KALAMAZOO, MI — A near-death experience is what led Antony Gerard to open Timid Rabbit Magic and Masquerade Shop, an unmistakable, bright orange year-round Halloween shop.
Fifty years later, Gerard is planning on selling the shop’s merchandise and his private collections so he can pursue accomplishing his “bucket list” full time. It’s the first phase of his plan to close the store within the next few years.
“I have other things that I want to do, but my feet are nailed behind the counter,” Gerard said.
Gerard was hit by a drunk driver in 1973 and left with 28 broken bones. At the time, Gerard was studying for a degree in marine biology. The brain damage Gerard suffered in the crash made it difficult to finish his degree. Instead, Gerard opened a magic shop because he had always had a passion for theater.
“I was messed up, I was in wheelchairs for about 2 1/2 years,” Gerard said.
The magic and masquerade shop has been a unique staple on West Main Street for decades, but that’s not where it began, Gerard said. Gerard decided to move to 2011 W Main St. after the shop’s original location was repeatedly broken into.
“I pulled into the gas station across the street, I pointed at the building here and I said, ‘Tomorrow, we buy it,’” Gerard said.
The store is separated into two levels. In the past, Halloween costumes and decorations were sold on the bottom level while the top level stored rental costumes. In September, Gerard began selling costumes that used to be reserved for renting. He plans on selling the building in several years, he said.
Gerard has dabbled in Hollywood, creating costumes for TV shows like “The Big Bang Theory,” “NCIS,” and “The Young and the Restless.” You can see Gerard’s “Planet of the Apes” masks on Season 1, Episode 11 of “The Big Bang Theory.”
Gerard also made the famed pig mask worn by Slipknot bass-player Paul Gray, he said.
The mask was just one among hundreds of creations Gerard made in his shop. He estimated he created roughly 700 items over the years.
Manufacturing costumes helped insulate the business from the rise of online retail, Gerard said. Since opening, Gerard estimates 90% of the costumer shops across the U.S. have shut down.
Gerard said the fallout of 9/11 resulted in a substantial decline in his revenue in 2001. People were afraid of shopping at brick-and-mortar retailers, malls in particular, for fears of a terrorist attack, Gerard said. He estimated the store had a 98% drop in business at the time.
“From 9/11 until Oct. 23, we did not have one person walk through the door, and that was stores all over the place,” Gerard said.
The shop recouped losses because it invested in sound and lighting equipment to offer as rentals, as well as prop building and mask making. Gerard also bought out other businesses over time.
Soon, the base level will become “the possibility shop,” Gerard said. There, they’ll sell antiques and other rare collectibles Gerard has amassed over the years. After 50 years of collecting, Gerard said he “officially (has) too much stuff.”
“It’s going to be a fun place to go for holiday shopping if you have someone who’s hard to buy for,” Gerard said.
Pre-Halloween hours are 10 a.m. until 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon until 5 p.m. on Sundays. For more information on the shop, visit timidrabbit.com.
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Its costumes made Hollywood cameos. Now, the Kalamazoo shop is selling its rentals. – MLive.com
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