My name is Angie...and this is the beginning of the Georgie Girl Diaries.
I opened Georgie Girl Vintage opened over 2 years ago now, and after much to-do, designing and re-designing our website, warming up the social media and connecting in every which way...time to blog!
Honestly, I am really going to have to get my typewriter into this.
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Selfie Fun with a Retro Edge |
Humble Beginnings
For many, many years previous to Georgie Girl Vintage, I was in the "baby retail business:, that is - I owned baby and kids shops. One consignment, and one all brand new stuff. It was very successful for most of the years, but the time had passed for happiness for me in this genre of retail. The spark was gone, my interest was forced and I was going through the motions. I had made a drastic location change from a large premise in a popular strip mall to a pretty but "up and coming" space in the Cultural District of Downtown Kelowna. Change was... - but where to what? I felt like I was drowning. (Note: I suck at open water swimming)
With thousands of dollars of baby items to sell, some time was bought. Instead of loading up on new baby stock, I got to pondering. Being a bit of a life-time eco-geek, my ideas turned to eco products. It seemed a good fit, as the my baby shop was a natural eco-style shop - so, maybe I could keep some of the eco-baby items and work them into the program! Ahhhhh, so hard to cut the ties...misery could not crowbar me outside of the thinking had been in for 15 years. Something else had to happen.
And it did. The Eco-Shop missed the mark for me and for my customers. They liked it ok, but ok just is not good enough to keep me interested or the doors open. The products lacked ardour and the sizzle was a fizzle.
Except one thing made waves: the little vintage clothing section. One rack, a few clothing items. Ladies started to bring me pretty things to sell without prompting! After a trip to climb Kilimanjaro (another blog on another day) and my pathway was lighted.
I had been asked many times in my life what my dream job would be and not once did I say "Vintage Shop Owner". It's way, way too good - that kind of perfect happiness is reserved for the rich and fortunate. I can miss the obvious, obviously.
I made the change - a new business name, new cards, new logo...and entered the vintage world. This transition went smoothly! I have been a vintage clothing lover and collector all my life, and fashion, clothing, style is an addiction for me. I "thrift" for fun, always have. My heart beats just a wee bit faster when I enter a vintage, thrift, second-hand shop or am invited to see a collection or an estate. A switch goes on...and focus is on prints, fabric,colours, style, form. I don't have to try, it is as natural as breathing to me.
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| Earlier times - great beginnings! |
The most wonderful young lady, Alicia, came into my life as my first employee - and Georgie Girl was so successful right from the get-go that I needed her full time within the first month. Crazy!
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| Alicia in a 1940's Blazer with all the trimmings |
There was plenty of chaos, fun, and growth in the first year. Authentic vintage was hard to come by at first, we only had a small selection of what we thought of as "real" vintage.
We have grown, grown, grown and learned, learned, learned and our love and interest in the vintage life has blossomed into a fabulous community here in Kelowna and beyond.
We would be so happy for you to come with us on the journey as we launch our on-line store, experiment with the best ways to show you what we have to offer and share vintage fashion ideas with you.
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