Yes, the Store is Open! (Part 3!)

Guten Tag! (Just felt like saying hi in German!) Thanks for stopping by for another chapter in the chronicle of Shelley’s Vintage Life & Design!  

Last post led through the maze of paperwork, setting up bank and Paypal accounts, all that stuff. Done, store is open! So now is it time to kick back and relax, hard work over? Hardly – that was the easy part. However, the hard work part is also the part I love, so there you go. Not that the paperwork will stop, but anyhow. . . .

The green dress below was made by my Maternal Grandmother in the mid 1950's.

I have been collecting Vintage since I was in High School without realizing that’s what I was doing. I just bought things I loved. Turns out most of it was Vintage. It was in college when I really started wearing  redoing and re-purposing things I found.

Obviously I can’t speak for every purveyor of vintage, but when I find something fabulous, it’s just the beginning. If you’ve ever wondered why vintage items are so expensive, here’s the answer – in several parts! 

1)      Scarcity. If it’s vintage, it is something that won't be produced again. If it's very rare the normal rules of supply and demand apply. More established vendors will charge upwards of $200 for a 1950's dress in Very Good Condition. The older the item, the harder it is to come by. Finding anything older than the mid 80’s in mint condition almost never happens. 

2)      When I find something, it has to be very carefully looked over so I can see how much time I’m going to have to put into it before it’s saleable. I’m pretty picky and it has to be worth it. I can’t afford to spend a week working on one item.

3)      Once I own it, I clean and/or sanitize the item. After all, I usually don’t know the history of it (sometimes I get lucky and actually get to talk to the person I'm buying it from, but not often) and I won’t sell an item to someone that’s not in a condition I would use or wear it myself. This can be an extremely laborious task with vintage items – very rarely can they be thrown in the washing machine. I’m an expert at stain removal and can get stains out that most people just give up on, but it takes time and care. I use a lot of the same methods that the curators at Fashion Museums use.

4)      Often, there are repairs that have to be made. This is not always possible or desirable, some items are more valuable in “as is” condition with their scars apparent, but most of them need some work. This takes time and knowledge about a wide variety of things and restoration tactics and sometimes more research.

There you have it; this is why Vintage can be expensive. I (or any Vintage or Antique Dealer) not only shelled out for the initial purchase, we’ve invested a tremendous amount of time in the item as well. It’s a lot of work and the return on the time investment isn’t large for most of us, but it’s a labor of love. We do it because we love it. For me, it’s also a way of preserving the past and the Earth at the same time.

When it comes to provenance (the timeline of an item, where it was made, why, who owned it, basically as much detail as you can get) I am so into it. If someone buys one of my items, I want them to love it.  I want to tell the story of an item. I want to know everything I can about it. I love everything I buy, so selling it is kind of like losing a beloved friend. If I don't already know, I research everything obsessively. I want to know and I want you to know. I will look at fabric content and weave, stitching, catches on jewelry, maker’s marks and anything and everything else I can use to find out where and why an item was made, even though it’s not always possible. I research the company, find out when they started, where they did business, how they did business. I really want to know every detail. It is time consuming, but I feel like it’s an essential part of what I’m doing. I see my job, as a Vintage Shop Owner, as part conservationist, part environmentalist and part shop keeper. I am a firm believer in the whole “recycle, reuse, reduce” tagline. I see Vintage as a huge part of that.

 Now that I have the items and they’re in saleable condition, what next? Well, every item has to be photographed extensively. I won’t misrepresent an item and all flaws have to be carefully noted and photographed as well. I’ve photographed items myself, using my daughter and/or a dress form for clothing and various backgrounds for other items. It has to be done during the day, because natural light makes the photos much better.

  

 This compact was made by Stratton, a British company that still makes compacts, and was renowned for their high quality compacts in the 40's and 50's.  It is in Mint (or perfect) Condition, making it a rare find, thus, it's worth quite a bit more than some of the other compacts I have, even though many of them are older. It would be worth even more if it still have the puff and sifter, which it does not.

The best photos though, have been taken by a friend of mine, Richard Lim of Howell, Mi, in his studio. This means lining up models, sorting out outfits and accessories, hauling all the items and spending four or five hours getting the photos shot. Again, not a quick process, but they turn out great! I am really fortunate to have a couple of friends who are photographers and are willing to do this. Another friend, James Bradbury, is doing a photo shoot for me this next weekend and I’m sure those will turn out great as well!

Next step is a written description of each item including accurate measurements. Even if it has size tags attached, we all know how unreliable sizes are today, and they are even more so with vintage clothes. Which is why, if you are interested in vintage, you need to get your own measurements to compare with pieces you’re interested in if you can’t try them on.  Explanation on measuring for vintage fitting is on my website and Facebook page and anyone can contact me via email or Facebook with questions anytime!

The hat in this photo belonged to my Paternal Grandmother. She wore it in the 30's.

 

Not only do I need to describe the item accurately, I try to include information about the manufacturer where possible, as well as the condition and measurements. Then the description and the photographs have to be loaded into the site. This has to be done for each item and is also a fairly time consuming process.  It’s exciting though, to see the final listing go up!

That’s pretty much where I’m at right now. Adding inventory is a non-stop process, obviously. This week in addition to the ongoing repairs, restoration, measuring and descriptions, I’m getting things together for next weekends’ shoot and trying to get the marketing online. With an Etsy shop, or any online business, the key is exposure. The more people you can get to view your shop, the more sales you’ll get, especially for vintage. It takes the perfect person finding the perfect item, it’s kind of like a dating site – I’m a Vintage matchmaker!

So please, pass my website, blog, Facebook and twitter info around, the more the merrier!

Thanks for following along and Have a Vintage Day!

www.shelleysvintagelife.etsy.com

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