We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Andrew Taylor a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Andrew, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to start by getting your thoughts on what you are seeing as some the biggest trends emerging in your industry
I think one of the biggest trends in the antiques industry right now is going against what has been considered “normal” in the past. By that I mean you don’t have to decorate a room or apartment or house with all the same aesthetic. You can pair a dining room table from the early 1900s with chairs from the 1950s. You can have a modern entertainment stand that is decorated with Mason jars full of old buttons or marbles. More and more antiques collectors are less worried with making sure a room is decorated with antiques from a same period than they are worried about decorating a space that they will enjoy being in. I have two places that I sell antiques and one is located in the hills of eastern West Virginia. In our area there are a lot of rental properties and cabins that serve as getaways for people from northern Virginia and Washington DC. Most of these properties are smaller cabins and many are decorated in “traditional” decor with primitives, antique crocks, mounted animals, and country artwork. However, I’ve noticed that I still sell a good number of items that you might not normally associate with rural West Virginia like mid-century modern, art pottery, and 1980s toys and games. I think that people are much more willing to design spaces they enjoy and mix their interests, even if it may make an antiques purist cringe, than even ten years ago.
Andrew, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
My name is Andrew Taylor and I started Mountain Man Antiques in 2017 but I have been selling antiques since 2012. I got started out of boredom and a need for extra money. I graduated college with a history degree but my job right after school, and ever since, wasn’t related to history at all. My mother is an only child of an only child and so our basement at the time was filled with antiques and vintage items, some of which my mom had no attachment to and could be passed on. We made a deal where I would sell the items for her on eBay and I’d get to keep a percentage of the profits. I enjoyed researching the items, figuring out when they were made, who made them, and even who may have used them while also making a little extra money.
This was really my big break that would send me down the path to where I am now because it allowed me to have an instant inventory without having to spend any money of my own upfront. I don’t remember exactly how long it was, but it wasn’t too long before I started visiting Goodwill and thrift stores to look for more items that I could sell. After about a year I set up at the local monthly indoor flea market, selling 100 year old items next to someone selling socks and cheap dress shoes. I don’t think I could have imagined how much fun I would have selling antiques. My mom helped me and after about another year we thought it was time to take things to the next level and sell at an actual antique show. With a little guidance from a dealer couple I knew, I dove in head first and things just kept getting more fun.
The stereotype of antiques dealers are that they are all old and snobby and not usually very friendly. Admittedly, many dealers are on the older side of things but that also means that many of them have years if not decades of experience to draw on. When I set up at my first true antique show I was only 23 or 24 years old. I did stand out a little bit as one of the younger dealers among the hundreds of dealers but not once did I feel unwelcomed. Dealers offered up advice, tips, and encouraged me to continue to sell at that particular show, which I did several more times. I loved talking to customers and finding out what they collected or explain the history of a piece to them.
In 2014, I moved to where I currently live, West Virginia. My wife and I live close to the Virginia state line and one of my booths is actually in Virginia. After the move I had a period where I was once again only selling antiques on eBay until I finally got my first antique booth in 2017 at Rolling Hills Antique Mall in Harrisonburg, VA. I started in a small space and moved into a larger booth in 2020. In April of 2023 I opened a second space at Valley Vintage & Variety in Lost River, WV. I no longer sell at live shows but would love to start doing that again. Also, selling antiques is only a side job for me at this point, I work a normal 9 to 5 and do antiques on the weekends and in the evenings. My wife Ashley helps me in many different aspects and hopefully one day my toddler age son will help as well.
One of the things I am most proud of is that I’ve been able to find my way into the antiques trade without any sort of prior experience or background. Neither of my parents were dealers or had anything to do with selling antiques. Of course, I’ve had plenty of help and good fortune along the way, especially starting out, but I’ve had to learn most of what I know on my own, either through research or the hard way of making mistakes. I am proud that I’ve created a reputation for Mountain Man Antiques of treating people fairly, being able to find hard to find items, and being able to explain the history of many of the items I sell.
One of my goals as a dealer, especially with my social media pages, is to encourage people from all walks of life to buy antiques and show people that antiques are more than the expensive paintings you see on TV or at high end auction houses. Antiques can be admired, and some should be behind protective glass, but they can also be used in your everyday life and enjoyed that way. Buying and using antiques is also very environmentally friendly because no new resources are being used to make them. The original owner enjoyed and used an object and now you can too. A set of antique cast iron porch furniture can be updated and personalized with some new cushions and it will last you much longer than anything from a big box store.
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
I am not an expert at all on social media but it has helped me grow my business and connect with people all over the world. I make a fair share of sales to people through Facebook and Instagram, people who may never visit either of my physical locations. But, they were able to find me on social media and I was able to reach another customer. I also use social media, especially Instagram, to connect with other antiques dealers and I follow many accounts to see the types of items they purchase to help me stay up to date with what may be a popular item or trend.
My biggest advice for someone just starting to build a social media presence is to be authentic and don’t pay attention to follower numbers. If you post about what you enjoy, what you are knowledgeable about, and what your business is about, people will notice and followers will come. I think people are very good at noticing if someone isn’t being genuine or is only creating posts to try and gain followers or online clout.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
One lesson I had to unlearn very quickly is that you never know as much as you think you do. I used to think I knew a lot about stoneware crocks but especially after I moved closer to the Shenandoah Valley, a hotbed of stoneware production in the 1800s, I very quickly learned that I knew almost nothing compared to some people. I think the important part of this lesson is to always be open to learning new things and never think you know all there is to know about a topic. You can always learn more through research or talking to other experts in that field.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @mountainmanantiques
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MtnManAntiques/
- Twitter: @MtnManAntiques
- eBay: https://www.ebay.com/usr/mountain_man_antiques