It’s a scorching Saturday afternoon and Charles Brown, owner of Urban Traders, is peddling special items outside Plan 9 Music on a bustling West Cary Street. Real scorpions encased in glass belt buckles pique the curiosity of two women walking by.
A steady stream of Carytown shoppers stop to browse the merchandise neatly arranged on a black table and hanging from racks – Bob Marley T-shirts and dog tags, chandelier shell earrings, bamboo wood bangles, African shell and silver jewelry, flowing bohemian skirts, Caribbean paraphernalia and sunglasses.
Some seek temporary refuge from the sun’s blistering heat beneath the colorful umbrellas secured above his tables.
After his store located at 932 W. Grace St. closed last week without notice, Brown is planning to set up kiosks similar to the one he runs on West Cary Street around VCU’s Monroe Park Campus as soon as possible, he said. The store’s new tenant, a health product retailer, took over the lease Sept. 1.
In April 2004 Brown opened Urban Traders in the strip mall close to Little Caesar’s Pizza and adjacent to the VCU Bookstore. The small building attracted him, he said, because of its convenience to students, central location on campus and reasonable rent.
But he soon found out that the heavy pedestrian traffic on West Grace Street did not filter into his business because it was located too far back from the sidewalk. He decided to take his business back to the streets where he hopes students will patronize his kiosks like the shoppers at Carytown have.
The 54-year-old urban trader foresees a smooth transition from selling behind a counter to behind a table.
“I’ve always done both. The adjustment was easy for me,” Brown said. “When you move from a store to the streets, you have to adjust because obviously I can’t bring everything from the store.”
Nevertheless, operating a stand instead of a stationary store has its perks, Brown said.
“I like the flexibility of being able to travel,” he said, adding that he is relieved not to worry about rent and utility expenses.
A veteran merchant, Brown has sold trinkets and clothing for 25 years. In 1981 the Charlottesville native moved to Richmond and opened a store downtown called Unicus, Latin for “one of a kind,” which closed a decade later.
These days he pushes his merchandise at large events and festivals, traveling last weekend to a soul music festival in Virginia Beach.
And then there’s his stand at Carytown. Brown prides himself on being one of the first street merchants on the trendy shopping strip where his customers have become friends. People on foot, bicycle and in cars stop by to talk to the man they call “Charlie.”
A man driving by yelled from a Jeep, “Charlie, you got that white hat for me?”
Not today, Brown replied.
Other people depend on Brown staying in business, as well. In the short time Urban Traders set up shop on West Grace Street, it became a hub for underground event information, with fliers cluttering its counter. Today, promoters leave material on his vendor table. A Web site is in the works to make Urban Traders more accessible to its customers.
As for business?
Shimmering earrings catch the eyes of a pair of young shoppers on foot.
“I like the blue flower ones,” one girl said to her friend, pointing to them. “And the white ones next to them. And the black ones…”
For more information e-mail urbantraders@aol.com.