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CHANTILLY, Va. — About 15 miles from the nation's capitol stands a small furniture store with a big reputation, Village Antiques and Reproductions. Led by its determined owner, May Laedtke, the business has lasted for three decades.
Laedtke, who turns 84 on Oct. 28, is still involved in the operation of the business she started "for fun" in 1971 after her husband, Bud, had retired as an Air Force pilot.
Laedtke said she got her start in furniture helping out at an antique emporium. She eagerly learned how to run the business and even took over for a month while the owners were out of the country. Confident she could do it on her own, she decided to open a store in Vienna, Va. She said Bud told her, "It's yours. Do what you want to do."
She soon found that gathering antiques can be a difficult task, so she turned to reproductions to fill out her line. She became a loyal customer of Tom Seely, who was making solid-wood reproductions from his shop in Berkeley Springs, W.Va. Seely himself even drove down to deliver the goods, she recalled. Until recent years, Laedtke helped unload that truck, too.
The partnership with Seely continues today. Laedtke said she doesn't buy from any big manufacturers and does 87% of her business with Tom Seely Furniture. Village Antiques remains the producer's strongest retailer on a per-store basis, said Gat Caperton, president and chief executive officer of Tom Seely Furniture.
Sell what you like
Village Antiques' niche is in country classic and Shaker-influenced furniture. The products Laedtke sells usually have clean lines and a finish that allows the beauty of the wood to come through.
"You have to have good furniture that you like," she said. "You cannot sell it if you don't like it."
With the success of her Vienna store, Laedtke opened another here in 1986. She ran two stores until she decided to close the original store in 1997.
Staff is very limited at the 4,000-square-foot store. Only five people work there full-time, with help from her son and others on weekends. "Treating people well is the main thing," she said.
That service has made a difference, she believes. Village Antiques advertises in the Washington Post, but Laedtke said she gets more new business from strong word of mouth.
While some retailers have suffered this year, Laedtke said the store had a slow time earlier in the year, but picked up in the summer. She added that the store didn't have much of a drop in sales after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, even with one being no so far away at the Pentagon.
Being so close to the capitol has led to some interesting shoppers. Back in the 1980s, she said several members of the Washington Redskins football team bought furniture from her. Also, word got around with Secret Service agents who frequented the store. One friend joked with Laedtke that she had more protection than Ronald Reagan.
A retail inspiration
Two other consumers were so impressed by Laedtke's store that they opened their own furniture businesses in Kansas and Washington.
Marilyn Adams Lloyd was on vacation in Washington, D.C., when she entered Village Antiques. She was inspired to open a similar shop. "I asked, 'Can I have a card?' She said, 'I don't have a card.'" Lloyd recalled. Laedtke ripped off an invoice and handed it over.
Lloyd and a partner ended up spending three weeks learning first-hand from Laedtke before opening their own shop, Pennsylvania Woodworks.
Robin Van Huss, a Kansas native, was living in Falls Church, Va., and working for the Department of Defense. After discovering Village Antiques, she began to frequent the establishment on Saturdays. Soon she was working like an intern, putting in nearly a year of Saturdays without a penny of payment.
"I learned more about pricing, marketing, working with customers from May," Van Huss said, than she did in earning a college degree. With this experience, she quit her job at the Department of Defense and, with her husband, opened a store called Traditions back in Kansas. They now have two stores located in Wichita and Overland Park.
Van Huss remembers Laedtke telling her to wear nice clothes and makeup. Sales representatives aren't just selling furniture, Laedtke explained, they are selling themselves.
| May Laedtke's store in Chantilly, Va., inspired two other women to open furniture stores. Seen (left to right) are Gat Caperton, president and chief executive officer of Laedtke's chief vendor, Tom Seely Furniture; Laedtke; Marilyn Lloyd, co-owner of Pennsylvania Woodworks in Seattle; and Robin Van Huss, owner of Traditions in Kansas. |
About Village Antiques and Reproductions
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Stores: Opened the original store in Vienna, Va., in 1971. Added a store in Chantilly, Va., in 1986. Closed the original store in 1997.
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Owner: May Laedtke
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Store size: 4,000 square feet
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Warehouse space: Only 500 square feet, all on-site
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Top vendor: Tom Seely Furniture of Berkeley Springs, W.Va.
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Style niche: Country classic, clean lines
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