- PNC is proud to support "Business Forward," where community leaders discuss the issues confronting business in Central Illinois.

(bright music) (bright music continues) - Welcome to "Business Forward."

I'm your host, Matt George.

Joining me tonight, Steve Spain.

Steve's longtime owner of the Costume Trunk here in Peoria.

Welcome, Steve.

- It's a pleasure.

Thanks for having me.

- Well, I've known you for a while.

I know your family, you have a great family.

They've all contributed to our great community here.

But I wanted to first start off by saying a couple weeks ago I was online and I was looking, and someone sent me a note, and then I saw it on social media and they said, "You need to get Steve Spain on your show," because longtime, small business owner.

It's a pretty fun story, and plus you have many other unique talents.

I think it's pretty cool, but we'll get to that in a second.

But, let's start off with you.

Have you lived in Peoria your whole life?

Did you grow up here?

- I have, I grew up on the south side and was there for a number of years, and my folks moved up north.

I graduated from Richwoods High School.

I went to grade school at Blaine-Sumner.

So, I've lived throughout the community.

Now we're on the north side, and I love the city.

I have no plans of moving.

- Yeah, so you've been here a while, and you and your wife, Janine.

I was wondering when I was thinking about all the things that your family does, and when you talk about that community involvement piece, does that come from you and your wife or does that come from your parents, because you're a hardworking guy, small business owner, where does that come from?

- Well, I'd like to take credit for all (laughs) the good things that my kids have, but the fact of the matter, they were both very interested in community service and when they were in school, they were active in student council and student government and charitable events.

I think it just kind of came to them naturally.

- Nice, before we talk about business, I wanted to ask you about one of your hobbies and maybe passions, and it's Disney.

And I've always been a collector.

We've had many conversations.

I collect sports and baseball and so on, but I met you a few years ago.

I was doing an exhibit with John Morris at the museum, and we had some Walter Payton things my son had, and we had all these different Chicago Bears items on the wall, and we look over, and you've got all of this Disney animation art.

Now, I don't know if that's the correct term.

- [Steve] Yeah, it is.

- But can you explain to the viewers, what does that mean?

- Well, what I collect is primarily from the 30s, 40s, and 50s.

That's what I consider Disney's golden age.

But back then, in the analog world, long before CGI and so on, every one of those frames in those films, and they were film then, 24 frames a second, were painted by hand, and it's incredible artwork.

And when you watch the films, you're involved in the character and the story and everything.

But if you see these pieces in stop motion, they're really beautiful works of art in their own right as well.

- So, have you met some of these artists?

Are some of them still around from the- - There was a core team of animators that Walt Disney called his Nine Old Men, and there was a story about that.

Nine Old Men was a reference that FDR made to the Supreme Court.

Apparently, they had disagreements.

But Walt said, "I have my Nine Old Men here," and they're all gone now, but I got to meet four of them in my lifetime and to hear about how Walt Disney was to work for and their approach to animation and art and everything, and so I've met a lot of them.

Most of 'em are gone now, but I've been fortunate enough to meet many of 'em.

- [Matt] Would you call yourself a historian of Disney?

- Yes, yeah, I think Disney historian, I think the life of Walt Disney was pretty amazing.

Here's a guy that didn't graduate from high school, no formal business training, no formal art training, no formal filmmaking training.

Went bankrupt in his first business venture and then went on to form the largest multi-international conglomerate in the world.

- Isn't it amazing?

So back to the art for a second.

So I did not know there's 24...

So if you remember those flip books when we were kids.

I don't think they have 'em anymore, but when we were kids, you could flip through, and it'd show the cartoon.

Is that what you're talking about, but on a larger scale with film, that they had picture after picture after picture, and that's what the film was.

- Exactly, and they determined that 24 frames per second was the number needed to fool the mind into thinking that you were watching continuous motion rather than a sequence of separate drawings.

- Oh my goodness, so think about how many of those would be needed for a film.

I can't even do the math that fast, and I'm pretty good with numbers.

- That's why it took those early films sometimes four and five years to make.

- Before we talk about your business, there's one other question I had about Disney.

So, you have something that is...

There's like a pencil drawing or a sketch of an airplane, and it looks like a rendering of Mickey Mouse.

And I know it's like maybe one of the original forms of Mickey Mouse ever.

Is that the story behind it?

- That's the story.

That is a original animator's pencil drawing.

The original work was started with pencil, and then those were transferred by hand to animation cells, which were a celluloid sheet and hand-inked or outlined and then painted.

But that drawing you're talking of was from a film called "Plane Crazy," which preceded "Steamboat Willie" by six months.

"Plane Crazy" was the very first Mickey Mouse cartoon made.

And Minnie Mouse was right there at the beginning as well.

And I've been fortunate enough to have this drawing.

It's very subjective, but I consider it probably one of the finest examples in private hands.

- So I think a lot of people, including myself, think that "Steamboat" was the first one.

- "Steamboat Willie" was the first successful, because it gained a national distributorship, and it was successful because it was the first synchronized sound cartoon, and that's what made it successful.

It was unique, the very first one, very first animated cartoon to have a soundtrack.

But "Plane Crazy" was the first film, called "Gallop and Goud Show" was the second one, and "Steamboat Willie" was the third.

- I did not know that.

So other, like Bugs Bunny, which is not Disney obviously, but other cartoons, they did the same thing.

So there's animation cells for whatever you decided to collect back then in the 30s, 40s, 50s, and so on.

So, you actually, there's a world of people who love Disney, and you actually, being a historian, know a lot of the top people that are part of Disney and animation.

And something very interesting is, even like right now, at the Peoria Riverfront Museum, your artwork is displayed there for everyone to enjoy.

So it's pretty cool stuff.

- Yeah, we first had an exhibit there about four years ago.

And John Morris, the CEO of the Riverfront Museum, and I just hit it off one time and I said, "What would you think about having a Disney exhibit here?"

So this is like the fourth time we've had something on display at the museum, and then later this month, we're going to have our 2nd Annual Disney Film Festival at the museum on the 28th through the 30th.

- And do you add some ad lib to it and maybe MC those events?

- We've got some special guest speakers.

We have a gentleman by the name of J.B. Kaufman.

I consider him the foremost Disney historian.

Now he's the author of nine books on the subject.

- [Steve] Oh, wow!

- He really knows his stuff.

He has access to the Disney archives, which is kind of difficult to get.

You have to go through a lot of hoops to do that.

But he'll be joining us again.

We have a lady named Laurie Algar.

Laurie Algar is the daughter of a guy by the name of James Algar, who is a Disney Legend, and there really is a designation of a Disney Legend.

When you go to the studio, you see brass plaques put up.

And he started working on "Snow White."

He directed the famous Mickey "Fantasia" scene in 1940.

A lot of technical innovations came through his hands.

And so Laurie's gonna do a program through the daughter's eyes on her dad, and she calls it, "43 Years Working with Disney."

That's how long Mr. Algar's career was.

- That's unbelievable.

I collect autographs, so I know how much Walt Disney's autograph is worth, and it's a rare autograph to get.

It's a pretty cool signature too.

So, well, that's fun, so let's switch gears.

You also love art and the arts in general, and I heard a story that I found fascinating.

There's a renowned artist, Bob Doucette, and you're friends.

And he was living in Southern California, and now he's living in Peoria.

And you're talking about one of the coolest talents of a guy around, I mean, his paintings are phenomenal.

I actually purchased one, because I know him and got to meet him, and I thought, wow, this is an honor to have somebody like that here.

So tell us the quick story on that.

- Well, the quick story was Bob and I were Facebook friends, and we were on some of the same groups, because of our mutual interest in art and animation art.

Bob worked in animation art for a while for Warner Brothers.

So he was very interested in the things I showed, and I saw his artwork and of course, it's phenomenal.

- [Matt] He's phenomenal.

- He's world renowned.

And one day after, I'd known him for, not personally met, but through Facebook for a couple of months, he put on a post and he said, "Tom and I are thinking about moving out of Pasadena, "and here's the things we're looking for.

"First of all, weather is not an issue."

"A lot of people say if you're from California, "you wouldn't want to come to the Midwest, "but I'm originally from Maine," I believe it was, "so I actually enjoy the seasons, "so that wouldn't be a deal breaker.

"Also, of course obviously, "the community would have to have a strong arts community.

"That's what I do.

"And also I love historical homes, I don't know.

"And I wouldn't mind it being a smaller community, "smaller than Los Angeles."

So I saw this, and I think, man, Peoria, Illinois checks all these boxes.

I've gotta at least pitch my city.

And so I wrote him, I said, "How about Peoria, Illinois?"

And he was nice enough to say, "Peoria, Illinois, "I've heard of it, that sounds interesting.

"We'll consider that."

Well, of course, I thought, what a nice guy.

He said, "We'll consider that," and that'll be the end of it.

And I think the day or two after, it was a fall season, I was taking my morning walk on Moss Avenue, and I had my phone, and I took a picture of Moss Avenue with all the fall colors.

It was a pretty picture, and I sent it to Bob, and I said, "Here's Moss Avenue, it's just a few blocks from my shop "and looks pretty this time of year, what do you think?

"Look at these homes," and he flipped out.

He said, "Wow, that's great!"

And again, I didn't think so.

And then another couple of months he says, "We're flying into Peoria to look at a house."

(laughs) - [Matt] Isn't that crazy?

- And he said, "Can you pick us up "and take us around town?

"And, I'd like to see your animation collection."

"Oh, sure," and it just fell into place, and that was- - [Matt] That's unbelievable.

- Yeah, yeah.

- What what's cool about it too is you being from here and me being a big fan of Central Illinois, you want people to move here.

So if people are moving from, typically I think Chicago, Indiana or St. Louis, there's that net migration that's happening right now.

Come to Peoria, come to Bloomington, come somewhere here, so we need you, and it happened.

- It happened, it's sort of like you're a sports guy recruiting a top notch athlete- - I mean, it's crazy, you're right.

So you're the owner of the Costume Trunk, and there's a quote here.

It said, you know, you were approaching your 71st birthday, and you feel time as owner of the shop is coming to an end, calling it, quote, "a final curtain."

After 42 years, you've decided to sell the business.

And when I wanted you to come onto the show, I wanted you to come out of just pure respect, because one of the things, as you're walking in today that I was talking to you about is people, to be a small business owner in any community for 40 plus years seems like a thing of the past, so I applaud you for this, because that's what my dad would call Americana.

That's Americana right there.

So let's talk about the journey.

How did you get into this business?

- Well, we opened the Costume Trunk in March of 1981, but there was actually a couple of baby steps before that.

My friend Kevin Carter and I were big into magic at the time and still are.

- [Matt] I know Kevin, yeah.

- Do you know Kevin?

Okay, yeah, yeah, he's a great guy.

But Kevin and I opened a little magic shop on the second floor of the Rialto Theater Building.

Now, only old timers probably remember that theater.

But it was a little tiny shop, and it was mostly a hobby for us.

We were doing some performing around the Midwest at that time with a guy, a friend of ours from St. Louis and mostly college campuses, but some magic conventions, it was a lot of fun.

But we enjoyed the magic hobby, and so we set up a little shop.

Now, we ran it there for a couple of years.

When the Rialto came down to make way for the Civic Center, we moved the shop to a tiny little storefront next to the Varsity Theater where Campus Town now is, near Maine and University.

There used to be a neighborhood theater there.

And so, we were there a couple of years and about that time, Kevin was involved with his family's construction business and he had other interests, so he moved on.

So I thought, I'd like to take this one step further.

And a friend from Rockford said, "Halloween is coming along.

"You might consider carrying some Halloween goods."

This is at a time when costume parties for adults was just starting again.

Prior to that, it was more of a trick or treat thing for kids.

And so, I did that, it grew.

It just sort of got outta hand.

- (laughing) Out of hand, that's a good way of putting it.

- We moved to the building where we are now, 710 West Main, own the building now, I didn't at the time, and I've just enjoyed it.

I had a little background in theater from school.

I was a sociology major and theater minor, so I knew the periods of costumes and the basic shows and things like that, how to do theatrical makeup, so I had some of those skills, and I said, "This is a fun business.

"I'm gonna keep doing this till it stops being fun," and it never stopped being fun.

- Well, and being a collector too, collecting costumes, there's a lot of value to some of the costumes that are out there too.

- Yeah, yeah, I had a great mentor.

His name was Ben Morrelli from Philadelphia.

And I went out there a couple of times to see his operation.

But he made these beautiful costumes, and I have much of his stock in my shop.

And he did frock coats for Pavarotti, the opera singer.

Richard Harris was one of his customers.

He used to always tell me about Pavarotti.

He said, "Steve, 60 chess, 60 waist, "those are his measurements."

- (laughing) Wow!

You could fit three or four people into that.

- [Steve] Yeah, he was a cube.

- That is funny, so just to be clear, even though you're closing, you are still open.

- Yeah, the business is for sale.

And the reason is, like you, I've always felt a little sad to see an old-time Peoria business close.

And I remember when the Nut House closed on Main Street, because I remember as a kid, it was up the block, but it was still the same business, coming out of the Palace Theater and getting nuts, and it was just part of the community, over 100 years, and it was sad, and then, the Hofbrau, and there's a lot of businesses like that, so at least... And it might not sell, it's a very niche business.

I understand that, but I wanted to give an opportunity to somebody to continue the business if there was some interest.

- Well the other thing too is you not only have the business, but you have inventory, but you also own the building.

so there's a lot of different maneuvering- - Yeah, two storefronts, and there's four apartments upstairs, and so there's always some cash coming in.

- Okay, so I use the word Americana, 'cause that's the word my dad always used.

I always tell the story about my grandma and grandpa owned in the 40s, the A&W Root Beer stands in Indianapolis.

And so one of the things I collect is A&W Root Beer, and people think it's crazy, because I have so many mugs and things like that, but it just is meaningful to me.

And you mentioned Hofbrau and the Nut House, I mean, those are my favorite places.

I'm still mad that the Hofbrau's closed.

(Matt and Steve laugh) So what's your recipe for success for 42 years in business?

I mean, that's true entrepreneurship right there.

- Well, maybe I'm just lucky, you can't discount that.

I would say first and foremost, take care of your customer.

If you take care of your customer, then the financial things seem to fall into place.

And I also think that quality will out, I've told people many times, I'd rather have a product that maybe some couldn't afford, but everyone wants, rather than a product that everyone could afford, but no one wants, so.

(laughs) - (laughs) That's good.

But I see you all around town supporting local business, and I see you almost every Saturday, because we go to some of the same coffee shops and things like that.

- [Steve] Sure, yeah.

- And, you being a people person, think of all the people and friends that have come through the years for 40 plus years that have come through.

That's something you're probably going to miss and have to find that void somewhere.

So I think that's maybe why you still go to all the local establishments, right?

- Well, I love local business, because I know how hard it is.

It is a grind, and it's not for everybody, but there's nothing more thrilling than owning your own business.

My mom and dad started a photography business on the south side, 1950.

And then he went into photo processing back before the digital age, of course.

But you talk about Americana, my dad's studio was in the front of the building.

We lived in the back of the building, and Grandma Polly lived upstairs.

- Wow, see I love stories like that.

My grandma, all my dad and his brothers, they all worked at the root beer stand.

And then they also owned a grocery store that was in the house where they lived.

(laughs) So they lived upstairs, and the grocery was downstairs, isn't that crazy?

So when you had your store over by Campus Town early on, was Avanti's, were they around at that time?

- Yeah, Avanti's was across the street.

from where they just closed the Main and University store.

But yeah, I remember going to Avanti's way back in the day, and if I wanted to carry out, going around the side, and nine times out of 10, Albert Zeller himself would wait on you and take your order and wrap up your gondola and throw it on the counter.

- The reason why I ask that is because Albert, I've talked to him about all of the businesses that were around Avanti's at that time, and he said, oh, it's what made him successful in his business.

He said there used to be a line out the door, and if you think back to that time, that's pretty cool stuff.

- Oh yeah, no, there was all kinds of things.

There was a dry cleaners and a grocery store, and all the things that really make a neighborhood great that we'd like to go back to.

- Yeah, yeah, so what is something you wish you knew in 1981 that you know now after opening your business?

And I don't know if that's a trick question, but a tough one, but.

- Regarding, other than buying Apple stock or.

(laughs) - (laughs) Very true, I guess buying the building is an interesting piece.

- Buying the building was a huge thing, because I had rented there for about 10 years, and the owner of the building, his name was Red Vaughn, and he owned a car lot on the south side, and he was one of those great Americana guys, self-made guy.

But he said, "Steve, my wife is not doing well.

"She's kind of ill health now.

"I'm gonna sell some of my properties, "so you either need to move or buy the building from me."

So, I never thought I would be a landlord or wanted the problems with it, and I'm not that handy a guy at fixing things.

but as it turned out, it was the best move I ever made, because basically my tenants paid for the building over the years.

- Yeah, isn't that crazy, just little things like that- - [Steve] Little things like that, yeah.

- The luckiest thing for me with this show is I get to learn something every show from somebody, and it's my favorite thing.

I learn more here than I did in college.

I shouldn't say that, but it's talking to a lot of different entrepreneurs and different times in their lives, little things have happened that actually were game changers in their business.

So, what does Peoria and the people mean to you over these last four decades?

- Well, I'm sure every community says that their people are special, but it's true about Peoria.

It's true about the historical nature of Peoria, the age of the city, the history behind it, the great people that have come out of Peoria, coming back home, seeing that skyline as you overlook, coming in on 74.

But, the people are great, the people are generous.

Since I made my announcement, I've had really, I think every single day at least one person came in and said, "Hey, I saw your announcement.

"We used to always get Santa Clauses from you, "and we finally bought one from you, and we did a show, "and we got the dance hall outfits from you."

And some of them didn't go back, years and years, but they were kind enough to remember me and make a special trip.

Even if people think that, to make a special trip out of your way to come into the store and say, "Thanks for hanging around all this time."

So, and of course the customers make the business.

They're everything.

- [Matt] They're everything.

So lastly, is Disneyland or Disney World better.

- (laughing) Are you asking me?

- [Steve] I'm asking you, which one do you like?

I have a feeling it's World, right?

- No, it's not.

- [Steve] Really, okay!

- Although my kids like that because of the sheer size and all the amenities, but for me, walking in the park that Walt Disney, himself, created, and last year I was able to walk in his private apartment above the fire station.

- [Steve] Oh, so cool.

- And yeah, it was cool.

- [Matt] Well, thank you so much for coming on.

You're a great guy, a great grandpa too.

You've got a lot of great grandkids.

- (laughs) Thank you.

- Thank you, Steve Spain.

I'm Matt George, and this is another episode of "Business Forward."

(bright music) (bright music continues) (bright music continues) - Thank you for tuning in to "Business Forward," brought to you by PNC.

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