What began as a hobby for Nancy Utley, better known as Hub Cap Annie, became one of the fastest-growing businesses in America.
Annie’s interest in hubcaps started when her husband George Utley, a retired Memphis police captain, brought home hubcaps that were found lying on the side of the road, left by “pothole” victims. This interest became a hobby that grew into a real love affair with her hubcaps. As Annie says, “They are beautiful. They’re gorgeous!”
After five years of collecting hubcaps and making decorative wall plaques and clocks out of them, the idea for retailing was born! During a January carport sale, Annie decided to sell some of the unwanted family junk... but certainly not the beautiful collection of hubcaps, which was fast filling the garage and backyard.
As fate would have it, many of the people attending the carport sale saw the hubcaps and wanted to buy some of them. Well, you guessed it, Annie, being an astute business lady (a successful real estate broker for over 14 years), recognized that she had discovered a real need — a place where one might buy a replacement hubcap.
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