Boxcar Treasures antiques stores have long dealt in items from the past, but social distancing has prompted a move to a much newer-age platform.

The owners of the antique store have taken their business online via Facebook Live in the fight to stay afloat, replacing in-person sales lost to COVID-19.

The antique business with stores in Kalona, Ainsworth and Washington suspended foot traffic on March 21, five days before Gov. Kim Reynolds mandated the closure of similar retailers throughout the state.

Co-owners Carol Riggan and Jodie Schimke said they knew they needed to take early precautions to protect their vulnerable senior employees, so they put a plan into action as fast as possible.

“Jodie and I have background in marketing, and we also have been reaching out to a lot of women entrepreneurs, and they said the only way that we are going to survive – or even get a chance of  surviving — is we need to pivot and do online sales on anything that we can do,” Riggan said in a phone interview. “You have to find another way of reaching out to people.”

The online livestreams are high-energy affairs three times per week with one airing from each store. Starting at 9:45 a.m., Riggan and Schimke open with their unique brand of back-and-forth banter as viewers come online. The pair is never afraid to have some fun while they work.

The videos typically run around an hour and are filmed by Riggan’s son, Travis. The online show broadcasts from Ainsworth on Mondays, Kalona on Wednesdays and Washington on Fridays. In the interval, Schimke and Riggan run deliveries and post pictures of featured items that didn’t get enough screen time.

Each stream showcases a selection of items from one of the three stores. Every item is named, priced and assigned a number on-air. Careful not to overwhelm viewers, the pair selects which items to feature before each stream, a difficult process given the floor-to-ceiling inventory of each store.

Viewers can post comments with the name and number of items plus the word “SOLD” for the store to reach out to them after the stream.

From there, arrangements are made for purchase. The store accepts payment in any form, whether it’s from a checkbook or a PayPal account. They offer curbside pickup appointments for any items and free delivery on orders exceeding $50 within 50 miles of the store.

Nationwide closings slashed revenue for non-essential businesses like Boxcar Treasures. The problem goes deeper than the loss of regular foot traffic, as other event cancellations have residual effects. As high-traffic events like the Kalona Quilt Show — normally held the last weekend in April – have been called off, anticipated surges in buyers have disappeared as well.

Closures interrupted a carefully developed network of suppliers and sellers. By Schimke’s count, the store had 50 suppliers when they first opened in 2016. By early March this year, they had 418.

Today, the network is too uncertain to guess. Without stores open, suppliers have suspended operations while many buyers hesitate amid fears of economic insecurity.

The online medium presents challenges of its own, despite their salesmanship and 1,000-plus regular viewers on Facebook. Figuring out how to best present their products is a challenge while maintaining safety — for both buyer and seller — has complicated the logistical puzzle.

Riggan and Schimke wear plastic face shields during the broadcasts.

The stores will have lost more than 75% of their revenue even if they meet their monthly goal of $7,000, the amount needed to keep all three stores afloat each month. Nevertheless, the self-dubbed “Iowa Pickettes” persist. The pair is prepared to go to extremes to make ends meet.

“I took the challenge that if we can sell $7,000 by the end of this month, I would really step out of a comfort zone and let Jodie shave my head and lose my hair to save our business,” Riggan said. “That sounds drastic, but it’s also drastic to us if we lose our business … we’re going to do everything we can to make this work.”

Both expressed gratitude for their communities and their team as they continue operations. They hope the swell of support will keep them in business as closures continue.

“We’re the conductors, and we’ve got all of our passengers along for the ride and that equates to all of our vendors and our consignors, and you know we’re just always so thrilled to have their support behind us,” Schimke said. “It takes a village, it really does, to keep this type of business going.”