One of the really cool things about starting Vintage Deluxe has been traveling all over Michigan and discovering antique shops in little towns. I have to be honest and tell you that they have all been manned by the absolute nicest people around. Its not an exaggeration- I can honestly tell you this. What a cool experience this has been.
Closer to home is no different. Joyce from Vintage Green Antiques in Grand Haven is my mentor in this journey and has been invaluable in guiding me in the right direction. For those of you who frequent Pine Street Mercantile, my soon to be new neighbors, theres no need to tell you how cool their store is or how amazing that collective of ladies are. This entire process would not be possible without any of them.
Check out their shops-
https://www.facebook.com/pinestreetmercantile
Last year I had the "bright idea" of doing a Christmas Pop Up Shop in Spring Lake at The Sparkle Christmas Festival. I was, at the time, the Executive Director of Lilley Cares a 501c3 non for profit organization. I asked Beth from "the Merc" to partner and let me host a shop featuring her furniture combined with our Christmas merchandise. Well, the thing is, people lost their minds. We had lines out the door for most of the time we were open and had to close shop weeks early due to literally selling out of everything. It was a gigantic success.
Heres a video of the store a few hours before our grand opening. It never looked the same!
This experience was the start of Vintage Deluxe. The ground work had been laid and the timing could not have been better. It all just clicked into place in my mind. For something I love so much I needed to own it from top to bottom.
These last two months I have been shopping like a madman. Im on the road with Sissy about 8 hours a day and we generally do not head home until we have a full car of goodies. Sometimes the drive home is 20 minutes and sometimes its been as long as three. I tend not to notice i'm heading farther and farther out into Michigandia until its too late. We just get lost in the process.
I recognize it won't always be this way. Opening a shop requires an initial investment of inventory, time, and resources. But what a blast and a great way to discover parts of Michigan I would have otherwise never seen. If nothing else spending time with Sissy is magical.

Sissy in the meantime thinks EVERY store front counter has cookies behind it. So many lovely people give her treats she associates shopping with treats now! Thank you all.
See you soon!
Robert
Comentarios