Today we’d like to introduce you to Emily Rowe.
Emily, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I’d love to!
It hands down started with my grandmother on my dad’s side. We never actually met, she passed just before I was born. My grandmother immigrated from Austria, her name was Gizella. American classmates would call her Godzilla (makes me laugh every time). She was one of the first women to graduate from the University of Miami with an economics degree and became an antique dealer. We still own dozens of her antiques and it’s her passion that fueled my whole family’s love for antiques and history. I’ve probably been to 250 antique shows, hundreds of thrift stores, read countless books, and hold several collections. Long story short, I’ve loved everything about antiques since I was a baby and eventually, a passion for interior design crept in.
Why The Stories of Stuff? I was really tired of people putting all antiques on a shelf. Afraid to use the antiques or even to touch them. To this day people walk into my house and tell me it looks like a museum, but it’s a museum with two 110-lb bouviers and two sneaky kitties. We’ve never lost an antique to an animal yet! That’s because a lot of what was made 100+ years ago is made with an artisan skill level hard to find today. Antiques are durable, beautiful, and right now, inexpensive! So I wanted to bring awareness to the practicality of antiques in the home.
Introduce the story part of things. I also wanted to help people place truly special pieces with beautiful stories in their homes. There is always a bit of pride and fun that comes with having people come over and telling them The Stories of (the) Stuff in your home. Also, heck, why wouldn’t I want to have a dining room table from the 1880s that was handmade in Chicago by a company who would become one of the largest distributors of furniture before coming to an abrupt close with the death of the family owners in 1960s? Way more interesting than simply going to a furniture store (and cheaper!). So I knew the stories would be really important.
With all of this in mind, I started The Stories of Stuff. Our inventory comes from all over the world and I support lots of antique dealers here in the U.S. as well as dealers abroad.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I don’t think any project worth doing is ever particularly smooth. I’ve made lots of inventory mistakes and have been trying hard to learn what the right prices to pay to antique dealers are so that buyers purchase from me at a price they also love. I want people to understand the one-off nature of 90% of what I sell (every now and again I find things in pairs) and love each individual piece they buy from me. I dove headfirst into clothing (which I love) but now realize I’d like to take that a slightly different direction with clothing. That’s right, clothing sale coming soon!
I still need to develop better packaging. I don’t care for my haphazard packaging now but at the same time, my goal is better inventory right now. Next year, packaging is on my shortlist of things to improve.
Finally, and this is where honesty is super important to anyone trying to do something similar, customers are a struggle for sure! I own a marketing company and so I am all too aware of how important it is to gather customer data so you know who you are targeting. I’d love to see a lot more purchases so I can advertise and start to bring more and more antiques into people’s homes. It’s something that would make me happy beyond words. For now, I just need to get my prices and products to where customers want them.
This is a huge reminder and something I am lucky to be confident in. I could buy trendy products yesterday and put $5,000 into facebook advertising and make 4x my money. But that’s not what it’s about. Don’t lose yourself. Find what you love, understand why you are doing it, and stick to it.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
I specialize in a one-off. In extremely uncommon, (I think) beautiful, and well made. You won’t buy something from me that is haphazard or cheap. I personally re-wire all lamps, repaint pieces where necessary, polish all metals, and restore all leather. I’ve salvaged paintings, repaired fabrics, and much more. Conservation is the name of the game and I look to deliver your pieces as close as they were to their original condition.
I am really proud to keep things out of landfills. I could go on for days about the pieces that I’ve purchased, the weeks it took me to restore them, and the money I’ve made doing so.
I am also known for my creativity in interior design. My pantry doors are early 1900s windows, most likely from the Carolinas. My staircase railings are Italian cast-iron from the 1950s. I love pairing bold patterns and textures and blending old pieces with new ones. While I have helped with more traditional interior design spaces, most clients book me to help them step outside of their comfort zone and most of them come to truly love the oddities added to their homes.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
My philosophy on luck? It doesn’t exist. Work hard, put in the contacts, help the universe hear your name, and success will find you. Sitting on your hands will never result in a big break on your doorstep. Petal to the metal for two years and I wouldn’t be surprised if a few big companies reached out wanting to co-mix lines or design a space together. That is the reward for passion and hard work!
Pricing:
- Very simply, our prices start as low as $5.00 and go as high as $3,000. And there is a lot of range in between!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.thestoriesofstuff.com
- Phone: 9548307009
- Email: emily@thestoriesofstuff.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thestoriesofstuff/
- Other: https://www.pinterest.com/thestoriesofstuff/
Suggest a story: VoyageMIA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
