Catalpa Trading

Catalpa Trading Company was founded in 1995. Nicknamed by customers "The Feel Good Shop," its history reaches back to over fifty years ago, when owner Raymond Hagood first became involved in magic and business. Raymond's interest in magic was first kindled when he was eight years old. As a little boy in Tullahoma, Tennessee, he saw the old ball-and... -vase trick and was hooked for life. He has been a professional magician ever since, performing in private shows, for clubs and conventions, on stage, and on television. Pictured below is his first ever publicity photo along with one taken recently. He and his wife Lucy started doing shows, pictured here together and with Barbara Moore. The Barbara Moore Show was a major television talkshow in the latter 1960s in the Nashville, Tennessee, area. After graduating from college, Raymond and Lucy entered into their first business venture, "The Quaint Shop," which featured a mixture of antiques, gifts, collectibles, and magic tricks. This little shop in the small town of Ripley, Mississippi, also included an ice-cream parlor. Although Raymond and Lucy moved on to other things after a few years, people still talk about that shop in town. Twenty years later, after some time away from the business world and having relocated to Ohio, Raymond and Lucy started a new shop, "Catalpa Trading Company," in Berlin. It was first located on Highway 39 on the west end of town next to Burger King, selling knives, collectibles, and magic. After a couple of years, the shop moved to downtown Berlin in 1997 where it remains to this day. Returning to their business roots, the Hagoods installed an old-fashioned soda fountain, which became the delight of customers for the next decade. It was not long until Raymond was connecting with magicians across the Midwest. For a short time he sold magic not only in the store but via a catalog shown below. From its founding, Sharon Maleyrick (pictured below) has been Catalpa Trading Company's manager. Hers is the face of the shop. and she is a familiar ...Read More