Wednesday, November 5, 2008

sixty-nine

one of my lifelong dreams has been to own my own boutique. more recently, i've wanted to own a vintage boutique. i recently got the opportunity to speak with kealan, the owner of 69 vintage at queen west and dovercourt (beside that beloved bar that we all know and love). here's a little bit of what she said, for those of you interested...

this is garbage: what influenced you into opening a vintage boutique and when did you open?
69 vintage: we opened in 2004. it'd been a wish to open my own vintage store for 10 years and i had been collecting clothes since i was a teenager. i was lucky enough to meet some other guys who also shared my interest and collected clothes, too, so we opened a business together.

tig: what was the hardest part of starting up?
69: organizing everything to start a business.

tig: why shop vintage?
69: people are becoming more fashion-aware and they like a varied selection of clothes that are authentic and original. there's also a big price difference between vintage garments and newly manufactured clothes.

tig: where do you get the items you sell?
69: [laughs] i don't want to reveal my sources, but i shop locally, sometimes outsource, and i also have friends and connections that help me find new items.

tig: what's the best/worst part about owning a vintage store?
69: the best part is the constant changes in fashion. they're always unpredictable. it's nice to know that the clothes are being recycled, so it's environmentally friendly. as for the bad side... there isn't much of one. i dunno... sometimes we get in interesting customers [laughs].

tig: why do you think vintage clothing is so popular now?
69: people are ecologically proud, want to save money and want to have a unique style. the stigma of used clothes is slowly going away.

tig: how is business now compared to past years?
69: the first two years were slow, but it has increased ever since.

tig: what advice do you have for those of us who aspire to own our own vintage boutique?
69: learn about the retail industry and understand the importance of continuous customer care. prepare for demanding customers. create your own special service to make your boutique unique. keep in mind that the rewards are always the same . there's not much change in the job, so it's important to like what you are doing and be passionate. 

tig: any final words?
69: i'm basically living my dream.

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