

What we decided upon was to make our mall inviting to our customers. So often the idea of an antique mall was a dusty, dark, musty smelling environment with dealers having unorganized, cluttered booths.

Our vision was to change that misconception. We decided to have a clean, well lit, organized and uncluttered mall, become customer centric, with a family atmosphere. We set a standard with our dealers that we only carried antiques, mid-century, collectables and timeless treasures. No garage sale nor flea market items. Our customers come in as customers but leave as friends. Our vision must have been correct for our market. Our sales are now in the upper six figures and our repeat traffic is unbelievable. And people have told us as much. We have won the local Reader’s Choice Award for Best Antique Mall 8 years in a row and counting. We have referrals from across the nation. People have come from as far as the UK, Netherlands, Japan, and Australia based on referrals.

And can you say that we have pride in what we do for our customers and our dealers. We had a vision and a plan, we set ourselves apart from our competition. The pride is in what we do daily.

Have you ever had to pivot?

We had to pivot during Covid as we were shut down for 6 weeks. We couldn’t sell anything and there is only so much maintenance one can do. So, we dove into social media. We still had bills to pay, and we needed to welcome back our following. Social media was the best thing we had ever done.

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

My business partner is my husband. We met after he left the US Navy, we both worked at a local restaurant. We both had a fondness for antiques and started collecting for our home. Twenty-six years later after retiring from our professions we decided to go into antiquing full time and open our own mall. The rest is history.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.stjosephantiques.com
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/stjosephantiques

Image Credits

Chip Littlewood