St. Charles Flea

Laura is a lifelong Missouri Resident with a passion for small business. She grew up in rural Taney County with room to roam. She caught the entrepreneurial spirit early on from her father's construction company. She came  to St. Charles for college, and graduated from UMSL with a degree in Business and Marketing. These degrees played a major role in her starting Hardt Restorations, which paired her love of business, thrifting, and reimagining discarded things into something new and beautiful. After a couple years she and Julie partnered together. In 2019, the decision was made to close down Hardt Restorations after 5 years to allow more time for family. As a proud mother of 5, she is often found in her car or at various events her children are involved in. The love for thrifting, flea markets, and beautiful furniture never waned, so the start of the St. Charles Flea is  another step into her lifelong dream.

Julie grew up in the mountains of northern Utah where she graduated from USU with a degree in Interior Architecture. In 2008, she moved to St. Louis with her husband, Lane, so he could attend WashU Law School. In 2020, he started Tratt Custom Solutions, a design build firm, where both Julie and Lane currently work. They reside in St. Charles with their six children. When she has spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family, sleeping, playing the piano, reading, thrifting and volunteering at her church.  Julie has always had an interest in all things design, and loves to dabble in all of it. From taking wedding pictures, to drafting floor plans, to decorating for school functions, she loves applying her visions, and seeing them come to life. Turning her love of thrifting and design into a business opened a whole new world into flea and vintage markets. After working with Laura at Hardt Restorations, and having booths in many different markets, she is excited to be starting St. Charles Flea and the adventure it will bring!