Fredericton Vintage Resellers Connect To New Audiences Online
FREDERICTON – Vintage resellers have found new ways to sell in the past couple of years, popping up online on Facebook, Instagram, and Etsy. Since the pandemic, the market has only gotten bigger as more Fredericton collectors have entered the game, or have expanded on their pre-pandemic work.
Some of those collectors-turned-entrepreneurs include Alicha Hachey of the Wood Shed, Marcus Kingston of the Suburbia Shop, Jacqueline Carr of the Periwinkle House, and Karena Graca of Twist of Fate.
Hachey has been able to turn her work at The Wood Shed into her full-time job. After beginning to sell at some pop-ups around Fredericton and collecting items with the intention of selling them in spring markets, the pandemic hit and she turned to Instagram.
“I literally had a room full of vintage treasures and furniture I had collected for five months,” Hachey said.
Hachey spent a lot of her spare time browsing vintage items and attending yard sales.
“It’s mostly the thrill of the hunt,” said Hachey. “Each day is different, so when you go out and never know what you’re going to find, it’s interesting.”
Since launching her Instagram, Hachey has acquired more than 1,000 likes on Facebook and over 3,000 Instagram followers.
Now, her daily routine includes researching items to sell, doing slight restorations, taking photographs, writing, planning, and thoroughly cleaning the items she sells.
“It’s hard work. Like any entrepreneur, it’s on your mind all the time,” she said. “It’s hard to turn that off but I’m loving it.”
Kingston began selling vintage items across flea markets and farmer’s markets a decade ago before securing a spot at the Cubby Hole in Harvey. A month ago, he launched his Instagram account, The Suburbia Shop.
Kingston’s store focuses on mid-19th-century items he finds at yard sales, thrift stores, and even in the trash.
“I find stuff anywhere and everywhere, honestly,” said Kingston. “Secondhand stores, consignment shops, dumpsters, and then sometimes people call me to sell me stuff.”
Kingston, a visual artist and design instructor, sold items on Facebook Marketplace, but chose to launch on Instagram after being inspired by other vintage sellers using backgrounds and props to set a scene for the products sold.
“I was encouraged by a bunch of friends who do this already,” said Kingston. “There’s a pretty big market of this in Fredericton and everyone has their own niche.”
While Instagram has been a strong tool for the resellers, others like Twist of Fate have expanded on their Etsy store to sell their products internationally, while also happily serving the local Fredericton market.
Run by Karena Graca and her partner, Brian Rimpilainen, Twist of Fate’s Etsy store full of mid-century items has been viewed by over 100,000 people internationally.
“When a young person comes up to us and says, ‘my grandmother had this and I think about her all the time and every time I see something like this it reminds me of her’ it makes us so happy because that’s why we got into this in the first place,” said Graca.
The online store opened in November 2019 after Rimpilainen retired from the military after 28 years of service. From there, he began collecting antiques and other items. When the amount collected became too plentiful, they decided to begin selling some of their findings.
“He’s out probably six hours a day, sometimes longer because we’ve become well enough established that people call us from all over the province,” said Graca. “Depending on the Covid conditions, he’s often on the road.”
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Jacqueline Carr, who runs the Periwinkle House Instagram account, launched her account in the fall of 2020. Like the other collectors, she has been a private collector for years before starting to resell. Unlike her other collectors, she decided to take a decidedly different approach to her Instagram page.
“We use the Periwinkle House name as an umbrella under which we could showcase and document our décor and renos of our 1870s home,” said Carr.
Her account documents her progress as she renovates her home while also giving Carr the opportunity to sell antique and vintage treasures, art, and showcase East Coast talent.
“I’ve been researching for the last year and a bit, seeing what other people are doing and how they’re doing it,” she said. “I’ve been slow and methodical.”
Carr has grown up fascinated by craftsmanship along with collecting and repurposing items. She hopes that the Periwinkle House will give her the opportunity to bring her interests together.
“I have furniture from around the world and it’s amazing to discover the stories if you can and if not, you can use your imagination which is a really cool aspect of buying and selling antiques.”
Carr is hopeful to eventually open a brick-and-mortar location where she can sell her antiques in person, but for now, is content collecting and selling what she can online.
“I think it’s really important to be conscious of how we’re consuming, how we look at the world, and how we look at the artifacts, the things that are created for our daily use or daily pleasure. Whether it’s a painting, whether it’s a kitchen gadget, or whether it’s a piece of furniture.”
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Carr believes the community of resellers in Fredericton is one of the best parts of operating her vintage account.
“One of the coolest and most surprising things is how incredibly supportive my quote-unquote competition is,” said Carr. “It doesn’t feel like there’s competition, which was something I really struggled with getting into this because I didn’t want to compete with my friends.”
Fredericton’s community of vintage resellers is happy to share and to be a part of each other’s work. They each occupy their own niche and work together to engage the public with the products they find at yard sales, vintage sales, estate sales, thrift shops, or even just in a neighbour’s home.
“If people are selling things that don’t fit our business model, they’ll definitely fit one of theirs,” said Graca. “We’re all working together happily and cohesively without stepping on each other’s toes.”
Liam Floyd is a reporter for Huddle. Send him story suggestions: [email protected].