Camaraderie and Collectibles

Antique dealers on Central Avenue say each store’s success depends on working with other stores

Photo by Jane Kim

The Antique Exchange is an antique mall that has 130 individual dealers who sell anything from 1950s board games to African art. Many antique shops carry a wide range of merchandise from various time periods and parts of the world.

By Jane Kim, Staff Writer

“Thank you for shopping The Antique Exchange. Please visit our neighbors BT’s Antiques & Collectibles (right across the street) and Doc’s Antiques & Collectibles (at 2646 Central Ave. next block west) Thank you—The Antique Exchange.” That’s the sign inside the door at The Antique Exchange. In a small shop a block down the street, there is another sign. “Visit our neighbor in the next block: The Antique Exchange, Yesterday’s Dreams, BT’s, and Napiers. Thank you for thinking of Doc’s Place.”

There are as many as 17 antique shops on Central Avenue. While people driving by may correlate the string of shops with stringent competition, most owners see it in a different light—it’s not about competition, but it’s all about teamwork.

The friendly environment and working relationship among the shops are due to a goal they share. Many of the shop owners on Central Avenue would like to see St. Petersburg as a point of destination for antique shopping. Bobbie Kensler, owner of BT’s Antiques & Collectibles said, “The thing about antiques is that every store is different, and the more, the merrier,” she said. “If we fought, it wouldn’t benefit anyone. We’re all working for the same goal. We want Central Avenue to be the antique mecca of St. Petersburg.”

Often, no two antique shops are alike. Each store specializes in different centuries and styles ranging from Tiffany-like lamps to bone china from 1915. The amicable and close relationship that the shop owners have with each other is special to the antique business.

The dealers are, in most cases, collectors themselves, and the antiques in their shops reflect their own collection. They often shop at each other’s stores, to add to their own collection or resell an item in their store. Bart Swett, owner of Doc’s Place of Antiques and Collectibles collects mission furniture from the 1900s and Roycroft metal pieces.

“The reason you have that type of cooperation with the antique shops is because they’re our customer as well,” said Mike Hanlon, owner of The Antique Exchange. “They buy from us. We buy from them. So, you have to have a good working relationship with other shops to be able to do that.”

For antique shoppers, collecting antiques is a lifelong hobby. Many of them shop for antiques on a regular basis and often buy more than one item. Any help along the way in search of their favorite collectibles is appreciated. “It’s our experience if we send a customer to somewhere to buy a merchandise we don’t have, they always come back to us because it was nice of us to do that,” said Hanlon.

Advertising and referral to stores in the same business within walking distance of each other is what one can find inside the antique shops on Central Avenue. Whether it’s by word of mouth, fliers on a table, or a sign that’s posted on the door, shoppers are encouraged to visit other stores.

To most businesses, competition is a vital part of staying alive and becoming successful. Generally, cooperation and teamwork are found within a business to outsell, outdo, and outlive the competitors. “There’s too much competition out there, that it’s as if the people lost the humanity of being human,” said Helen Riede, owner of Yesterday’s Dreams, about businesses today.

“I wouldn’t want anybody to think that we’re in competition. It’s all about being able to help each other out and help the customers out,” said Riede. “Teamwork feeds itself. It’s almost like people can feel the electricity from the surroundings. It’s pleasant. It gives off good vibes.”

Photo by Jane Kim

"That's the kind of relationship we have-giving directions to Tampa Airport," said Mike Hogan, salesperson at Gas Plant Antique Arcade about his boss, Ross Lew helping out his customer.

However, according to many antique shop owners on Central Avenue, teamwork also exists outside of each store, among one another. They say it’s the nature of the business. “Once people have shopped with us and they want to know other malls to go to, we give them a map and directions to get there. That’s kind of the way it works in this business,” said Ross Lew, owner of the Gas Plant Antique Arcade. “And, the other people send them here after they finished shopping with them. We try to be helpful.”

Neighborhood-feel rather than business-feel is the way Riede characterizes the relationship. “I don’t feel like JCPenney and Sears. I don’t feel like Kmart and Target,” she said. “It’s just a matter of being good neighbors and having people you can rely on. But, not expecting too much.”

Hanlon, who’s been in the business for 25 years, also explained the effect of referrals in the antique business. “When people walk in our doors, one of the first things we ask is ‘How’d you folks hear about us? Was it through our advertising? Was it through a trade journal? Or did another shop send you?’ ” he said. “Ninety-nine percent of the time, it’ll be another shop.”

Lew believes that customers appreciate the cooperative teamwork by the businesses. “We have a good reputation on Central,” he said. “St. Petersburg has got a nice reputation for that.”

Art Millman, 67, a regular shopper on Central Avenue, said the friendly environment is what brings him back to this district. “I think it’s a great idea to be cooperative. It creates so much goodwill,” he said. “It helps them keep their business in this area. I would be more apt to buy something.”

Besides referring each other to customers, many times, shops also co-advertise in the newspaper and split the cost. Depending on the blocks on Central Avenue, some shops also collaborate on sidewalk sales every month or every quarter. “Sometimes we have a small band here and we all pay for that,” said Jack Smith of The Elephant Trunk in downtown. “We all pitch in wherever we can.”

Hanlon knows the importance of building a relationship with the shops around him. “Because we feed off of each other, that’s why we have the sign,” he said, as he pointed to the referral sign on the door of his shop.

“I probably know every owner in town. I know many of them by their first name,” he continued. “If I have any enemies in this business, then I’m not aware of it.”

The handmade sign at Doc’s Place of Antiques and Collectibles is no bigger than the half a letter-sized paper with pink and green trim. But, the personal touch and the effort that was put into making the sign can be seen in the way Bill Gibson, the store manager, treats his customers and talks about his neighbors.

“Everybody get along. That’s all I can say,” Gibson said with a pleasant smile on his face. “We see them, ‘Hey! How’s business?’ ‘Pretty good.’” He waved his hand up in the air as he showed the way he greeted his neighbors and talked about the day’s business. Then, Gibson warmly shook hands with a customer who purchased a 1940s Imperial Compot from Cape Cod. The customer smiled and said, “I’ll see you next year!” Roy Brown, a resident from Marietta, Ga., visits Doc’s Place every year when he visits his mother in St. Petersburg. Gibson waved, smiling back.

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