Meet Julie Randall | Antique store owner, show promoter

We had the good fortune of connecting with Julie Randall and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Julie, do you have some perspective or insight you can share with us on the question of when someone should give up versus when they should keep going?
Giving up is not an option for me. I love my work and can’t imagine life without my businesses.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
It was definately not easy to get to this point in my career. We actually have two businesses: The Torrance Antique Street Faire – an outdoor antiques market held on the 4th Sunday of every month. We started with 20 sellers back in 1998 and now we have over 200 vendors. And Street Faire Antiques, a brick and mortar antique store in downtown Torrance. We started our businesses in 1998 with no money and there were many times in the beginning when we had to take “side jobs” to pay the rent. The first ten years were a real struggle but the TSF continued to grow and we managed to learn about antiques and how to sell them. It was just my partner Miguel and myself running the store and the show, we couldn’t afford employees.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
My life is centered around Torrance, especially downtown Torrance. There are so many great places to go within five blocks. The first micro brewery in town is on my block, The Red Car Brewery at 1266 Sartori. In addition to beer, they offer a full menu and are open for lunch and dinner. Brewmaster Bob Brandt creates seasonal flavored beers as well as my favorite, Electro Light. Award winning restaurant and chef, Michael Shafer owns the Depot restaurant with a fine dining menu. I would take my guest to Happy Hour at the Depot too, they have a changing happy hour menu and bartender Luis makes the best martinis in town.
Torrance Board and Brush is a few doors down from me at 1321 Sartori – it’s a fun place to experience hands on arts & crafts.
We also have the Torrance Historical Society Museum that is a must see – I would show my guest the exhibits that show the history of my city.
For lunch we would go to the Torrance Bakery & sandwich shop and the Chado Tea Room. To work off the calories from all this eating we could take a salsa or ballroom dancing lesson at Monarch Ballroom.
We would see a play at our Torrance Theatre Company across the street. They offer new plays eight times a year. If my guest was in the market for body art I would take him to my neighbor and the hippest place in town, Black Raven Tattoo Parlor.
There are two destinations I would need my car for – a visit to our little Torrance Beach section of the Pacific Ocean and the world famous shopping destination, Del Amo Mall.
The most important part of this visit would be to time it on the 4th Sunday of the month so my guest could experience the event voted “Best in the South Bay” for 15+ years, our Torrance Antique Street Faire when the tree lined streets of downtown are transformed into an eclectic open-air antique flea market!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My business partner Miguel Salazar has been on this journey with me since 1998. He is responsible for all of the beautiful antique furniture we sell in our store and online.

Website: https://www.torranceantiquefaire.com

Instagram: @streetfaireantiques

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TorranceAntiqueStreetFaire

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/torrance-antique-street-faire-torrance-3

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCAPpA686JU&t=36s

Other: https://www.streetfaireantiques.com