A Sarasota antique dealer organization perhaps not quite working out the way it was intended
July 17th, 2009 by Mary Johnson in News, Sarasota-Manatee
If you’ve visited downtown Sarasota lately, you’ve probably glanced at a brightly colored pamphlet with a picture of lemons on the front. The flyer, designed and printed by antique dealer Steve Willman (picture at right), lists the dealers of the Sarasota antique district (the epicenter of which is on Fruitville Road between Central and Orange Avenues) as well as antique shops and malls in Manatee County. The bold text at the top reads, “Sarasota Area Antiques – and our circle of friends.” However, after a conversation with Willman, I’m questioning the accuracy of the word “friend.”
Willman, whose store is called Steve’s Shadow Box, came up with the idea of compiling information about all the downtown antique dealers in a pamphlet in order to reach out to community members who may not be aware of their presence. It took him over two years to put together, all by himself. Not one other dealer lent a hand in the process. “They aren’t willing to spend the money in order to promote business,” he says.
Willman has been pulling teeth trying to get the rest of the antique dealer “circle of friends” to match his efforts. In order to post their pamphlets around town, each business had to become a member of the Sarasota Convention and Visitor’s Bureau. Willman took it upon himself to send membership packets to each dealer; joining requires paying a $25 fee. He only received three packets back.
“If no one wants to work with me, I might as well just promote myself and my own business,” says Willman. His website gets over 100 hits a day and he posts a monthly calendar of events on his website; he also uses Twitter and Craigslist to get the word out.
Inside the Sarasota Area Antiques pamphlet, above a Clip Art map of downtown, Willman writes, “All Dealers on this map are dedicated to helping the customer by helping each other!”
That pamphlet might need some editing.
Steve’s Shadow Box, 1520 Fruitville Road, 957-3896? or stevesshadowboxantiques.com
July 17th, 2009 at 9:35 pm
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