Many small local businesses are struggling due to the spread of COVID-19. Despite closures and shelter-in-place guidelines, businesses like House of Vintage are able to maintain operations through their online presence.
House of Vintage is a small, online-based store in the Denton area led by Shawn Bullock and her husband, Scott. They specialize in nifty thrift items that aren’t normally found in retail stores.
“It’s a place where people can find unique and interesting vintage items,” Shawn said. “We tend to be drawn more towards mid-century and boho pieces, but definitely not limited to just that.”
Shawn started thrifting when she was 15 and the passion for the “hunt,” as she calls it, has never waned. She wanted to share that passion with other people who might be interested in these types of items, all with the help of her husband.
“It’s really her business, and I do the heavy lifting,” Scott said. “It has taken me quite a bit of time to get in sync with her visions and what she is looking for. Shawn is a shopper, and we started going to estate, resale shops and garage sales and quickly filled the house — I mean, filled it.”
The pair also specialize in keeping personal relationships with their customers, playing off their interests and catering to their needs. Shawn said she and Scott will take requests and try their best to track these items down for their clients. The idea of their shop being so close-knit, she said, gives the shopping experience a much more personable touch.
“I also think our clients enjoy the relationships we build with them,” Shawn said. “There’s also a sense of community. We share stories about our favorite vintage pieces, or talk about the nostalgia of a certain piece, or get super excited about a really good find.”
Shawn and Scott’s client base is diverse, with shoppers coming from all walks of life. The younger families are the biggest source of their customer base, Scott said. They also get customers who crave a specific type of vintage item.
“I collect vintage floral embroidery and have purchased three beautiful pieces from House of Vintage,” House of Vintage customer Kimberly Bien said. “Shawn has a knack for styling vintage items in a modern way that shows that the items are both beautiful and useful.”
House of Vintage has seen an influx in its customer base due to COVID-19. Many shoppers are quarantined, leaving them more time than usual to spend online shopping. Scott said their busiest month was “the month of the great shut-in of 2020.”
“We were pretty nervous when all the shutdowns started happening due to COVID-19,” Shawn said. “We are incredibly fortunate that our clients and followers are still supporting us. I think shopping from the comfort of your home has been replaced with shopping from the safety of your home. We are now holding items as long as our clients need us to, and we are offering no-contact porch pickups.”
Shawn and Scott said they have plans in place for after the pandemic. They intend to expand their little home shopping mall to a warehouse space, with the shop almost serving as a full-time job and a passionate hobby for Shawn.
“We don’t think we want a storefront, but a nice, big appointment-only kind of deal would be perfect,” Shawn said. “We wouldn’t mind hosting some open houses and maybe bringing in some local vendors for some small pop-ups. This little vintage business is already bigger and better than we thought it would be, so we can’t wait to see where it goes.”
House of Vintage can be found on Facebook, along with exhibits and photo galleries of their merchandise for sale.
Featured Image: Courtesy House of Vintage
Article Originally Published by on North Texas Daily
Source: North Texas Daily