Today we’d like to introduce you to Tina Murphy.
Tina, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I started this business after I put some of my family’s estate into an auction. It wasn’t the best experience but I was curious about the whole business. I started attending storage unit auctions, working the floor at an auction house, being in a partnership with an auction house and eventually going to school to become an auctioneer and owning my own.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It is funny, I never liked antiques or second hand merchandise growing up. So this business was not something I ever thought I would be doing. As I learned more and more about antiques and the history of them I was in knee deep. I loved it!!
Not easy work. Labor intensive, research involved (lots), and it takes many years to gain respect and trust from public and peers. This is a very “cut throat” business, especially for a woman. I felt many times that the men in the business didn’t take me seriously in the beginning. All that has changed for the better 🙂
Please tell us about Magnolia Gardens Auction House.
I am the auctioneer, I am the jack of all trades in my “home”. I buy, I auction, I meet families that have experienced loss so I sometimes become counselor, listener. This business to me is more about helping people through their grief when they experience a loss. Every piece has a story. Many items took years and years to achieve, people dealt with war, with poverty, depression. So these items that are now being sold by their families have meaning. I handle every piece as if it were my family’s. I respect it and I expect my help to as well.
Every person attending my auction gets greeted. Sometimes with a smile or a hug. I have always believed that every person is important to my business and in my life. They can spend 50 a week, every week or come every once in a while and spend thousands. They are all equally important.
I don’t buy containers from overseas, I frankly like more of the one on one contact. I deal mostly with people who are consigning the items…. I like to know that my items come from someone and there is a story to be heard.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
My favorite memory would be the smell of my mom. Her perfume, soap, just the smell of her.
Contact Info:
- Address: 18090 Bauer Rd.,
Hockley, TX 77447 - Website: www.magnoliagardensauctionhouse.com
- Phone: 281 516 7251 (cell) 713 363 4855
- Email: magnoliaauction@aol.com
- Facebook: magnolia gardens auction house
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