Laurie Everett is an entrepreneur in downtown Cape Girardeau who has transformed what was once a business known as traditional into an experience for the modern shopper as well.
Annie Laurie's Antiques is located on Broadway and houses 6,000 square feet of all things vintage, from clothing to books to furniture and much more. Everett is involved in the betterment of the downtown community and often works with Southeast Missouri State University students.
Everett promotes and gives customers more opportunities for vintage finds at Annie Laurie's Antiques on Facebook, Pinterest, her blog and the new e-store. Annie Laurie's Antiques is not only popular with the Cape Girardeau community, but has been featured in Midwest Living Magazine, Southern Living Magazine, Cape Girardeau History and Photos, Palm Beach Antiques and has been voted No. 1 antique shop in Cape County for seven years.
Q: How would you describe your business, Annie Laurie's Antiques?
A: It's an eclectic mix of retro-vintage finds.
Q: When and how did you acquire the business? Was that something you always wanted to do?
A: I think it kind of runs in my blood. I've always gone to auctions and estate sales and things like that with my mom and grandmother as a child, so that's what first got me interested in it. I bought the building and the business seven years ago, and we've completely redone everything. We actually live upstairs now, which used to be part of the shop, and we've made a ton of changes to the shop itself.
Q: How are you involved in the downtown community in Cape Girardeau?
A: Where should I start? I do a lot with Old Town Cape; anything and everything they need me to do. We've been on their home tours. I'm also working with CID, which is a community improvement district, and a lot of the local businesses downtown really work together to make it a better place because for me its not just where my business is, it's also my home. We want to try to make it the best downtown it can be.
Q: What involvement do you and your business have at Southeast Missouri State University?
A: We help a lot with the theatre department -- theatre and drama -- with costuming and things like that. I also take in interns, mostly marketing or fashion merchandising and mentoring some of the students. I also help a lot with the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. I've done First Friday morning coffee and things like that. We do a dorm room demo where we have a dorm room set up in Towers that has all of our stuff in it and how you can decorate with vintage finds.
Q: Do you think your company benefits from being in a college town?
A: I think so, yeah. I think that the students love it here. I think our shop has a younger feel, so a lot of the high school, even college students love coming here.The college students want to be unique, you know, they want to stand apart from everyone else, so wearing vintage or having vintage really helps achieve that.
Q: How has your company expanded over time?
A: We continue to grow every year, and I think that's due to the community's interest in antiques and retro-vintage wears. I think popular shows like Pickers and Auction Kings and things like that and Pinterest have really helped educate people on the beauty of reusing, repurposing, so I think that's really helped my business in general grow.
Q: And you have an online store now?
A: Yes, that's what I was going to say, too. I think that helps a lot, too, that even though we're old school, we as far as technology, we're up to date. We're on Facebook, we have a Twitter, we have an online store and we have a blog. In that aspect, we are modern. I think that helps to be geared toward the younger generation.
Q: Where do you see your company heading in the future?
A: I hope to still continue to have funky stuff for people to find. Our next step was to get the online store, which we've achieved that now, so hopefully we can grow more online, also. But just to continue to provide an experience for people when they come in.
