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Justin Gibson is the co-owner of Florence Marketplace. -
The Vintage Vapor, or the “Alternative Apothecary” area of Florence Marketplace. -
The Florence Marketplace storefront. -
A teacup chandelier for sale at Florence Marketplace
Florence Marketplace is a vintage store selling antiques and gifts in downtown Florence. Co-owned by Justin Gibson, the space is designed using a three pronged approach.
The “Modern Mercantile” area sells giftable items like cosmetics, jewelry, candles, t-shirts and other drygoods. The “Vintage Vapor” store, or the “Alternative Apothecary” area, has CBD and other vaporizer products. Then there’s the “Vintage Emporium,” which is the warehouse portion of the business that houses the antiques.
Florence Marketplace is a vintage store selling antiques and gifts in downtown Florence. Co-owned by Justin Gibson, the space is designed using a three pronged approach.
The “Modern Mercantile” area sells giftable items like cosmetics, jewelry, candles, t-shirts and other drygoods. The “Vintage Vapor” store, or the “Alternative Apothecary” area, has CBD and other vaporizer products. Then there’s the “Vintage Emporium,” which is the warehouse portion of the business that houses the antiques.
“Everytime people come out here, they’re going to see something new,” Mr. Gibson said. “They’re never going to see the same thing twice. It’s always an adventure.”
Mr. Gibson opened Florence Marketplace in the fall of 2020, after closing the South Austin location of his other business, Vintage Vapor, which still has a Pflugerville location. While people were pursuing their hobbies during the Covid shutdown, Mr. Gibson devoted his time to creating the business plan for Florence Marketplace.
“My businesses are my hobbies, that’s just how I spend my time,” Mr. Gibson said. “Covid gave me time to reflect and think about things. It was the first time that Vintage Vapor had been closed, so Covid was the first time that I had been mentally off the clock in 7 or 8 years.”
He took his time “off the clock” to build a business around antiquing, which he said was a passion of his. He said he has always been interested in vintage items, hence making his vaporizer store ‘vintage’ themed by using vintage display cases and furniture.
He was introduced to the practice of shopping second-hand items by his mother, who used to take him with her to garage sales to buy toys for her daycare. It was watching his mother run her own small business that he said inspired him to start his own business.
As a business owner, he has learned to roll with the tides. Although the Covid shutdown was unprecedented, Mr. Gibson was largely unphased by it from a business perspective.
“I mean anytime anybody goes into business, they gotta deal with fear,” he said. “That’s just part of being a business owner.”
Mr. Gibson figured out that it made more sense financially to purchase a historic building in downtown Florence than to rent another location in Austin to reopen another Vintage Vapor. The extra space allowed him to expand as a retailer to sell both vaporizer products, antiques and gifts.
The building he found used to be a cotton trading post and a post office. When he first purchased it, he removed the low ceilings in the indoor retail space to expose the beautiful vintage tin ceilings and molding.
The warehouse space allowed him to host consignment vendors and to have a Lego-building area.
Current highlights of the warehouse include a chandelier made of teacups, an antique piano, a framed poster of Marilyn Monroe and a wooden dresser shaped like a pyramid.
Since Florence is such a small town, Mr. Gibson has had to work to draw in customers from surrounding cities. He and his social media manager, Brittany Snow, created a social media campaign called “The Adventure Awaits in Vintage Valley” through partnering with other antique stores in neighboring small towns. The campaign is a treasure hunt. Customers are given a punch card with a map of nine other businesses in four different Texas towns. People who visit all of the stores are rewarded with a Vintage Valley tote bag.
Participating stores include two shops in Llano — Whimseys and Possibilities — three shops in Burnet — Jackson Street Mercantile, Vintage Forever and S&H Trading Post — two shops in Bertram — The Red Rooster and Mosaic Garden Treasures — and two shops in Salado — MAKS Mercantile and Isabella’s Vintage Decor.
Mr. Gibson has also created a coalition with other businesses in Downtown Florence to stay open an extra hour the first Friday of every month. There is usually live music and drinks.
Every first Friday has a different fun theme, he said. This past month was the “Back to School Stampede,” which is a reference to the Florence school district’s buffalo mascot.
“We are the epitome of an iconic small-town Main Street,” Mr. Gibson said. “We offer everything that you can expect from that — hospitality, southern charm, fun — you know/ But mainly [these events are] just a chance for people to get out and wander around.”
For Halloween, Florence Marketplace also sets up a haunted house.
“Any business person would tell you that it’s a huge waste of time, but it’s a lot of fun and people love it,” he said.
Customers can explore Florence Marketplace between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. Tuesday-Friday and 10 a.m. to “5-ish” on Saturday, Mr. Gibson said.
He said he has been trying to create a community in downtown Florence both through doing these events and through his position as the Florence Director of the Chamber of Commerce. Recently, he has gotten approval by the city to start designing the remodel of the old water plant into a Welcome Center and to turn the old one-room jail beside Florence Marketplace into a museum.