Randi Miller, a full-time Army staff sergeant, recently opened WonderWall Emporium, an oddities and curiosities shop in High Ridge.
Miller of Arnold said her co-workers at Jefferson Barracks may be a little surprised to hear about her new business venture, since she doesn’t talk much about her unique hobbies with them.
The Aug. 8 grand opening of the shop, 1592 Gravois Road, may be the first they’ve heard of her outside interests, she said.
“Nobody ever expects that I’m into this kind of thing; I don’t talk about my store at work, it’s just Army, Army, Army,” Miller said. “Whenever I’m like, ‘I put snakes in jars,’ they’re like, ‘What? That’s kind of weird.’ And I’m like, ‘You should see the tarantula I have in the freezer.’
“That’s why I made this (store). These are my people. Everybody that’s here is into the same things, and it’s really cool.”
WonderWall Emporium offers an array of oddities not often found in the average antiques or home decor stores, Miller said. The store has metaphysical supplies, antique medical instruments, anthropomorphic art and conventional taxidermy.
Anthropomorphic art is small animal taxidermy depicting animals doing human things, Miller said. One shelf in her shop displays taxidermied rats in wedding dresses, tutus and other costumes.
In addition to the High Ridge location, Miller has an online shop where she sells her own oddities including small snakes encased in jars and bats preserved in resin, among other items.
“A lot of antique dealers have maybe one person with a little booth full of oddities and things like that,” Miller said. “My goal is to make a whole entire store like that. Any type of genre that is more obscure, off the wall, is what I’m going to have in here. If you like medieval stuff, I’m going to have that; if you like Viking stuff, I’m going to have that. If you like witchcraft stuff, I’m going to have that.”
Vendors
Miller said she has vendors throughout her store who bring their own items and set up displays for oddities and curiosities.
Miller herself was a vendor at multiple antiques stores, but found the experiences lacking, leading to her opening a store of her own.
“The thing that really drove me nuts was I would pay so much money to have my booth inside of an antique store,” she said. “Let’s say, for example, I would pay $160 just to have my little station. Let’s say somebody comes and they pick up one item, and I make $7. Not only does the antique store take 15 percent, but I’m also renting that space.
“I don’t charge my vendors very much. I actually charge them nothing right now, just to be here for the opening.”
Miller said she has a few open spaces left in her store for interested vendors.
Emma Hines of Eureka said she opened her first vendor booth at WonderWall Emporium, selling handcrafted shadowboxes and drawings. Her business is called Velvet Curiosities.
“I source these vintage bubble glass frames (for the shadow boxes) and use real butterfly specimens, all ethically sourced,” Hines said. “This is a new project for me. It’s my first time selling in a public space, and it’s so exciting. Randi is so nice and very helpful.”
Barbie Dale from the Dupo, Ill., area refurbishes antique mirrors through her business Vintage Barbie Designs. She said her mirrors and other home decor items are restored with dark academia, gothic and dramatic flourishes.
“I’ve wanted to do a booth for a long time, but I really felt like my aesthetic didn’t match well with a normal antique shop,” Dale said.
Good finds
Both Miller and her husband, Brandon, are active-duty military, meaning they travel a lot for work, Miller said. Everywhere they go, Miller said they always have an eye out for a good find, whether it’s at an auction or thrift store.
Miller joined the Army 13 years ago and works in human resources. Brandon is an operations sergeant and joined in 1997. One of Miller’s four daughters also serves in the military.
Miller’s favorite item in her shop is a pair of small women’s boots from the 1890s, which give off witchy vibes, she said.
“These I picked up at an auction in Texas,” Miller said. “We were stationed in Seattle, Maryland, Texas and now back to Missouri. Every state we’ve been to, anytime we travel, I’m always on the hunt for different things. I always check out antique stores, and I’ll even go to Goodwill because people drop off good stuff at Goodwill that they don’t even know is worth anything.”
The store is tentatively open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekends and select weekdays from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. For more information, visit wonderwall-emporium.org or the WonderWall Emporium Facebook page.