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Business & Tech

Meet The Owners of an Antiques and Treasures Shop

Countless unique items can be found at Attic Treasures.

Enjoy a treasure hunt?  Right in the heart of downtown Watkinsville you can wile away hours pouring over every inch of Attic Treasures.  Joann and Charles Stewart started small, but their business has taken off.

Patch: When did you start your business?  

Joann: Charles and I began our business in Madison (Morgan County) during the summer of 1988.

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Patch: Why this particular business?

Joann: Our house got VERY FULL because A.) We're both packrats, B.) We enjoyed searching for interesting and unusual things, and C.) We had youngsters in the family who welcomed assistance with furnishing their new apartments, but who moved back home (more than once) and brought it all with them. (Did I mention the fact that the utility room was jammed? The garage?) 

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I got tired of there only being room for beams from vehicle headlights in the garage, so initially we rented half a 9 x 12 space in the old Madison Antique Mall to sell off some of the overflow.  We actually didn't intend to keep on selling once we had our house contents under control, but found we enjoyed passing on items we'd located, and continuing to look for more. Better yet, we seemed to have a knack for it. 

In those first years we travelled a lot on business and everywhere we went, in our spare time, we visited shops, flea markets and malls looking for things to add to our booth. Three years after our initial commercial leap, we had expanded to (9) full 9 x 12 booths in the old Madison Antique Mall. It became obvious it had become more than a hobby for us, so we moved into a storefront on Main Street and stayed there for 19 years. We named our shop Attic Treasures because our initial inventory did seem to be mostly attic contents. As we upgraded our inventory, we acquired and sold better quality furniture and jewelry, but we liked the name well enough to continue with it when we moved to Oconee County.

Patch:  What is your favorite thing about your business?

Joann: Learning. It's literally 'learning in retirement' for us. We both had jobs in education (among other things) during our active working lives, but this is more relaxing than our careers. We learn something from every person who comes through the store and we both enjoy meeting new people, finding out their interests and helping them if we can. 

I became a licensed personal property appraiser so I could offer certified personal property appraisals (which are legal documents). I also enjoy having people bring things in for me to tell them informally what I can. It helps being older than dirt...because you can remember seeing some items in context. Other things might stump you, but you can always figure out something about an item because of its construction method, style, color, materials used or something similar about it.

Patch: What is the most challenging thing about running a business?

Joann: Luckily with old things, it's necessary only to find items for resale which strike the nostalgia chord within us all rather than keeping up with what's trendy and 'in.' During these tough economic years, it's been harder finding things which people can justify buying, because there's not a single item in our antique store which is a 'necessity.' EVERYTHING in our inventory is optional, and most people are being very cautious right now about asset allocation.

Though business isn't what it was in our peak years, we still have good sales, and have a long list of  'find this for me please'  items when we go shopping.  I'm currently looking for several jewelry items for customers, and my husband also has a list of things to seek when we shop. 

Patch: What are your long-term goals for your business? 

Joann: We've recently moved this business to Oconee County, so our long-term goal is to build it again to become a major visitor destination. We thought we might lose most of our customers when we moved, but many followed us immediately. Practically every day we're discovering more and more 'old' customers have found us again, and we've certainly had a lot of new ones. 

In Madison, we were often told by out of state visitors that they planned their 'trip stopovers' so they could visit while we were open. We were open 7 days a week there too, and it was affirming that we were doing something right when we knew people enjoyed their stay with us and wanted to return.

We never mind when someone comes in to browse - we do that at other places ourselves. We just want our small shop to be a place where you can come in and look without any pressure, and enjoy seeing the things we've chosen to add.  If you want to buy them and take them home, that's wonderful. 

Patch: What advice would you give to someone wanting to start a new business in Oconee County?

Joann: I think it would be wise to have sufficient funding on hand to pay at least a year's expenses before opening a new business similar to ours. Advertising is essential to let people know who you are, where you are and what you carry. Thirdly, it's important to be OPEN. Not necessarily 7 days a week like us, but consistently, with well-posted opening hours and on days people can shop.

I wish Watkinsville had at least 5-6 antique stores, as no two stores are alike, and if there are a variety of shops, visitors are more likely to find something they like well enough to take home with them. Existing stores actually help newly opened ones and vice versa. When we first opened in Madison, there was one existing antique shop in town. By the time we left to move here, Madison had become an antique center. I hope Watkinsville will do the same.

Attic Treasures is located on Main Street in the heart of downtown Watkinsville. You can't miss it.  Look for the howling wolf!

 

What items "strike the nostalgia chord" with you that you would you consider buying, even in a challenging economy?

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