A light mist of rain sprays through the hazy sky. Water droplets cling inside of the etched crevices of stone statues and gather on the twisted iron arch which frames the narrow path leading through a garden of metal work, fountains, and statues to the store’s chipped-painted facade. Various metal lawn ornaments creak lazily in the slight breeze. Welcome to Gringo Jones Imports: a wonderland for eclectic garden and home decor fanatics from across the country.
“The terms I’ve heard most are ‘sensory overload’ and ‘eclectic’ if you like it, and ‘junk shop’ if you don’t,” Owner Leon Jones said.
After a short trip through the garden of metalwork, the 10,000 square foot store opens up into a maze of shelves stacked to the ceiling and teeming with the vibrant reds and oranges of Talavera pottery from Mexico. Furniture pieces from as early as the 18th century are packed with person-sized ceramic pots, old books, and other knick-knacks. Vintage chairs, more pottery, and other items are hung from the ceiling.
“I really like all of the chairs that are hanging from the ceiling,” junior Emma Cleaveland said. “I think it’s an interesting way to store them.
But before customers can explore the store, they must make it past Jones’ four security systems: the dogs. Brownie, a 13-month-old Labrador-Collie mix who belongs to one of Jones’s employees, playfully greets the customers by jumping up on their legs and chewing shoelaces, plastic containers, and pretty much everything else. Jones’ boxers Lola Mae and Sugar Rae lounge lazily on their personal chairs at the front of the store; and, Baby, a three and a half-year-old Shi Tzu owned by another employee, evades Brownie’s attempts at play. All of the dogs have called Gringo Jones their home since they were puppies.
“I like dogs better than people and dogs always bring in people [to the store],” Jones joked. “And if they don’t like dogs, I don’t let them in the store. It just makes the store appear more friendly, and I really don’t trust people who don’t like dogs.”
From there, customers are led through the store’s 12 rooms by friendly note cards scattered around the store and taped on doors or merchandise. Jones is responsible for these crafty phases and often thinks of them prior to buying the items which they describe.
In Sharpied block letters an index card on a nearby door reads: “No room is off limits- the basement’s open- there are seven rooms upstairs- ask if we can help.”
Taped to a piano, another index card jokes: “If you’re a good pianist feel free to play, if you’re a little pecker, don’t.”
DISTINCTIVE DECOR
Since opening 18 years ago, Gringo Jones Imports has been selling a variety of goods for the home and garden. Straying from typical furniture and lawn ornaments, Jones, who has also worked as a hairdresser for 40 years, and his staff have made it their mission to seek out unique items that reflect the interests of their custom- ers. These items come from auctions and antique shows from cities in the United States, like Chicago and Atlanta, to countries across the globe such as Mexico, Guatemala, and Indonesia.
“We’re different than anybody else,” nine-year employee and friend of Jones, Kim Chandler said. “We sell to people who make a dollar or people who make six million dollars. So everybody in between. My philosophy that I have is treat everybody like they have a tuxedo on because you don’t know who has money and who doesn’t have money. I just want to serve everybody the same and give them the customer service.”
Stemming from a Spanish slang term for Americans, the name of the store was a creative way for Jones to display the jocular personality of the store as well as reflect his fondness for Mexican culture and products which the store boasts.
“I wanted something that people wouldn’t take too seriously,” Jones said. “People in Mexico call us gringos and my last name is Jones.”
Among the many various items that Gringo Jones sells, some of the most popular items are the Mexican Talavera, or brightly-colored glazed ceramics, which are displayed through every room in the store. In addition to the Talavera, Jones imports other Mexican products ranging from furniture to blown glass.
“It’s really interesting and kind of like a homey feel,” Cleaveland said. “It’s just a fun place to look around, and it seems like you’d always be seeing new stuff.”
RUMMAGING FOR RARE FINDS
In order to bring these items into the store, Jones organizes several buying trips to Mexico each year where he and other employees travel throughout the different regions of Mexico to purchase goods to bring back to the store. According to Chandler, almost 70 percent of the store merchandise comes from these buying trips. Often, Jones and his staff travel to a market in Guadalajara where vendors from all over Mexico gather. That way, he and Chandler can choose items for Gringo Jones from all over Mexico without having to traverse the country. Occasionally, Jones will travel outside of these markets in an attempt to find lower prices, but the markets are a typical stop on buying trips. On these trips, Jones usually purchases around $30,000 worth of merchandise and can fill two semitrailers with these purchased goods.
“I wanted something different and I’ve always enjoyed the folk art and gardens [of Mexico],” Jones said. “I’ve sort of tailored it to what I like. Originally, I would fly to Mexico and spend a week at a time and fill two 53 foot semitrailers. When the economy changed, business went down and I started driving down and bringing stuff up in my trailers.”
According to Jones, Talavera and types of furniture are common throughout the country, but other items are particular to different regions of the country. For blown glass, Jones purchases from various dealers in Guadalajara. For silver products, Jones used to purchase from the silver mines of Taxco, but recently had to end visits to the area due to the danger of kidnappings.
“It’s merchandise that most people can’t find outside of the St. Louis area,” Jones said. “It’s a bunch of products that aren’t made in China.”
Adding to the cast of characters at Gringo Jones, Chandler plays a large role in the buying of goods for the store. Formally an employee of Famous Barr, with a background in retail fashion and interior decorating, Chandler spends a majority of her time, when she’s not in the store, at auctions and antique shows across the country in search of items for the store. She has also gone with Jones on two buying trips to Mexico.
“I have a list,” Chandler said. “When people want something, I compile a list of what they want, and then that list we go out and buy. If it’s one person who wants it, I figure at least five or six may want it, so we might buy three of them. We don’t always buy the same stuff because we don’t want it to be repetition, and we don’t want everyone to have the same thing, so some things we may repeat, like our concrete and stuff like that, so basically everything inside. We just have fun.”
AN EVOLVING DREAM
Gringo Jones originally began as a part-time job for Jones. When he opened the store, he still had several hair clients and for about a year and a half after the store opened, Jones continued cutting hair while running the store. Currently, Jones takes one to two clients per week in a barber chair that resides in one of Gringo Jones’ many rooms.
“If you work here, you get free haircuts,”Jones said. “Some customers have been coming for 30 years.”
Jones found out about a space available for a store through one of his hair clients. In the 1920s and 30s, the building was a German bakery and it had been vacant for five years by the time Jones acquired the space. The location was also a key factor in choosing a place for the store. Because the building was located near the Missouri Botanical Garden and right off of Highway 44, Jones thought that this location would be ideal.
“It just seemed to work,” Jones said. “Plus it was a reasonable price. I also looked for a place in Chesterfield and if I had bought there, we wouldn’t have had enough money for inventory.”
After purchasing the store, Jones began buying in order to fill the store’s 12 rooms. Over time, he bought a warehouse located near Barnes Jewish Hospital in order to house the overflow of merchandise.
“It just evolved,” Jones said. “No master plan, I was just cutting hair and running this. I just thought it was going to be a part time job.
Gringo Jones continues to bring new items into the store to satisfy the unique tastes of their customers.
“I just like working here because it’s fun, and we’re open every day from ten to six,” Chandler said. “You cannot beat that.”
