Exploring Life & Business with Sara Garcera of Slater St. Antiques

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sara Garcera.

Hi Sara, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
Ever since I was 9, I was a collector of vintage Star Wars action figures that I had purchased in bulk off of eBay which is how I got into the antique store business because I started having multiple figures that I needed to sell. My mom’s friend had a booth at an antique shop and I asked her to split the rent so I could sell my figures there.

I started making money and eventually, my parents caught on that if I could make a profit from a hobby that was fun, they could too so it became something we did as a family such as going to estate sales, yard sales, and second-hand stores. I expanded from action figures to other items like vintage housewares and antique furniture. Eventually, my parents bought an antique mall in Whittier, California, known as King Richard’s Antique Center.

In 2021, I moved to Kansas without knowing anyone and took the risk to start from scratch. After being in the business with the family, I decided to open up my own shop here in Merriam, Kansas, and follow in their footsteps because antiquing is my passion.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Things have really fallen into place for Slater St. Antiques. We managed to make some updates to the business which is in an old house from 1925. The house has been preserved and has a wonderful charm to it. We have had dealers come in and they have all brought in quality items.

We’ve been impressed with Slater St. Antiques, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
We are an antique store offering different themes and various price ranges. There is something for everyone in every price range whether it’s a valuable or rare item, mid-century furniture, danish furniture, French provincial, housewares, vintage clothing, farmhouse, man cave, industrial, outdoor furniture, or retro.

Our booths have various items and we have a dealer that is going to be demonstrating painting classes on how to transform furniture pieces and wine tasting, classes. We want to do pop-up events, and flea markets; and host food trucks. We are proud to be an antique store that has quality vintage items that are well made and you can’t find elsewhere.

Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
The most important lesson is to always be open to talking to others and actually listen to their stories because you never know who you might meet and where that connection might take you and as a business owner, be open to accepting others’ ideas and actually trying them. It is worth taking a risk.

Contact Info:

• Website: Slaterstantiques.com
• Instagram: Instagram.com/slaterstantiques
• Facebook: Facebook.com/slaterstantiques

Image Credits
Rachel Wright