Cold Open

SPEAKER_04 0:00

It was like kind of a perfect storm of timing where it was like one of the first events after people were able to be outside and unmasked. After that regulation was dropped. And the largest event we had at the Ready Room was about 800 people. And our first at City Foundry was about 7,000 people.

STL Bucket List Show Intro

SPEAKER_00 0:21

If you wanna hear about St. Louis, tune into the Bucketless Show Weekly. Hear what Marissa and Luke say. It drops every Wednesday. Got a dope new guest every single week. Buckle up for the ride. Who's it gonna be? Who's on the show today? They rap St. Louis. What to do in the loo on a late night? I maybe what to do on a date night. Yeah. Bucket list as you cover, they know what's going on. What's going on? They'll give you eight. 18 different things to do on 19. If you need one more to choose, yeah. This city, city, city is a place we call home. A place we call home. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 0:59

St. Louis, welcome back to another episode of the STL Bucketlist Show, highlighting the people, places, and events that make St. Louis special. We have one of those people and events in the studio that make St. Louis special. I want to give a huge shout out to Julia for producing our episode every single week here in Maplewood at our studio at Bucketless Studios. The amount

Meet Katie + Balancing Motherhood and Business

SPEAKER_03 1:18

of work that goes into creating podcast episodes that are almost an hour long every single week is pretty inspiring. So we're so grateful that you guys continue to listen. Our show has been growing on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, and of course Instagram and other social channels. But I want to get right into it. We have the wonderful Katie with May's Place and Mays Night Market. We've been acquaintances and friends for a while. I've supported your store dating back to the grove. And then obviously I've been to Mays Night Market. We've been partners of the market. And this year, super excited to be there as a vendor now that we're doing apparel. So we're going to be at the event. We're going to be posting about the event. We're going to be selling stuff at the event. So I just wanted to first start by thanking you for coming in the studio today.

SPEAKER_04 1:59

Yeah. Thank you so much for having me. It feels like a very full circle moment.

SPEAKER_03 2:02

I know. We were just talking, both of us, about how we had challenges with the kids. You stayed up all night. I have a kid that's, you know, at the urgence care. So it's like, I wanted to first start by how becoming a mother has changed your business and what pivots that you've made during that.

SPEAKER_04 2:17

Sure. Um, I think it kind of changes everything.

SPEAKER_03 2:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 2:22

Um, when I first opened the business in 2015, when I opened May's Place, um, I had not yet had our first child. So it was just like that was my life. I was all in. I was pretty much the one running the shop. I could kind of step away if I needed a day and have like a friend or my mom kind of sit in and, you know, help out. Um, but when I got pregnant in 2017, that is when I kind of started thinking about like, oh, I'm gonna need some help with this. Yeah. Um, and started bringing on my team, which kind of grew over time. Um, in those early days, we were actually just um, you mentioned the grove. We initially started the business on Ivanhoe in Lindenwood Park where we live. So I was just a few houses up from our shop. So once I had my daughter, um, if I was in this store, my mother or my mother-in-law would just kind of like trade places with me when it was time to nurse her. Or um, so like presence was always front of mind. Like, how can I be both be part of this thing that's really exciting that I want to do, and also be the most present mother that I can be. Um, so as um when we moved from Ivanhoe to the Grove, then definitely brought in more of my team um and took a little bit more of a step back to kind of let them run the operations while I was a little bit more uh family-facing. And then when we had our twins last year, no, two years ago, December of 24 when we had our twins. Yeah. Um that was like the big, the big shift when we decided to um obviously decided before, but closed the store in February after almost 10 years. Um you know, in my mind, I was like, I've had this business with a child before, like I know how this goes, so naive. Like it's not that I'm just having the business with the child again, it's now compounding, and there's two of them.

SPEAKER_03 4:09

One to three, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 4:10

So it's it's wild. Yeah, but it's um, you know, the it's everything I've ever wanted to be a mother to my children. So that comes first, and it's such a short window for them to be this small,

The Origin of May’s Place

SPEAKER_04 4:24

you know, they'll even my little ones will be starting school in a cut just a couple years.

SPEAKER_03 4:28

So it's really important to me to be present for this time for those moments, and you can always pursue other things, um, you know, and stuff like that. So in 2015, um, I guess my question with how did May's place come to be, obviously the name, you know, is pretty, you know, it's it's in line with obviously you and it means a lot to you. But like what was the moment, like what were you doing before that that kind of drove you to want to actually open up a physical location? Because that's like a big step from like selling things on Instagram and Facebook, then to like kind of turning around and opening up a new location.

SPEAKER_04 5:00

For sure. Yeah. Um, so I I went to school for fashion when I graduated. I got a job at what was Brown Shoe Company, now Calaris. So um all of my work experience has been retail fashion centric. Um we had um sort of a wild situation. We had a friend pass suddenly in December of I'm sorry, in April of 2014. And that to me was just kind of this really like shocking moment of that was the first time anyone in my life had ever passed that wasn't like very old or very sick. Um, and it was just this like really eye-opening moment of you never know what's gonna happen. Yeah, so you might as well just like take the risk and see. Um, I'm very lucky that my husband is extremely supportive and he's like, you gotta jump to fly, like let's let's go, let's try it out. So I left my uh corporate job in December of 2014. Um I started initially my label was called Black Sheep Vintage and I had my first market in like March, I think, of um 14, March or April. And then like really had no intention of opening a brick and mortar store. I kind of liked the idea of being um not tied to a location, and uh I had this vision of kind of like traveling and uh selling from the road and stuff like that. Um and that spot that was just a couple uh couple doors down from us opened one day and we were on our way to breakfast and we were kind of peeking in there, like we've always really liked that building. I wonder what it looks like inside. And uh the current occupiers were moving out, and the building owner was there, he lived upstairs and he was just kind of like, Oh, you want to see it? I'll take you inside. And he's like, What would you do with the space? Like, oh, you know, open like a vintage antique shop. He's like, Oh, that's cool. You know, I I I know it's really hard getting started, so I'll knock like a couple hundred dollars off the rent for you for the first few months, and we just kind of looked at each other like that's intriguing. So then we went to breakfast, and I think we had signed the lease by like two o'clock in the afternoon.

Entrepreneurship + Leaving Corporate Fashion

SPEAKER_03 6:58

So it's just a very yeah, like talked about it at breakfast and you just made the jump.

SPEAKER_04 7:02

Yeah, I'm like, why not? Let's give it a shot.

SPEAKER_03 7:04

Yeah, I love stories like that. Like, um obviously it's a huge risk because you're signing a lease, but it sounds like you know, every like part of it, like your husband's support, the landlord, the first initial landlord support, because not everybody's like that, you know, and and and stuff like that. So did you always see yourself like wanting to become an entrepreneur, or was there like something that sparked that in you? Was it either the corporate world wasn't fully fulfilling you, or kind of walk me through like what made you decide to make that jump? Because in in terms you went to school and you were working at that place in St. Louis that is known as you know the top place to work for what you wanted to do.

SPEAKER_04 7:37

For sure. Um I don't know that I always wanted to be an entrepreneur entrepreneur necessarily. Um, like front of mine, I'm gonna pursue a business. I always knew I wanted to work in fashion. Yeah. And then once you get in that space, um, I definitely felt like it was not a good fit, like the corporate environment, the corporate ethos. Um, as I'm sure you know at this point, May's place has always been extremely rooted in sustainability and um like very eco-conscious. So working in retail, you know, you can see how wasteful the whole industry is, and then going to school for it, you you know that it goes as far back as like the pesticides that go on the cotton that grows and the petrochemicals that make the polyester, and um so that knowledge mixed with like my love of vintage and sourcing, and um it really kind of came about from wanting to just like let people know that there's another option. I just felt like if people knew this, like they would not have the habits that they do. They would they would maybe shop a little bit differently or think twice before they buy this thing, like, oh I'm going out tonight, I need a new top. Like, you know, yeah. Um, so that's kind of really where it started. I'm um I'm sort of like ruthlessly stubborn in the fact that like, no, these are my values, this is what I want, and just kind of figure out a way to make it work, I think.

SPEAKER_03 9:02

Yeah, and and being like ruthlessly about that can also sometimes like business-wise, it's not always the most valuable decision, but it the people that shop with you understand that, and that's what set you apart in that market because you're like, well, I could do this, this, and this and make more margin, but you're like, no, like this is my value.

SPEAKER_04 9:19

For sure. I mean, to order a product wholesale and take one photo and sell a hundred of them, yeah. Way back so much easier, but that is just not what I'm trying to do.

SSM Health Sponsor Spot

SPEAKER_03 9:31

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Black Sheep Vintage + Building the Brand

SPEAKER_03 10:00

So walk me through that first year in business. Like, were you know, originally you were a black sheep? When did you decide that rebrand? Like, walk me through the ups and downs of that first year.

SPEAKER_04 10:08

Yeah. So um black sheep was kind of like my um my idea of like sort of personification personifying myself into the brand. Um, I saw this uh quote one time that was by Truman Capote that said, I may be a black sheep, but my hooves are made of gold. So like I may be different. Um, you know, I may not go with the grain, but like I'm standing on something special. Um, so that's kind of where that came from for me. And this maze place endeavor was really like Andy and I coming together to build something. Um, ultimately, it was like a creative expression of both of us. So we wanted to really represent that kind of like mom and pop feel. Um, our initial vibe that we were kind of going for was like an old general store. Um, the name actually came from his great-great-grandfather, I believe. I always forget if it's great or great-great, but you know. Um in the family, there was a general store and a tavern in California called Mays Place. So um they were restoring his grandfather's truck. Um, he one of the boards had rotted out of the bed. He had flipped the sign over to repair the spot. And when his grandpa was working on the truck, he flipped over the sign and found it. So they gave us the original sign from the tavern. So um that was kind of the story we were trying to tell. Very family focused, uh rooted in history.

SPEAKER_03 11:31

That's really cool. Like just to be able to like pull from inspiration like that. Like, obviously, like the name means a lot to the family, but then it's also like, how do we turn this into something completely different than what that that general store was, but still that same level of service that you would find at a local market or general store. So May's Place was always, you know, I don't know if net necessarily you were ahead of your time because I had first moved to South City probably in 20, what was that, 2019 is when I moved to South City. But you were one of the first stores that, like, when my wife was going to shop like at those types of stores, but like now you're seeing so many of

Growing St. Louis’ Vintage Community

SPEAKER_03 12:07

them around the city. What does that mean? Like, do you feel like you played any part in that? Or are a lot of those people, some of I wouldn't say you're a mentor to them, but like are your peers and like seeing so many people have success in different ways throughout the city.

SPEAKER_04 12:17

Yeah, it's incredible. It makes me so happy. Uh, I have heard that. Like, I feel like I don't necessarily see myself that way, but I've gotten a lot of feedback and that's amazing. Um, my goal, I've always tried to maintain like a community over competition mindset. I think that my goal, again, like with the sustainability education piece, like the more people shop vintage, the better, you know, the more we can kind of keep people from going to the mall and going to shop vintage. Amazing. Um, so I love to see it grow locally. I think that the Midwest has a really strong um draw for people who are interested in in vintage. If you um are looking for the same thing on the coasts or in Nashville or in Austin, it's gonna cost you probably two, three times as much. So a lot of those people actually come here to source their product and then take it back to those bigger markets. Um, so I think that we have a really strong opportunity to be like a vintage destination, and I'm really happy to see that growth happening.

SPEAKER_03 13:12

Yeah, when we met like three or four years ago, like we were sitting in the foundry eating lunch, and you were like, you know, you go to these events in New York City, like what's the big event up there that you're gonna do.

SPEAKER_04 13:19

Manhattan Vintage is the one that I'm gonna. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 13:21

So like you go up there and you like you see this, and then you bring that energy back to St. Louis. And like when you mention like the Midwest as a destination, is like you look at what Cherokee Street's doing, you look at what some of these, like I saw vintage pop up at the family arena in St. Charles. Like people are doing stuff like all over the area, and like I'm getting tagged, and people are sharing events to us all the time.

Sustainability + The Environmental Impact of Fashion

SPEAKER_03 13:42

I'm sure. Um, there was just like a coffee party at 10 a.m. where drops out of vintage was there, and like it's different. And then you have like the guys at reset down the street that are doing more men's, and it's like all these different things that are happening. I guess the sustainability thing is something that I want our audience to learn more about. So, like, obviously, you see the fast fashions of the world. Like, what is like some of that data? What is some of that, like, what are like the consumers of America, like what what is like some of that stuff? What made you like, oh my gosh, like this is like an actual big problem that nobody's talking about?

SPEAKER_04 14:11

Yeah, it's actually the fashion, the fashion industry as a whole is really the second largest polluter to our world after the oil industry. So um, I think it really comes back to from like seed to the final product. You think about um all the chemicals that are being sprayed on this cotton and um even the fact that just due to people trying to get things cheaper and cheaper, a lot more things are made from synthetic materials, which like you know, like your polyesters and things like that, which are uh derivative of oil and petrochemicals. Um, when you're dying a garment, all of that water is I think of I can't remember the exact figure now, but like to dye a pair of jeans uses like hundreds of gallons of water, and then the dyes from that then go out into local waterways.

SPEAKER_01 14:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 14:59

Um and then, you know, maybe the cotton is grown in India and then it's shipped to Bangladesh, where it's made into cotton fabric, and then the fabric is shipped to China, and then the garments made in China, and then that's shipped across to California, and then it's you know, trucked or train to somewhere else. Like it's just so much. And um, another statistic that I'm probably botching that I see a lot is something like there's like enough clothing currently on the earth if we stop producing garments to clothe the next six generations. Wow.

SPEAKER_03 15:34

So it's just there's so many things that like counting everything that's in retail, but then also everything that's in people's closets. Yeah, exactly. All that stuff. Wow. That uh I could see that because like we just cleaned out our closet the other day, and I'm like, why do we keep doing this every six months and we still have too much stuff? Yeah, you know, it doesn't make any sense. And it's like, this is my dad's shirt that I'm wearing today, and it's way higher quality than like this is from the 70s, and I'm like, this is just great, this shirt, you know, and it's like there, like, when is enough enough?

SPEAKER_04 16:01

Yeah, and that's kind of becoming part of the problem too, because things were made with such a quality at one time where it would last for a long time, you wouldn't need to keep buying new clothes, and um, you know, people who thrift or are active in that way at all are absolutely seeing a shift where once upon a time you saw older clothes, more uh quality clothes at the thrift, and now it's just full of like, you know, really poorly made churn and burn clothes that are just made to theoretically be worn like a few times and then passed on.

SPEAKER_02 16:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 16:33

And those sort of things. So I think a lot of people have this like, oh, I'll just donate it and it'll go to a good cause. There's so much in that stream now that actually a lot of our garments are shipped to like third world countries.

SPEAKER_02 16:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 16:46

Um, and then you can actually see there's like a mound of clothing so large that you can see it from space in the Atacama Desert.

SPEAKER_03 16:54

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_04 16:55

It's just it's wild.

SPEAKER_03 16:56

You can go down like a rabbit hole with the stuff. So how do you live that out in your own life? So, like, have you committed like, I mean, 100% that you don't buy anything new? Or is it just no, not necessarily.

SPEAKER_04 17:09

Um, I'm someone who uh I'm like a quality over quantity person. If I do buy something new, it's um something that I will absolutely wear for years and years and years.

SPEAKER_01 17:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 17:18

Um, I'm absolutely an outfit repeater. I don't understand this whole like, oh, I've worn that before, I can't wear that again. Like, yeah, you wore it before because you like it. So what does it matter?

SPEAKER_03 17:27

Nobody actually notices besides you. No, exactly.

SPEAKER_04 17:29

That's be you know, it's um I feel like when people have a really strong sense of their own style, um, then you can kind of like find what you like or like a um almost like an outfit algorithm and then kind of like lean into that. I do have um, I feel like I have like my vintage collection, which is like sort of one aesthetic and one vibe, and then the things that I sort of like actually wear every day as a person who is with children and like you know, digging through bins of clothes, and um they kind of skew a little bit differently, but my personal wardrobe is very like minimal, neutral, um, mix and match.

SPEAKER_03 18:10

Yeah, and then trying to do that with the kiddos too, because obviously they're getting dirty, they're getting into new clothes all the time and stuff like that.

SPEAKER_04 18:15

So I pretty exclusively for the most part shop secondhand. I don't exclusively wear vintage, but always like thrift stores, eBay, other vintage dealers.

SWADE Sponsor Spot

SPEAKER_03 18:24

The STL bucket list show is proudly sponsored by Suede Dispensary with 11 Missouri area locations. Suede does so much for the St. Louis community. We've been working with this team for a couple years back since Medical was here, and we're excited to support their new product launches, events, and community initiatives. We couldn't be happier to work with this premier cannabis brand, and we're excited for them to sponsor the show. Enjoy the rest of the podcast.

Celebrity Customers + Unique Vintage Finds

SPEAKER_03 18:48

Okay, sweet. Yeah, I was uh I just was curious because like it is so accessible now, like you mentioned with online and eBay and stuff. Like at one point when you were first like getting into it, it might have been harder to find those things that you were looking for and and stuff like that. So let's talk about your your store because you've created this following and this like people from all over the country were driving in to come see you guys at one point. Like tell me some of those stories of like impact that you had at the store and like just because you were there working the front for a lot of it.

SPEAKER_04 19:16

Yeah, yeah, we've had some fun stories. Um, so initially on Ivanhoe, Daryl Hannah came in. She is um married to Neil Young. So when he was in town, she came in and shopped. And um that I was kind of like, you know, when you see celebrities and it's kind of out of context and like she didn't have any makeup on, and I was kind of like looking at her and I was like, man, she looks really familiar. And then she was on the phone and I heard her voice, and I was like, oh, that's for sure Daryl Hannah. That's wild. Um, Charlie Crockett used to come through a lot when they were touring in town. I feel like he's like a big guy now. So I don't know if he's like out shopping, but uh Tyler the Creator came in when we were um in the grove.

unknown 19:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 19:55

That's a lot of really cool like and they just found it like when they come and do a show, like maybe Tyler was at the pageant or something, and then it's like, oh, like there's a shop that has really unique stuff, and then they come by because you guys did like a lot of like like Charlie Crockett would be like some western pieces and stuff like that. I don't know what Tyler bought. Did he buy anything special?

SPEAKER_04 20:12

Um, he had a woman with him and she bought some stuff.

SPEAKER_03 20:14

Okay, cool. That's awesome. Um, so that's really cool to be able to have that impact. And then, like, just on a local scale, like finding those people, those repeat customers, like being able to serve people and like them be able to DM you and be like, hey, like I'm looking for this for a wedding or this, and like you were able to kind of source and find stuff.

SPEAKER_04 20:32

For sure. We have um sold people engagement rings before. We've sold wedding dresses. I've helped a lot of local musicians with music videos. Um, we've done fashion shows with mother. Yep. Um, it's so fun. I feel like a lot of our repeat customers and a lot of our really good um longtime clients are like more creative people who have um maybe like a stage look that they're looking for, or um something like they're in need of something extremely unique and something eye-catching. Um, so they would come to us.

SPEAKER_03 21:02

That's awesome. And then I've noticed like through your guys' photography, like you kind of creative direct a lot of that stuff that you do, and you're still doing a lot of it. Um, what are like what what goes into that? Like how hands-on are you on everything that goes out on Instagram and social media and

Photography, Branding + Creative Direction

SPEAKER_03 21:16

everything like that?

SPEAKER_04 21:16

Yeah. So once upon a time, um, before we closed the shop, I had a team of, I think there was six of us. Um, and at that point, I had um Elise who worked with me, one of my managers, was doing a lot of the photography. Um, and she's extremely, extremely talented. Now it is just me. So anything you see is for the most part just me. Um, I have a studio that I work out of downtown where I kind of process my collection and get things ready to take to the green shag, which is now where I operate. Um so yeah, I feel like I love photography. It's just like one of those things that it's like you roll all your passions into one, and that's that's how things come about. But I just really enjoy it. I feel like part of my favorite part of selling things. Things is making them look really beautiful. Um, so again, I've brought in some other models to um do some shoots before. Um like a million years ago when I was in college, I did a uh styling internship and so just like pulling from all the little strings

The Origin of May’s Night Market

SPEAKER_04 22:17

of experience I've had over the years.

SPEAKER_03 22:20

So that kind of leads me into like what a lot of people know you from. Like a lot of people might know you from Maze Night Market now and not Maze Play. Like that's what's like this crazy shift of like now you're this event promoter, this you know, connector. And tell me about the first Maze Night Market, kind of like what your vision was from that. Were you pulling inspiration from stuff you've seen around the country, or kind of walk me through like what you were thinking through that? Because I think the one that I went to where I met you at was in that abandoned area in the foundry, which is now probably the gym, the true fusion in the Mo Modern over there. Yep. That was probably the coolest one because of how it looked inside the building. That was sick. Yeah, that was very lucky. It was a good night.

SPEAKER_04 22:57

Um, so May's night market came about actually. Um, so a little bit about the evolution of the store. We started on Ivanhoe, that building sold. We ended up moving to the grove, so we were right across the street from uh the ready room. So at that time, they were looking for um some events to fill the calendar. And uh they approached us. We had some you know friends who are the management there and they said, What do you think about putting on a market? I was like, I have no idea how to do that, but sure, like I know a lot of very creative people. I'm sure we can make it really fun. And um, that space, I think we typically had between like 15 to 18 vendors. We probably had about 15 at that first one. I think it was maybe one of Golden Gems' first markets that they ever did. Oh, cool. Um and it was great, it was so well received, everyone loved it, I had a great time. Um, I've always just kind of thought of it as like a shopping party. Um, you know, in other cities I've been to markets before and really liked the vibe and was like, how can I make this a little bit different? Um and it's just kind of like, do you want to keep doing it? Sure. Um, we had them at the ready room until our last one was December of 2019. Obviously, there were no events in 2020. Um, but the ready room closed in 2020. So we were like, if we're gonna keep keep this up, we gotta figure out something else. The foundry had been um sort of like uh what's the word I'm trying to think of? They were kind of like uh trying to entice May's place to come and join the foundry. Of course. Um so they were like, we have this very large outdoor space if you would like to host the event here. Um I it actually wasn't even open yet the first time we had the event there. It was like um spring of

Explosive Growth at City Foundry

SPEAKER_04 24:37

21. It was it was like kind of a perfect storm of um timing where it was like one of the first events after people were able to be outside and unmasked after that regulation was dropped. And uh the largest event we had at the ready room was about 800 people, and our first at City Foundry was about 7,000 people.

SPEAKER_03 24:56

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_04 24:57

So we were like, okay, it's an outdoor market now.

SPEAKER_03 24:59

Yeah, and then that winter you probably did the one inside.

SPEAKER_04 25:03

Correct. So we always did um March, June, September, and December. So with the foundry not being open yet, they had a lot of like large indoor spaces where we can move it to in those March and December shows, which unfortunately are now occupied. So now we're down to two a year from now.

SPEAKER_03 25:18

Yeah, it's like a big social event too, like just people getting getting out and and uh so that first one when you had 7,000 people, like I mean, what was your like you probably like were like, oh my gosh, I am not prepared for like the team and like you're like because you just didn't know you're like, Oh, I'll probably have like a couple thousand people here, maybe, you know.

SPEAKER_04 25:33

I can't remember specifically. I want to say Taco Circus was our food vendor for that one, and they literally sold out in like an hour, and they were like, Well, yeah, thanks for having us.

SPEAKER_03 25:42

Thank you so much, but you're like, man, I need more food for my yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_04 25:46

Um, I remember so uh we were still at the Grove at the time. I spent all day um like getting the sorry, getting the place ready. Um, and I was like, you know, I'm gonna go back to the store real quick, which is just right down the street. I'm gonna change and I'm gonna come back because my team, everyone was set up, they had it, they were rolling. Um, and I come back and I just started crying. I was like, what is going on? There's so many people here, and it's just kind of been like that ever since.

SPEAKER_03 26:14

So last summer, I mean, uh how do you get the data? I mean, does the foundry help you kind of collect data from like how many people come? Because I feel like what was the numbers last year? I mean, it was uh the whole city was like almost shut down because like they had to shut the streets down and stuff.

SPEAKER_04 26:27

Yeah, last June was our biggest event we've ever had. It was over 10,000 people. Oh my gosh. Which was also crazy because as an outdoor event, you know, weather is like a huge factor.

SPEAKER_03 26:35

For sure.

SPEAKER_04 26:36

And it absolutely dumped on us for the first hour, and it still turned out to be our biggest event.

unknown 26:42

Wow.

SPEAKER_03 26:42

And so this year, obviously, probably something similar.

SPEAKER_04 26:45

I'm assuming so, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 26:46

Um and then you don't have a date yet for later this year.

SPEAKER_04 26:49

Uh September 25th, I believe, is our follow-up. That's my birthday. That's awesome. Yeah, amazing.

SPEAKER_03 26:53

And that will be at the foundry as well. Yes. Okay. And that will be outside just like fall. So you just do like early spring or like spring, fall now, instead of um obviously summer when it's hot and winter. Um so how do you manage that now that you're a one-person team? Like, I mean, obviously you have incredible partners, Forehand, Suede, the City Foundry, and all that.

Running Large-Scale Markets + Vendor Coordination

SPEAKER_03 27:15

But like, what goes into like, because at the end of the day, you're dealing with 40 or so, however many vendors you have. And I'm doing the same thing at Food Truck Friday next week, where like I'm personally talking to every single small business owner, and like every single one of it matters because that's a big night for them, but it's also a big night for you. So it's like, how do you manage all of that client communication? How do you manage like coordination with the venue, like all that while still, you know, with your three kids and still doing all your other things that you do?

SPEAKER_04 27:43

Um, I will say at this point, this is our ninth season, so it is pretty plug and play. I feel like I have like my system down. Um, all of the applications go into a spreadsheet. I'm a hundred percent a spreadsheet girly. Like they keep my brain dial organized. Yeah. Um, so my spreadsheet is life. Um, I am I'm very much an over-communicator ahead of time to make sure everyone has what they need. Um, that they, if there's any questions I can answer, I do um kind of help everyone once they arrive, get them in their space. Um, I am selling at the event as well. So I tend to set my space up ahead of time, kind of get everyone settled. Um, usually have someone helping me sell so that I don't have to actually physically be in my booth. Um, and then all night I'm just kind of like making the rounds, making sure everyone's got what they need.

SPEAKER_03 28:31

The

Upshot Coffee Sponsor Spot

SPEAKER_03 28:32

STL Bucketlist show is fueled by Upshot Coffee. My friends at Upshot Coffee have some of the best beans in town. I got some of their new packaging here. Look at this bag. Look how big this is. Um, they have four St. Louis locations, their flagship in Coddleville, the break shop over by Lindenwood in St. Charles, their Clayton location called Hi-Fi, um, and then Flyby over in Tower Grove, their newest location. Um, and they also sell their coffee online everywhere. If you guys haven't added Upshot Coffee to your STL bucket list, it's time to try it. Some of the my favorite people in the industry and some of the best coffee in the game.

Curating Vendors + Building Community

SPEAKER_03 29:07

Yeah, that's really cool. And uh what I really loved was like your application process of like, for one, you have assistance for people to be there at the event. Like, obviously, sustainability was one of those questions on your application. What a what does that process look like as far as like getting and making sure that you're curating the event the way that you actually envision it to be?

SPEAKER_04 29:25

Yeah, that's probably the most difficult part, honestly.

SPEAKER_03 29:27

It's not just accepting any vendor that wants to.

SPEAKER_04 29:30

Um, and I think you know, May's place has always been extremely rooted in our values, and I think the market is exactly the same. Um, it is first and foremost a fashion event. So um over half of our vendors are going to be vintage or handmade or upcycled or um, you know, local brands. Um, and then the rest kind of get filled in between um what I call like these like supplemental categories of other things that people would find interesting, whether it's candles or art or ceramics, um jewelry. So um looking through the application, uh like I probably necessarily wouldn't bring in a boutique that's selling garments made in China. Like that's totally great. This is probably just not the event for you because we are so rooted in right, vintage, sustainability, that kind of thing. Um so it is really hard. You know, I had over 200 applications this time and I try to do my due diligence to look through every single one and find those very values-aligned um uh brands that I think are gonna align with our customer too.

SPEAKER_03 30:36

And you have to you owe it to the customer base, and then you also owe it to the other vendors is like when the customer comes there, like this is what they're expecting. So it's like I have to give them what they're expecting and and stuff like that. So, and then it's a big night for you because you have this huge setup and all this fun stuff that you do. So it's it's cool that you get to kind of have the market and then also, you know, be able to showcase a lot of your pieces. I'm sure you're like already like envisioning what your set's gonna look like this year. And I have my racks going and uh and stuff like that. And and then how important are the sponsorships? Because as I know from someone who's done events, I mean, those are the reason that we're able to do those events, you know. And you've had loyal partners in Forehands and Suede and have been a partners for you guys

Sponsorships + Supporting Local Events

SPEAKER_03 31:14

almost as long as I can remember.

SPEAKER_04 31:15

Yeah, they're amazing, amazing partners. Um, it is such a blessing to have people who like see the vision and really not only just want to be a part of it, but are excited to support it and excited to get behind you.

SPEAKER_03 31:28

Right.

SPEAKER_04 31:28

Um, and as you said, they every year they're like, all right, let's go. What are the dates?

SPEAKER_03 31:32

Yep, yeah. And it's it's great when you've done it before because now it's like is it wasn't always like that when you first start doing things.

SPEAKER_04 31:38

Well, it as I'm sure you know, it's like every new piece of what you're doing in your business is like, I don't know how to do a market. I guess I'll figure it out. I don't know how to acquire sponsors, I guess I'll figure it out. You know, it's like every day you're learning something new. So that was definitely an intimidating hurdle for me to like go out and ask for money.

SPEAKER_03 31:57

But um But they'd gladly give it, and it's like the the the other side of the coin is like the value that you're giving them for that is like extreme value. So it's like those because I remember it. I'm like, oh, those brands are involved with that. So it's like, and I'm sure your guests do too, but like it is so hard because you're like, my first sponsorship I sold was like a $50 sponsorship, and now it's like those look completely different because I know now you know the value and you know what you can deliver,

Advice for Entrepreneurs + Working Parents

SPEAKER_03 32:21

and you have you have a track record of doing that. Um, so what advice um would you give to other entrepreneurs? Because there's a lot of people that listen to our show. Um, specifically, you know, maybe we can lean it more towards moms too. Cause I know that you work with a lot of uh women entrepreneurs as well. But like, is there any advice of like somebody that can, you know, run a business, be a present mom? Like, is there any tips and tricks that you've learned throughout the process?

SPEAKER_04 32:44

Um, I I could not do what I do without our village. I lean hard into my village. Um, my parents are very involved. Andy's parents are very involved.

SPEAKER_02 32:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 32:54

Um, I feel comfortable. There's like a handful of people that I feel comfortable being like, I really have a tough week this week. Is there any way that you could like come over and play with the kids while I'm in the other room of the computer for a little while? Um, so finding your village and leaning into them is everything if you're trying to do that. Um I would also say like it's kind of impossible to do it all, you know. Like I've I definitely find that like when I'm coming into a week or a month of work that's like really demanding, I I lean on people a lot more than and I maybe am not as present as I am when it's you know summertime for me is like I kind of slow down a little bit and am lucky to be able to like take that liberty. Um but absolutely use your people.

SPEAKER_03 33:43

Yeah, for sure. And and we do that the same thing, but like sometimes you're like, man, like it's like that constant poll because they're helping, but they want to help, but it's like do you want to like have that fine line of being like, you know, only use it when you really need it, not just take advantage of it because you're like, oh, like I know my mom will come over anytime I call her. Yeah. But I'm also like, I need her to come over just on these certain days. And yeah, um, but yeah, that's the hardest thing is like, well, the the one thing is like is businesses like what we do is like I can do this at home. And that's the actually the most annoying part about it because when I am at home, like my computer's at my desk is right there, and I know I have stuff I need to do. So then I'm doing bathtime last night, but like I hear like ding, ding, ding, and I'm like, she's like, just be pro like wait one hour, wait one hour, they're gonna go to sleep. And I'm like, you're right. Like, I'm like, but we feel like everything has to be urgent because we get it. It's not like you know, 10 years ago in the corporate world, like you just wait till Monday morning and you check your email. It's like you don't have to check your email every second, you know. And that's the problem with me is like I'm so aggressive with responding fast. And like, because I'm a business, I'm like, I need to, you know, that's what I want when I talk to customers. So it's like I expect that same thing. And it's like, you know, we have to start setting those boundaries with ourselves. And and uh, you know, that the thing I I hate the most, me with me personally, and I wouldn't use the word hate, but like where I get disappointed in myself is like when I hear my daughters talking and they're like, dad, dad, and I'm just like one sec, one sec, one sec. And then you like set up and you're like, I was like DMing somebody about something stupid, you know. But I just think that it's so important. So that's like something that I challenge, like I battle with daily. And my wife's a teacher, so like she has summers off. So like her last day is on Friday, and it like just opens up the whole summer. So like I know that they're gonna be having fun and like I can lock in and work and and you know, it's just we take turns on locking in.

SPEAKER_04 35:23

Totally. Communication is huge. As you mentioned, Andy also has his own business that he's operating. And as far as like customer service, people reach out wanting a tattoo. He wants to get back to them immediately and book that appointment. So totally same thing. I think being able to be like, no, I I really need like 10 more minutes of time to finish these communications, and then I'm like back to it is has been really helpful.

SPEAKER_03 35:46

So it is the STL bucket list show. We've talked all about one of the bucket list events on my calendar, which is Mays Night Market on June 19th at City Foundry, maze nightmarket.com. You guys can get all the information. But what are some of those other bucket list places that maybe you and your family love

Favorite St. Louis Spots + Family Activities

SPEAKER_03 36:02

about St. Louis? So we can talk about food spots, we can talk about other stores that you guys like to shop at, really anything that you love about St. Louis.

SPEAKER_04 36:09

I have been thinking about this question for so long. I listened to the podcast, so I know it's coming. Um, and I'm one of those people that like when you ask a question, it's like, well, it depends. Like, um, so I I've been thinking about my birthday. Uh, I feel like I have sort of a routine for my birthday. We go to breakfast at Southwest Diner. Um, they serve Goshen coffee, so I probably am not going anywhere else for coffee. Love their coffee. Um, our routine, we love the botanical garden. I'm there all the time. So we'll walk around the botanical garden for the day. Um, usually we get lunch at Union Loafers. I um pride myself as being kind of a turkey sandwich connoisseur, and there's just my favorite. So definitely lunch there. Um, the cookie cannot be missed. It's the best chocolate chip cookie in the whole world. Um, and then dinner at Rights.

SPEAKER_03 36:59

Wow.

SPEAKER_04 36:59

Can't go wrong.

SPEAKER_03 37:00

It's a really good day. So the whole front of the day is with the kids, and then it's the babysitter, and then it's nice.

SPEAKER_04 37:04

Exactly.

SPEAKER_03 37:04

Yeah, so exactly. I love the full day itinerary, and it's like you stayed literally, besides dinner, you stayed like within like a two-minute block of like of that. And uh Southwest, I mean we're in Maplewoods, so Southwest is right down the street from here. But um, yeah, their chocolate chip cookie is really good there. A little flaky sea salt on top, too. Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_04 37:21

I think on their menu they call it like a quarter pound of decadence or something. It's like the best chocolate chip cookie.

SPEAKER_03 37:27

And rights is really good, it's just so hard to get in there. And that's the thing.

SPEAKER_04 37:30

One of the very um lucky things about Andy's profession is that he's in with a lot of the food and beverage folks. He tattoos a lot of people in that industry. So whether it's like a bartender or uh, servers we know are like, hey, Katie's birthday's coming up. They're like, I got you.

SPEAKER_03 37:47

Yeah, that's kind of what we do too with us our stuff. Because like if we like message on STL buggers, like, of course, but like you always are like, when do I want to pull it? Because I don't want to like I always pull it on the birthdays. It's like, hey, like it's my wife's birthday. I forgot to make a reservation. Like, I always forget. And it's like, you know, it's two weeks before, and you're like looking everywhere and you're like, dang, why is this the busiest night ever? You can't find anything. So um, what about your kids? So is that with your kids too? Like they love union loafers, they love Oh no, no. Okay.

SPEAKER_04 38:11

Uh very picky eaters. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 38:13

Yeah. I mean, they're so little still that it's like hard for them, but like I didn't know if they're so besides the botanical gardens, like what are some of those like really fun things that you do with your kids?

SPEAKER_04 38:21

Um, we spend a lot of time at the zoo. My I have an older daughter that is eight, and she absolutely loves the zoo. Um, we recently have been spending a ton of time at the nature playscape. Do you ever go there? It's so beautiful right now with the spring, everything blooming. Um, she just recently went to the city museum for the first time and is absolutely obsessed.

SPEAKER_03 38:40

I'm scared to go there because I just don't want her running. I'm like, I don't know if I can get in and get around in there anymore.

SPEAKER_04 38:45

It is. I can't imagine what their like insurance premiums are or something like that. You just look everywhere and you're like, risk, risk, risk, you know.

SPEAKER_02 38:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 38:54

Um, but no, she loves it. She thinks it's amazing. Um, her and Andy have this really sweet little like father-daughter ritual of going to Courtesy Diner, maybe like once or twice a month.

SPEAKER_03 39:04

That's really cool. Oh, yeah, there's lots of little spots that are very nostalgic for us. Yeah, the little solo dates are fun. But yeah, this summer, so like this last Christmas, all of our gifts were just experience-based. So, like, we got the Magic House membership, we got the zoo membership, we got this membership, and then like literally my wife, Marissa, just like we have a family calendar, and like I'm looking at it, it's like every day of the week they're doing one thing. So it's like Little Diggers is this sand place, and then it's like this place, and then it's this. And I'm like, So every day it's just like a two-hour activity, but then it's like your whole summer is just planned. And then I was looking at the calendar, I'm like, I don't see any date nights planned for us. So I'm like, I have to fill in some other nights in there too.

SPEAKER_04 39:41

That's so amazing that you are cognizant of that though, because I remember I think it was maybe the episode with Dave and Stephanie you were talking about the way you prioritize date night.

SPEAKER_01 39:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 39:49

And like, especially with a family of two entrepreneurs and leaning on our family so much. Um, I feel like that is one of the things that we do because we're calling on them so much for work stuff, it's like we very rarely are like, and we also need you Friday night so we can go to dinner. So that's amazing that you're very intentional with that.

SPEAKER_03 40:09

It's hard to ask, but we got a lot of like teenagers in our neighborhood. So that's when we pay for this either. When it's pleasure, we're like, okay, we can pay for some for some child care for this. But no, Katie, I appreciate you for coming on and and uh we're looking forward to supporting the event this year um and being a part of it, but then you know, also just supporting

Closing Thoughts + May’s Night Market Info

SPEAKER_03 40:24

your business and so and you've always supported what we've done and and stuff like that. So I thank you for coming on and can't wait for the audience to listen and and uh be at the event. Hopefully, we're gonna clear 10,000 again.

SPEAKER_04 40:33

So yeah, thank you so much for having me. I've always really appreciated Bucketlist and the support for small businesses in the area. So thanks for all you do.

SPEAKER_03 40:40

Cool. See you guys next week.

Bucket List Podcast Network Outro

SPEAKER_04 40:42

Bye.

SPEAKER_03 40:43

St. Louis, thanks for listening. Everything we do here is about telling the story of this city, and that doesn't stop with this show. On the Bucketlist Podcast Network, we're diving even deeper into the people, places, and moments that make this city what it is. Meet Me in Music with Neil Salzick captures the sound of the city, past and present, ending each episode with a live performance. For my foodie lovers, the sauce with Lauren Healy brings you inside the restaurants that define our culture every Tuesday. Gateway to Growth with Jamal Cornelius highlights the stories behind the people that make St. Louis work. And every Thursday, Bryce breaks down your weekend with This Week in St. Louis. More stories, more voices. Explore the full bucketless podcast network wherever you listen.