The face behind the statues
By Andrew V. Faust
Nov. 22, 2011 HIGH POINT, N.C. - Rays of sunlight beam through the swaying branches overhead, casting peculiar shadows onto the frozen faces of the people and animals gathered in the yard. A gentle autumn breeze carries crisp orange and brown leaves through the air, scattering them among the congregation of stone-like figures, and carelessly abandoning them on the rusty surfaces of iron tables and muddy ground. The noise of passing cars and crunching footsteps of customers walking across the leaf-covered paths, seems to have no effect on the silent gaze of the crowd. Julia Thornberry, owner of the Oak Hollow Market, sits at a patio table amidst her eccentric collection of landscaping statues, patio furniture and gardening decorations. |
“I don’t really like plain things,” Julia says as she quietly laughs and scans the assemblage of lawn ornaments. “I like anything that’s a bit different, and people will notice that when they come in the yard.”
And notice, they do.
With more than three thousand lawn decorations, Julia’s business makes up for its relatively small size, with an abundance of personality.
Although the shop’s cluttered landscape may not appeal to everyone, each of the products is hand-picked and chosen specifically for her store.
And notice, they do.
With more than three thousand lawn decorations, Julia’s business makes up for its relatively small size, with an abundance of personality.
Although the shop’s cluttered landscape may not appeal to everyone, each of the products is hand-picked and chosen specifically for her store.
A labor of loveJulia hasn’t always sold statues and flower pots.
For more than 30 years, she worked in the mail order center at Sears in Greensboro until it closed in the early 1990s, prompting a drastic career shift in her life that led to the opening of Oak Hollow Market. Unemployed and unwilling to work another office job, Julia rented the small white building on Eastchester Drive and opened a convenience store selling snacks and newspapers. |
However, the store’s first year was slow and unprofitable, allowing Julia to refocus her small business to reflect her passion for decorating.
“I went and got one truck load, and then it turned into four truckloads, then 30 truckloads, and it’s just been growing ever since,” says Julia.
Load by load, Julia and her son filled the store’s lawn with cement birdbaths, small statues and iron decorations, until the yard reached its capacity.
Having worked in an office for most of her life before opening the store, Julia values the flexibility of owning her own business, as well as the opportunity to express herself and help others.
“I like to decorate, so that’s one reason why I like doing this,” says Julia “I like finding new things and telling people what they need for their yard.”
This helpful spirit is reflected by the countless handwritten notes, providing suggestions on ways that customers can use the decorations, found attached to many of the items throughout the yard.
“It’s just a fun business,” Julia says as she pauses and looks down at her hands resting in her lap. “If it wasn’t so fun, I probably wouldn’t still be here.”
“I went and got one truck load, and then it turned into four truckloads, then 30 truckloads, and it’s just been growing ever since,” says Julia.
Load by load, Julia and her son filled the store’s lawn with cement birdbaths, small statues and iron decorations, until the yard reached its capacity.
Having worked in an office for most of her life before opening the store, Julia values the flexibility of owning her own business, as well as the opportunity to express herself and help others.
“I like to decorate, so that’s one reason why I like doing this,” says Julia “I like finding new things and telling people what they need for their yard.”
This helpful spirit is reflected by the countless handwritten notes, providing suggestions on ways that customers can use the decorations, found attached to many of the items throughout the yard.
“It’s just a fun business,” Julia says as she pauses and looks down at her hands resting in her lap. “If it wasn’t so fun, I probably wouldn’t still be here.”
'The Family Market'
Living up to the words on the store’s sign, family-focused values are an important aspect of Oak Hollow Market’s operation - in fact, the store is operated entirely by Julia’s family.
“About everybody that I get to help me is family, because I can tell them what to do,” Julia laughs as she jokes. “I can’t be a boss to somebody else outside the family”
“About everybody that I get to help me is family, because I can tell them what to do,” Julia laughs as she jokes. “I can’t be a boss to somebody else outside the family”
With help from her mother, sister, son and grandchildren, the store never lacks workers, and the family’s time spent at the shop has served as the backdrop for many memories. “I used to drive this little Chevy van, and one day we broke down and I had to call a wrecker,” Julia says, remembering one of the many times she and her son traveled to pick up a load of the store’s merchandise. “They lifted that van up full of cement, and it almost lifted the front end of that wrecker. I think that van is still sitting somewhere with stuff in it.” |
For each item for sale at the market, there is an accompanying memory and story to share.
As the sun begins to set and shadows flood the store’s densely populated landscape, the grinding noise of a black sedan driving across the gravel parking lot catches Julia’s attention.
Eagerly awaiting her customers, she quickly stands up and readjusts the iron table and chairs at which she was sitting, as a woman and two young girls emerge from the car and begin wandering through the yard.
She smiles and walks toward her visitors, and as the girls play between the rows of statues, Julia leads the woman through the leaf-covered pathways of the market, hoping to share her passion for decorating with others.
As the sun begins to set and shadows flood the store’s densely populated landscape, the grinding noise of a black sedan driving across the gravel parking lot catches Julia’s attention.
Eagerly awaiting her customers, she quickly stands up and readjusts the iron table and chairs at which she was sitting, as a woman and two young girls emerge from the car and begin wandering through the yard.
She smiles and walks toward her visitors, and as the girls play between the rows of statues, Julia leads the woman through the leaf-covered pathways of the market, hoping to share her passion for decorating with others.
Click here to learn more about Oak Hollow Market.