From Weekend hobby to thriving business

Carol and Steve Lauterbach love antiques. They buy and collect them, so many in fact they had to open a store. Stratford Court Antiques & Interiors, Scottsdale, Ariz., started out in 1998 as an antiques gallery in which the Lauterbachs leased space to other dealers and sold some of their own finds.

After about three years, they took over the whole 20,000 square feet and sold not only antiques, but new high-end furniture and home accents as well.

Stratford Court combines antiques and high-end new items like the fancy scrollwork mirror from La Barge, blue and white porcelains from Castillian Imports and the estate-find bronze statue that not only satisfies customers but also serves as an outlet for owners Steve and Carol Lauterbach's passion for antiquing.

They buy new product in High Point, Dallas, Atlanta, New York and Las Vegas and they shop the estate sales, antique shows and auctions of the world for the vintage items. Stratford Court's more than 40 room vignettes are filled with late 19th century pieces from France, Belgium, Italy and Spain ¡ª about five containers worth this year ¡ª and Lauterbach said buying for the store is one of his favorite parts of the job.

Stratford Court boasts more than 40 room vignettes and accessories, like these John-Richard lamps, Maitland-Smith chandelier and reproduction oil paintings. Accessories account for about one-third of the business.

"We'll take a large three-door antique armoire and refurbish it into a display cabinet," Lauterbach said. "Right now we have a king-size bed on the floor that's made from a gothic cathedral bench."

Daughter Amy McKee joined the family business as a manager and also sells her line of jewelry, Amy Mac, in the showroom.

Large wall decor, especially oil reproductions, are big sellers at Stratford Court. This lady painting from The Uttermost Company dominates the vignette filled with an armoire from Hooker, end table from Emerson et Cie, cocktail table by Robert & Robert by Council and a sofa and chair by Paul Roberts.

There's much more to Stratford Court than antiques though; about 10% of the showroom is devoted to a garden area. Fountains, statuary, urns and more, some new, some vintage, welcome customers inside, out of the Arizona heat, so they can shop in comfort. Much of the product is received in a natural state, without any finish, and Lauterbach applies his own aging process, which makes the product look hundreds of years old.

Stratford Court targets women 35 to 50 years old as well as designers with its services and product. Its efforts to work with interior designers, despite having its own in-house team who make house calls, include offering them an 8% commission on sales.

Each year the showroom hosts about three events, the biggest of which is its Christmas celebration. By the beginning of October the designers and Carol, who's in charge of all the visual aspects of the business, start transforming the showroom into a lavish holiday wonderland. All this work culminates in a blow-out event in early November.

"This year they're suspending an antique Santa and his sleigh, trimmed in a white fur lining, from the ceiling," Lauterbach said. "Our open house is a gala event; we have searchlights out front, food, drinks, music and typically about 400 to 500 people show up."

Shoppers will find vignettes transformed into a variety of holiday themes and a plethora of Mark Roberts fairies; Stratford Court is one of the largest Mark Roberts dealers in the area.

The other yearly events, typically two, vary on theme and time, but always include a celebration with food, drinks and fun.

Home accents represent about a third of Stratford Court's business, and while the store carries every category, the best sellers are lamps and chandeliers, oil painting reproductions and decorative accessories.

An estate sale chandelier, which is already sold, hangs above this elegant dining vignette. The table is skirted by Paul Roberts chairs and both the buffet and the table are topped with European imports featuring 24K gold gilding over bronze. The display cabinet was converted from an antique armoire and retrofitted with glass shelves, lighting and a mirrored back. An Uttermost mirror hangs above the buffet.

Stratford Court certainly fills a more traditional, Old World style niche, but Lauterbach is conscious of the trends at market and the styles his customers look for. About a year and a half ago he started bringing in more contemporary designs, mixing them with old and new and put a Stratford Court spin on it, calling it Metropolitan.

"Bringing Metropolitan in is like starting a whole new store," he said. "Whenever you make a change, it takes awhile for it to catch on. You have to build it from the ground up like a business."

Stratford Court also differentiates itself with boutiques like bath, filled with Lady Primrose, floral, filled with permanent botanicals and jewelry designs by Amy McKee, Steve and Carol's daughter.

They must be doing something right because sales are up 20% from last year, in 2004, Phoenix Magazine voted it Best Antiques store in the valley and it's an ARTS award nominee for 2006.

Lauterbach's best idea happened about a year ago when he joined a performance group. The group is comprised of seven similar companies from across the country, each with a retail furniture store and an internal design department, that meet three times a year to compare notes on their businesses, share their best practices and basically benchmark themselves against one another.

"It's the best thing I've ever done," Lauterbach said. "We bring all of our issues to the table. We talk about training, recruiting, best sale ideas, etc. We're in different markets so there's no worry about competition; we just let our hair down and help each other out."

This stately bed once was a gothic cathedral bench. A mother-and-child painting from John-Richard as well as a dresser from Emerson et Cie, accessories from Castilian Imports and bedding from Tomasini round out this Old World display.

Like many retailers, one of the daily challenges Lauterbach faces is recruiting good employees. He's had success with craigslist, a booming online classified site with local listings for many major metropolitan areas, as well as interior design schools and recommendations from employees and customers.

"Our drawback is that we don't offer insurance," Lauterbach said. "We offer store discounts and fair compensation, but implementing a health program is a big step. We're seriously looking into it, but there are a lot of costs involved and health care increases every year."

His 15 employees do receive a lot of training, however. New hires go through a two-week sales training program, one Lauterbach had developed just for Stratford Court, and as ongoing training they have a 20-minute sales meeting every morning.

"Our morning meetings are a great way to get everyone focused on the business," Lauterbach said. "We discuss issues from the day before, things going on in the store that day and really get in the mindset to sell."

Turning the thrill of collecting into a thriving business takes a lot of work, but Lauterbach maintains the buying still is the most enjoyable part of his job. Going into markets Steve and Carol are armed with lists of everything coming in over the next several months, know what they have on the floor and what they need and they know their open to buy.

"We love buying," Lauterbach said. "Not only at the markets but at auctions and all over the world. Markets are a lot of work, but they're also a lot of fun."