Today we’d like to introduce you to Phyllis Moraga.
Hi Phyllis, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
First let me say that I am not exactly sure if you have contacted me about my life as an antique dealer or my life as an artist, but because they are so melded together, I must tell you about both. I have been interested in old things and art for as long as I can remember. I did not come from an antique loving family, and we did not have a house full of old things. I grew up in a town of 350 people in southeast Illinois. The Embarras (pronounced Ambraw) River wrapped around the town on two sides, so as kids it was our playground. Long ago people used to tell themselves they were saving the Riverbanks by dumping heavy trash in spots that used to wash out, or in places that were just convenient to dump their unwanted items. This trash was not plastic and paper but old stoneware, medicine bottles, bisque or metal toys, and much more. It was a different time then, and we as kids had a lot more freedom to be gone all day or off by ourself. I started dragging stuff home and cleaning it up in the yard and putting it in my room when I was about eight or nine. It was about that same time that the show Bewitched was on television. Part of the story was that Samantha the witch, had a husband named Darren who worked for an ad agency. They always worked the fact that he needed help with some idea or project at work into the show. My siblings and I were all very artistic, and wanted to be artists when we grew up, but my mother made it clear that people didn’t just pay money for pictures, you had to figure out a way to make money at it if you wanted to consider it your living. When I saw what Darren Stevens did for a living I asked my mother how you would get a job like that. So basically by the time I was nine I had decided that I was going to get a degree in commercial art and have Darren Stevens job, and then when I got to be an old lady I would have an antique shop on the side of the road somewhere, with a garden and a cat. When I was 12 my 16 year old sister got married and left the house, and I got the bedroom to myself. My mother, thinking I would be lonely decided it would be a good idea to allow me to redecorate the room. By the time I was 14, she had started touring people through my room. Everyone assumed I was going to grow up and be an interior decorator, but I had other plans
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Actually it was fabulous to have decided so young on a path for myself. I did go to Art School in Fort Lauderdale Florida in the late 70s, and came out with a degree in commercial art . I worked in that field for about 15 years, but the computer age rolled in, and I no longer felt qualified to keep up with a younger generation that had been raised on computers in the field. In the early 90s I married, and within a couple of years we decided to have children. Once I had my second son a year after the first, I realized that I did not want to raise them in Phoenix where we were living. I ended up getting a job as an art director at a small newspaper in a town of about 7,000 people, and we made the move to rural Illinois, very close to where I was raised. While home hunting we ran across a two-story brick Bank building that have been shut up and empty for 44 years at the time. The bank had closed in the crash of 1929, and a doctor office was upstairs but closed in 1951. This was situated in a town called Palestine, the oldest town in the state of Illinois. It was a cute little spot with several other antique shops a couple of tea rooms, and several art galleries. We did a big renovation on the building which needed practically everything . It’s a good thing we were able to buy it so cheap . It was a great space with black and white subway tile on the floors 15 ft tall ceilings with the original pressed tin, a working service elevator and a vault that I used for my office. Running any business takes a lot, and we were open 6 days a week with two kids age 2 and 3. Soon after the renovation and getting the shop open, we realized that we were not bringing in enough money, and the boy’s dad took on a full-time job as School Janitor. He was Hispanic, born and raised in Phoenix, and was a talented Blues musician. When we moved to Southern Illinois he was sort of like a fish out of water. I ran the business, was asked to be on the board of the Chamber of Commerce, and made friends in town. He struggled to find a band that played music he liked, and to fit into an all white life. In other words I blossomed and he faded, and we ended up in a mutual divorce a few years after we moved to Illinois. EBay started the same year I opened my first shop in 1995 , it was the Wild Wild West back then , people were paying great amounts of money for the most common things because it was such a new idea . I also supplemented my income by doing antique shows and markets . My long-term plan was to get my boys through High School and on to whatever they wanted to do, and then move the store to a more vibrant location. When they were Juniors and seniors in high school, I discovered Eureka Springs and came out for a look see. I was hooked. In 2010 I bought a house just outside the city limit of Eureka Springs. That winter I renovated the house opening up the walls and closets and making an open shop that flowed from room to room. I made the master bedroom into a studio apartment for myself . In the spring of 2011 I brought three giant U-Haul trucks filled with my inventory out here to Arkansas and set up my shop. At first, I was really too busy to do much artwork, meet people, or get involved in what was happening here in town. But slowly I made good friends and Connections in some of the art galleries in town. If you know nothing about Eureka Springs, it is a little gem of a mountain town tucked in the northwest corner of Arkansas. The Village was founded in the 1880s, and retains much of its Victorian character, with beautiful painted ladies, winding streets, and a natural beauty that is hard to beat.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
One of the interesting things about my artwork is that it is constantly changing. Sometimes you can see the work of a person and say oh I know who painted that, because they have a style and a look, that people recognize. I say that I get bored easily, but really I just have a lot of ideas, and like to work in a variety of mediums. I used to mostly be a painter. I had a very tight Style, until I was commissioned to paint a 80 ft long by 20 ft High mural, and my style completely loosened up. A few years ago, I started making these weird little dioramas, filled with odd gadgets and bits and Bobs that I had saved over the years. I actually was just making them for my own enjoyment when a friend of mine who worked at a gallery saw them and showed them to her boss. Oddly, I had never really had the desire to work towards being in a gallery, I like making art for Arts sake, but having your work in a gallery and having it sell, gives you impetus to make more. Aside from the dioramas or assemblages, I create headpieces and costuming, I make all my own signage, and right now I am enthralled with soft sculpture. I guess since I don’t specialize in any one thing I am known for being very versatile
Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
Honestly, I believe the reason that I am successful in both the art field and the Antiques field is attitude. I was instilled with a can-do attitude, not that I could do anything or everything, but that you could try anything or everything to see what would stick. My advice to anyone wanting to start any kind of business would be to figure out what you love, and then figure out how to make that make money for you. It is an old adage, find something you love to do and you will never work another day. Another important thing is to make hours that you can keep and to keep them, there’s nothing worse than trying to get in a place that says it is supposed to be open. Another big thing would be to ask questions. There is no shame in not knowing something, but it is seriously irritating to try to deal with people who think they know everything and have nothing left to learn. In about year two of owning Wonderland antiques , I gathered together unique businesses in town and created a group advertising campaign that ran in local newspapers. People are willing to drive further and stay longer if they have several things to do in one spot . People used to think we were crazy because we would be promoting other antique shops , but we were actually promoting tea rooms and art galleries at the same time, building a customer base for the small town we were all struggling to be in business in. When I moved to Eureka Springs Arkansas , there was already an Antique Dealers Association which I joined, and have been the president of for the past 13 years. Through the state we place these full color brochures in every rest area in Arkansas , Plus we have them all over town and in all our member shops . I do very little advertising above and beyond that brochure . People seem truly delighted to be handed that brochure , and are always surprised that we are working together . Also , I have always been a one owner antique shop. It might have been easier monetarily to rent spaces to other people but the problem with that is then you have to put up with their stuff, there Style and their quality control. I like unusual stuff, and so do most people. I carry a range of antiques that is unique, but not overpriced or stuffy. I like to have a little bit of everything for everybody, with an emphasis on uniqueness and quality. Because I am a good interior decorator, I know how to make the shop look inviting, with a flow that moves people from One genre to another in the store. I have an open art Studio that people walk through as part of the shopping experience.
Contact Info:
- Facebook: WonderlandAntiques
