Relics, LLC to close its doors by end of year

Laurie Nelson, the owner of Relics, LLC - Antiques, Collectibles and Shtuff, has always described her downtown Newton business as a “wants store.” She’s not selling groceries or medication or new clothes. Instead, she’s offering old school Maytag merchandise or uranium glass when folks have the income to spare.

But therein lies the issue the antiques shop has been facing for the past few years. Customers do not seem to have the extra wiggle room in their budgets for wants. Nelson has taken notice and made the difficult decision to close up shop by the end of the year, putting an end to the 10-year-old business.

“The economy has just killed us,” Nelson said to Newton News in a recent interview. “People can’t afford to buy groceries. We’re not a needs store, we’re a wants store. If people are having problems buying groceries, they’re not going to come in here and spend money on something they don’t need.”

Three floors full of “shtuff” will be going on sale soon, which is making the closing bittersweet for Nelson. She will miss the shop and the customers and telling folks the stories behind every product, but she sure as heck won’t miss climbing all those stairs and finding a place to display items in the vast store.

Relics, LLC is one of the largest shops in the town square in downtown Newton, taking over the space filled by Pappy’s Antique Mall in 2016. To be able to fill the space with that much merchandise is an impressive feat on its own. But to be able to sustain a store of that size just on antiques is an even bigger challenge.

While other shops may have struggled after the pandemic, Nelson said Relics was “doing great” for a while. But this past year is when she really started to notice the shift in the economy. She saw the signs as early as February, when the store was a decade old and was struggling to get customers in the door.

Newton News published a feature story about this 10-year milestone. It was noticeably bleak. It has never been Nelson’s style to sugarcoat anything, and she wasn’t going to do it then. She was upfront and blunt about it. Business was rough, and it showed no signs of ever letting up. She didn’t know what to do.

Nelson almost feels bad to say she is relieved Relics is closing. She will no longer feel stressed about the shop, but with that comes a loss that has not quite set in with her yet. Customers have always been her favorite part of the job. Antique shops have a way of attracting some of the most interesting people.

“We’ve developed friendships and repeat customers,” Nelson said. “And I’m going to miss owning a business downtown.”

Nelson is proud to see the business had lasted as long as it did. Manager Carrie Putz said Relics made an impact on the community, too.

“A lot of people come in and say, ‘Oh I love this place! Every time we’re in town we come here!’” Putz said. “I see customers that I’ve met when I first started working here. They’re amazed that I still remember who they are.”

By definition, a relic is an object that has survived an earlier time. Oftentimes a relic is something that carries either historic or sentimental value. Relics survived for as long as it could selling its eponymous wares and earning a reputation as one of the best antique shops in Jasper County.

For all the memories and stories that bind each item on display, there is something to say about the memories and stories Relics created too.