We were lucky to catch up with James Freeman recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, James thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s start with a story that highlights an important way in which your brand diverges from the industry standard.

The word “oddities” has become watered down as the industry has grown to absurd proportions. At this point people call arts and crafts oddities, and to me a dead bug in a Hobby Lobby glass dome isn’t an oddity, it’s a just a dead bug in a glass dome. I love to see people being able to make a living off of what they love, but it’s led to the industry becoming almost unrecognizable to me. Instead of what’s popular we focus on antique macabre history, such as 19th century circus sideshow items, Victorian mourning, the occult, antique Ouija boards, medical history, and items related to Houdini. Really our business model hasn’t changed with trends since the beginning.. We sell what we love and what we want preserved for future generations.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I started our business full time when I won full custody of my daughter Evelynn years ago. I realized that I couldn’t be the kind of father that they deserved while working for someone else. Everything I do in my life is with them and their best interests in mind. We have made it this far because my clients inevitably become my friends, and they end up being repeat clients. I’ve become someone that can be trusted to be knowledgeable about what I’m selling, and that the rarest items are undoubtedly authentic. I’ve devoted my entire life to studying odd history, and nothing makes me happier than seeing a client in awe of the new piece that they bought from me. A lot of these items have a real heaviness to being in their presence. For instance, the first time I held a book signed by Houdini, I wept. It completely overwhelmed me holding something that one of the most important historical figures of all time (and my own personal hero) held 100 years ago. That’s what we really sell, a tangible connection to the past. You wont find what we sell in just any antique store. It’s taken me a lifetime (I’m 42 now) to amass what we have and I love passing it on to the next caretaker.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Taking the plunge into small business ownership is terrifying. I quit a nice paying job with benefits for the unknown, but somehow close to a decade later it’s still working. Believe in yourself, but be prepared to not have everything go your way at first. There will be ups and downs but if you love what you do you’ll never work a day in your life.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I’ve always been fair with my prices and I have never had a legitimate complaint. The biggest key to having a good reputation in my industry is to always keep your word, ship on time, and make sure that you always represent an item accurately. Sell what you are knowledgeable about and don’t ever make up a story to sell an item. I see people do this all the time, and it’s usually apparent if you dig deeper into their stories. And don’t get me started on the people selling “haunted” items like dolls. Those stories are always told in order to sell a $3 thrift store doll for $200

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Freeman and Fugate Oddities Company
• Facebook: Freeman and Fugate Oddities Company
• Other: https://www.etsy.com/shop/FreemanandFugate?load_webview=1&bid=EE11wOKbmr_5mhzoGtiwU2OsB2zW

Image Credits
All taken by me