Today we’d like to introduce you to Sean Mathis.
Hi Sean, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I inherited my grandpa’s (Pop) 1959 Cadillac Coupe De Ville and wanted to share it with everyone. I created the concept of a co-op-style automotive museum that would provide a place for people like me to display their cars, many of which would be family heirlooms.
My intention was to create a museum like this decades from now when I had more money, more than one car, and more time, but the opportunity presented itself to see if I could create a museum with only one car.
In 2017, I created Miles Through Time in an old Ford Dealership in Toccoa, GA. I had to learn a lot and tried a lot of different things. I ended up creating automotivemuseumguide
By 2019, I had maxed out the space the museum was in with about 25 cars, all of which belonged to different people. The museum was only open in the summer, 4 days a week and if the museum was open it was because I was there. I was doing everything by myself and I lived over an hour away in Cumming, GA at the time. I was about ready to throw in the towel, not because it was failing, but because I just couldn’t dedicate the time, or had the resources the museum needed to get to the next level.
In the winter of 2019, another opportunity presented itself to move the museum inside of a flea market which was inside of an old textile mill in Clarkesville, GA. Moving the museum to the new location made the museum larger, but more importantly, kept it open every day and was staffed by the flea market.
I pretty much started over when I moved the museum to Clarkesville. I used the opportunity to turn the museum into a 501c3 nonprofit and rebranded the name as Miles Through Time Automotive Museum. I also had some help from Truitt Phillips, now an Executive Director. Together, we built an entire town in the museum, complete with a Jail and even a barber shop.
Despite everything that happened in 2020, we continued to grow the museum and enhance visitors’ experience. By the end of 2021, we had maxed out the new space with around 40 vehicles.
Then a bombshell was dropped in August of 2021 when the owner of the flea market told me he was not going to renew his lease, which meant the museum would no longer have a home unless I did something.
By December 2021 I had created Vintage Garage Antiques to help support the museum. I removed the flea market and used the opportunity to expand the museum again. I took over the lease of the entire space which gave me the ability to control the entire experience for visitors. This required a lot of change to the front of the building and throughout the entire antique shop.
Within a year Vintage Garage Antiques was completely filled with numerous vendors who support the museum to continue as a 501c3 nonprofit. I was able to hire Jenny Phillips who manages everything on a daily basis along with her husband Kevin.
Visitors can now search for treasures at Vintage Garage Antiques and purchase tickets at the counter to be able to then explore over 100 years of automotive history.
The museum now has almost 70 full-size vehicles on display. Seven of the vehicles have been donated to the museum along with over 5,000 model cars. There are also bicycles, motorcycles, pedal cars, trains, vintage cameras, and even a telephone exhibit.
The museum is now set to expand again as is Vintage Garage Antiques to help support the new expansion. By the summer of 2023, Miles Through Time Automotive Museum will increase almost 16,000 square feet. This expansion will bring the total number of vehicles on display to over 100. This expansion will also include a full library, conference room, workshop, and dedicated museum restroom.
Vintage Garage Antiques will increase from just over 50 different vendors to close to 100 different vendors. You’ll be able to spend hours discovering new things, searching for treasures, and in some cases reminiscing.
What makes all this special, is that both the museum and the antique store have been bootstrapped. There is no wealthy benefactor behind any of this. The antique store was not planned but serves a purpose. Everything you see in the museum has been made possible by people discovering Miles Through Time Automotive Museum and wanting to be a part of it.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has been anything but smooth. The first location of the museum required the building to be renovated and the owner of the building and myself could not get on the same page until eventually, we parted ways.
I had zero experience with creating and operating a museum, so there was a massive learning curve. I was also not from the area and didn’t know what I was getting myself into.
When the museum was moved to Clarkesville, that was a massive challenge to try to create something worthy of visitation with no money to do anything. The entire town we built was accomplished with reclaimed and recycled materials.
When the flea market owner told me he wasn’t going to renew his lease, I had no idea what I was going to do and had no interest in owning an antique store or a flea market.
Now, we have a new expansion taking place which will require a lot of work, a lot of time and money. The goal will be to accomplish everything as quickly and cost-effectively as possible.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
I am the Founder of Miles Through Time Automotive Museum which is a 501c3 nonprofit automotive museum I started with only one car in 2017. Six years later the museum is set to have over 100 full-size vehicles on display in a 50,000-square-foot facility.
I am now also the owner of Vintage Garage Antiques, which is an antique shop I opened in December 2021 out of necessity to help support the museum.
I am also the creator of automotivemuseumguide.com
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
Some pretty big automotive museums have closed over the years, but new museums are constantly being created and I manage them all with automotivemuseumguide.com
A lot of museums close when they are the private collection of a guy with a bunch of cars after he passes away. These types of museums are the biggest shame because they then usually go to auction and the collection and memory are gone. This is not what Miles Through Time Automotive is.
Contact Info:
- Website: milesthroughtime.com, vintagegarageantiques.com, automotivemuseumguide.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seantmathis/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mathis.sean/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seanmathis/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/seanmathis
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSwqN0itF0eme_N5y7UkrVw
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/miles-through-time-automotive-museum-clarkesville
Image Credits
Sean Mathis
