Connect | The Word for 2014 + an Inspiring Start for the New Year

A few weeks ago I met with several small business women here in Long Beach for a bit of spiced wine, homemade desserts, and to share stories and our journey as entrepreneurs. One of the ladies mentioned "her word" for 2014 and so did another gal. And I really thought about this for some time after the meeting since I had no idea what that one word for me would be.

Literally I was musing about this up until a week ago! What would my word be? A single word can be pretty damn powerful stuff! And somewhere in the back of my mind…c o n n e c t popped up.

And it popped up again. And again. Just sort of lingered there in the background until it came more CLEAR to me that what I wanted for 2014 was to CONNECT with everything in my life and in my business. I won't dig too deep into how dynamic this word means to me right now and how it absolutely seeps into everything aspect of my life in someway or other.

“We cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men; and among those fibers, as sympathetic threads, our actions run as causes, and they come back to us as effects.” - Herman Melville

I Crave New Old Stuff: Reflections on Being A Vintage Shopkeeper

It's been a couple days of me and myself in this weird pink then grey cloud of a mood. I wonder if it's the weather, the big super moon perhaps? Anyhow, so far this month I have acquired so much new inventory for the shop, and yet there is this unquenchable thirst for more, more, more vintage! I wouldn't say it's greed sort of thing, I think I just always crave new old stuff. It applies to my wardrobe, my apartment, my vintage studio. And it's not just wanting new old stuff, it's also wanting better new stuff.

As a vintage shopkeeper I try to make little investments for my business every month. I set aside a budget for something new. June for example was for a new iron. July will probably be more realistic office furniture. At the moment I use a very cool industrial table for a desk and an equally cool mid century modern folding chair. Neither are well suited for sitting hours upon end editing photos and scheduling product updates! Luckily, my studio has a semi back room (with a curtained wall) so if I do get IKEA (gasp!) furniture for the office, well, at least it won't ruin my French Western Industrial (whatever the hell it is) mojo I got going on in the showroom space.



While I am budgeting for office furniture I think I also need a sign for my shop windows and of course I need a fan because it's getting a little hot in the studio now that it's summer. Oh, and I'd like a nice rug too. And an art deco armoire. And a rad antique mirror. Maybe a couple of those. It's this really annoying domino effect of more stuff I want but then putting on my business hat and saying "Now, now, only one thing at a time!" and then my vintage/decorating crazy person hat shrieks "But I want it NOOWWWWWWWwww" all Veruca Salt like.

So, sometimes I look at inspiring images of very sparse beautiful spaces filled with old things. No need for so much stuff! And then I go into "I have to put everything out of sight right now!" mode. Clean white walls, nothing on the floor, clear off that surface!

I exhaust myself. But at the same time I just love it. Like, I frickin love re-arranging everything all the time! It feels new for a few months, then I have to move it all around again. But it's always old stuff. Objects with character and stories. The newness comes from my perception. A new order of things.

I get tired of the same old thing. But I sure as heck love new old things!

A Shop Update Without Vintage!

Since my arrival back from the City of Roses, I have been craving more flowers in my life. As if that's really possible! But tis is! I designed a different version of business cards for the Summer. I'm rather pleased with how they turned out. I was dining at Edgefield and one of the restaurants had this gigantic gorgeous floral wreath with ribbons taller than myself! I remember it was golden with touches of pink and some dusty blue...I was smitten! At first I thought of recreating the imagery on the studio windows, but well, I haven't time for that at the moment.

Also during my trip I had come across a rather lovely small collection of vintage portraits. I didn't know who the gals were and I ended up buying them all up, but much to my sadness, they were misplaced somewhere and they did not come home to California with me. *le sigh* But, I was determined to find a photo of a young woman who embodied that same wistful look as the young lady who will be gracing our new "Thank You" cards.

Next, I was inspired by Lauren from Dear Golden to get more racks in my studio! So this morning I purchased 6 new clothing racks for the shop and plunked down a tiny investment for more wooden hangers. To stay within this month's "studio improvements" budget, I purchased the very economical MULIG clothing racks from Ikea.

The balance between getting the studio functional and also an inspirational space to work in is always going to be a welcome challenge.

I love that the Adored Vintage studio is an ongoing process and will always be in a state of progress. I don't think it will ever be "finished" or be exactly as I want it. Every month I look forward to adding new things in the studio. I'm still on a hunt for the perfect Art Deco era wardrobe, the "perfect" antiqued mirror, and a large rug for the main showroom.

And in about 3 months I'll tire of it all and will want to switch it up again. The images below is sort of the feel I want in the studio. Kind of lived in, homey. Like you're just walking into my dwelling space and it's full of awesome rad vintage clothes! The last two pictures from Fine Little Day is what convinced me to go with the MULIG clothing racks from Ikea. Cost effective, clean lines, and completely functional.

Now, I will say their weight capacity is not a whole lot, but if you're like me and don't want to pack your racks with tons of hangers, these will work for your space too. My more industrial racks will be used in the stock room now. Hooray organization!

First Look Inside the Adored Vintage Studio |Behind the Scenes

Well you're probably wondering whatever happened to the brick and mortar since we moved in 5 months ago! Well, we never even finished it before we needed to move into a bigger space! Luckily the space RIGHT next door was available, so the move wasn't bad! Now that we have a lot more wiggle room, we've been moving in things and setting up the studio/showroom just so.

I never had plans to have an actual retail brick + mortar with regular shop hours, I have several friends that own shops in LA and their biggest complaint is being tied to the shop every day, and well that doesn't sound like my cup of tea. The studio shop is more of an atelier where you can make an appointment to peruse our vintage wares. I'm there basically every day anyway, so if you're in the neighborhood, 95% of the time I'll be there Monday-Friday :)

The space is basically a big rectangular box with big shop windows in the front, a back door to a corridor lined with bamboo, and a back room with a kitchen, walk in closet, and bathroom.





I wanted the space to be light and airy and filled with plenty of plants. The macrame plant hanger is from Chiron Creations on Etsy. I love it so much!








There's still a lot more to do, but I just wanted to share some progress snaps. You can always follow Adoredvintage on Instagram to see the progress!

CH-CH-CHANGES + Progress

Bonjour lovelies!

Vegas was a blast and I have spent the past couple days catching up on work and recouping from 3 days at Magic Market Week. Yesterday I had to force myself to rest, I could barely keep my eyes open most of Friday and some of yesterday but when you're a one woman show it's no rest for the weary! I wanted to kind of track the progress of things going on around here as I feel more or less this is a journey we are traversing together...hehe...so here goes.


So...5 THINGS I'M WORKING ON for the VINTAGE SHOP

1.] WHAT KIND OF LIGHTS FOR THE SHOP? - solved
This morning I started to focus my attention again on the Brick + Mortar and went and looked at light options for the shop (finally decided on cool industrial pendants!) so that is ONE thing to check off the long list of "to-do" and "to-buy" for the shop.

BTW, I honestly thought opening up a shop would take like 2 weeks...put up a sign, get some lights, put in some racks...nuh-uh! Of course if you have unlimited funds and a team of helpers, then yes, it is absolutely possible! But with just me and my fella, well it's a lot slower of a process than I imagined.

2.] HOW TO SHOOT PRODUCTS IN SHOP SPACE - solved
Last week I spent some time shooting products for the shop with a new studio setup. So FINALLY resolved the product photography issue as I was having such a hard time working with the light available in the shop. It actually has TOO MUCH natural light. Never thought I'd say that!

3.] HOW TO ORGANIZE VINTAGE STOCK - working on it
So a couple of months ago I bought an entire vintage store that went out of business. I think I've acquired some 1500 pieces of clothing, jewelry, accessories... and well I wasn't anticipating how much ROOM all this stuff would take up! We now have two storage units and they're both full and the shop currently still houses a few more unopened boxes and several racks of clothing I have to still go through. I think this is going to be the biggest problem I have to solve.


4.] I NEED HELP - working on it - almost solved
Ahh I suppose it was going to be a lot sooner than later that I need some help around here... so next week I am interviewing for an assistant! At my old job I interviewed a fair number of girls that became my interns that I later trained and then eventually they took over what I did. I'm confident in my interviewing skills and actually very excited to meet the new prospects in person! Hooray!

5.] MANAGING PERSONAL TIME + WORK TIME - almost solved
Because I now have a live/work situation it has been very difficult for me to NOT work. Sometimes I'll stay up until 12-1 AM and just tinker away on the website or read up on new modules to add to the site or research costume jewelry... but lately I have been more firm with myself to work from 9-6 (UM, to be honest though I don't really stick to it as I still work until about 8 usually...) BUT, I am getting a lot better at taking little breaks, managing my time better, and being OK that there isn't enough time TODAY to do everything I want to do so there is always TOMORROW.

- - -

I do wish things were progressing faster around here. But then again, I am just one person. For now anyway. :)

Behind the Scenes: Adored Vintage at MAGIC Market Week

Hi everyone!

I am writing from (chilly) Las Vegas after attending DAY 2 of MAGIC Market Week (I posted a bunch of photos on Instagram: Adoredvintage) but if you don't follow AV on Instagram, there are some snaps below. I really had no idea what I was getting myself into and it was a sort of spontaneous decision to come to Vegas for a few days and check out what MAGIC was all about. And GOODNESS me... such an exciting, overwhelming, tiring, and all around fun experience!

I've thought about expanding Adored Vintage for awhile now to carry vintage inspired clothing but so far the access to labels I had in LA were too trendy and too fashion forward and that's not what Adored Vintage is all about. So glad we decided to come out to Vegas as I have now been properly introduced to about a dozen brands (some really beautiful London bases brands!) I am really excited to explore and possibly carry at Adored Vintage and the brick + mortar store!


Attending the show is like one gigantic window shopping experience. The booths are all set up like mini stores basically. Some are as simple as a few racks and tables and vases of flowers to really fully thought out and developed booths with music, snacks, sellers with iPads on the ready...

This afternoon while leaving the show, I felt like crying, and I know that sounds silly, but I am in disbelief sometimes that this is what I do for a living. I spoke with a few sales reps and I became privy to how much money some boutiques spend at the shows (one online store spent 10K in one booth alone!) and while I am nowhere near that league, it is kind of amazing that I've gotten even this far and still pushing forward on my own.

The past few months since I left my full time job has been full of incredible blessings and countless challenges and I've been able to get through the obstacles with a lot of support from my friends and my church family. So I suppose I can't claim that I've done all of this on my own.

Looking forward, I am planning on taking aboard some gals to join the Adored Vintage team. I have realized with all the plans I have for the upcoming months and all the projects I want to dip my hands into, I can't do everything on my own anymore. And that's such a scary thing when you're a one woman show. To let go of that control, that fear...to jump into the unknown, to put your trust into a stranger who you hope becomes a dear friend and member of your company's family.

I have really grand ideas for AV. After all, if your dreams don't scare you, you're not dreaming big enough, right? (I'm not sure who said that, I saw it on a Pinterest post).

Someday I am going to have a beautiful industrial warehouse and have a small team of vintage loving gals who possess great character and whom I will call family working alongside me. And the warehouse will have lots of big windows, racks and racks of beautiful exquisite vintage, a place to shoot gorgeous product photos, and there will be a garden, and we'll have dogs at the office, and we'll have great coffee and tea, and a well stocked employee pantry with croissants...

It is truly my belief that if you visualize your dreams down to the smallest details, they will come true because it doesn't seem like such a far fetched dream anymore. I can picture what our conference room will look like... big grand windows with antique lace curtains and a beautiful reclaimed wooden table and lots of fresh flowers in mercury glass vases...oh and rugs, lots of cozy Navajo rugs!

I am going to make this dream of mine come true. One little step at a time.

Vintage Settee: Sit A Spell

Months ago I was at an antique fair and happened upon this pink velvet settee and my first thought was "I HAVE TO HAVE IT" then my second thought was "Where are you going to put that?!" Well, I ended up buying it anyway because I have always wanted a pink velvet sofa, it's one of those girlie childhood things..when I grow up I want a pink sofa... and dagnabbit, I done and got it!



It hasn't made it's official home in my apartment or in my shop (still because of the whole "space" issue) But I adore her so very very much and she's quite comfortable to sit on. Perhaps I'll find room for her in my mini vintage shop and when I have lovely gals stop by for a vintage appointment they can sit for a spell and I'll bring out tea and we can gab about whatever our little hearts desire...

Insta Recap | January 2013

Wow! Where has the time flown! February is already upon us and I feel like it was just yesterday I was packing up my apartment and my work studio in Los Angeles and preparing to move to Long Beach. Here are some snaps from our Instagram Feed for those of you that don't use or follow Adored Vintage on Instagram.



January has been a fairly trying month. A lot of successes and a lot of stress. Back in December I thought it would be a brilliant idea to move both my apartment and my studio on THE SAME DAY (because I'm secretly a crazy person!). I went from two small studios to a loft style apartment (with a retail shop in front for the Adored Vintage shop!) with one small closet. Storage has been the number one problem so far.

If you are anything like me, the site of clutter (or perhaps the reality of how much I actually own) makes me feel a little anxious. I don't like seeing things just haphazardly laying around. I want to tidy it up, put it in pretty boxes, make vignettes... and well, my apartment and my shop or in the current state of "piles here" and "boxes there". Can you relate to this? I think I seriously had a mini panic attack after a week here and the boxes just did not seem to be going away!

Luckily the light is at the end of the tunnel. Moving to a new city, moving two different studios into one space, and running a business with you as the sole employee... it's been a hectic crazy month.

I'm excited for February to be a lot more mellow and to really focus on the Adored Vintage shop and really putting down some roots into this garden I am cultivating!

What are you excited for and looking forward to in February?

First Look: Adored Vintage Brick + Mortar in Downtown Long Beach

The day is fast approaching! It's so soon! I am still in slight disbelief this is happening. I'm still thinking "What!? Am I doing this? Is this for real?"

But tis is!

By this weekend I will be moving into the new Adored Vintage retail + work studio. I feel that until all my things are actually in the space, I won't feel like it's real. There are so many things to do, I have so many ideas, so many plans! Part of me wishes I had some sort of device that would allow me to look at my future so I could see what the shop will eventually turn into.



Well, that's the other thing, I'm not sure what I want the space to be yet exactly. I really don't have plans to do a full time brick & mortar, not in the near future anyway. Although the space is a full front retail, I'll actually be curtaining off all the windows as about 50% of the time the space will be used as a photo studio and another 30% of the time I'll be sitting around the computer working in the space. And well, with this many windows and right on the street, I'd feel rather like a goldfish in a bowl (and the idea of that just makes me a bit ill).


This afternoon I had a bit of an anxiety attack because I don't know nor do I have definite plans for the space. Other than of course it is where I will work. What will it look like? How will everything fit there? All the "What?? When?? Where?? " questions swirling around my head were driving me crazy. And I'll be honest, I'm still anxious about not knowing. I plan so many things. I write lists. I have a backup plan for my backup plan. I'm THAT girl.

But diving into this new adventure is one of the scariest things I've ever done! I've never done it before and unlike most things in my life, I didn't spend months of research and writing pros and cons list and making Plan A, Plan B, and Plan C for it.

I just did it! (And I'm scared shitless, but like in a good way!)

So, lovelies, won't you dive into this adventure with me?

A Reflection of the Year 2012

This year will forever burn in my mind and heart as the year I felt the most alive. Both my personal and work life was one hell of a roller coaster and I did my best to not fall off the ride even though at times I just wanted to say "To hell with all this!"

I am so grateful, so thankful, and so overjoyed about everything that happened this year. Even thankful for the bad for it taught and showed me that time and time again I stood back up and dusted myself off and kept on going. This year has been a year of forgiveness, of healing, and of love.

And of course it has been an amazing year for Adored Vintage! A few close personal friends know the story behind the name change and why there is now a "D" added to Adore. I won't divulge any details here, but it worked out all right in the end!


In JANUARY I shared the first photos of the studio when I still shared it with my friend, Esther Jean. Throughout the year the studio underwent quite a few changes. Like when I decided to repaint the studio (for better lighting) and when the studio was just for AdoredVintage in the first official tour of the atelier.

In MARCH my downtown vintage atelier was featured on Apartment Therapy: Inside the Lovely Studio of Adored Vintage! I was so honored by the feature! This was my third feature in Apartment Therapy! In MARCH I also participated in A Current Affair: Vintage Marketplace which is the best vintage event in Los Angeles. Great space, great music, an open bar... all for $10! Pretty rad! Um I also met one of my style icons, Clemence Poesy, at my vintage booth!


SPRING was probably the roughest time of the year for me. I was all over the place. I was pretty much hating/complaining about my full time job every moment of the day, working super late (until 11PM sometimes) at my studio to keep my vintage shop running, and was basically just stressed every damn day. I got down to 93LBS at one point and was smoking cigarettes every day.

I really had to get myself together otherwise I knew everything would fall apart. Hesitantly I started attending a new church. I had several reservations as I've never been that religious, more spiritual. But little by little I started to trust and open up to this new community and my life and the way I saw things started to change! It was early SUMMER that my life started to turn around. It was like a rising from the ashes (haha silly pun on cigarettes as I stopped smoking at this point)

During the SUMMER I started working on a new design for a new vintage website. I had debated on changing the name, redoing an entire new logo... but in the end I stayed with the name I really adored. And so came adoreDvintage!


At the end of SEPTEMBER I opened AdoredVintage.com and within a couple of months the site traffic went from an average of 150 a day to an average of 1200 a day! By OCTOBER I had left my full time job to work on Adored Vintage full time and I haven't looked back since!

At the start of the year I had 2 clothing racks in the studio. Now I have 6 and they are overflowing! This DECEMBER, I decided I wanted to open up a shop and also live there and within the same month I had found the place and signed the papers! (God answered my prayers and lightning fast too!)


Also this month I made a rather large investment for my company and it's growth for 2013. I don't want to say too much as of yet, but let's just say my inventory is about to be multiplied by FIVE within the next 30 days.

In 2012 we hit over 1700 daily visits on Adoredvintage.com, over 7,000 Facebook fans, over 4,000 Instagram followers, over 4,000 Twitter followers, and over 7,000 Pinterest followers. A GIGANTIC THANK YOU, thank you, thank YOU for all of your love, support, encouragement, prayers, and fellowship!

As I reflect over the year I am deeply humbled by the grace God has given me. I am deeply encouraged by the support and love from all of you, my friends, and newfound family. And I am so excited for 2013! LET'S DO THIS!!!

Onward + Steadfast! Moving forward with a Brick + Mortar!

I am going to start by saying last week was one heck of a week! I am aware that I am both exhausted and energized at the very same time. What an odd thing to experience!

On Monday I signed the papers that begins a new chapter in my life. It is official! Adored Vintage will have a store front in 2013! Check out what the space looks like



I am starting to examine what this means. What do I want it to be? What am I committed for it to be? At this point in my life a regular open 6-7 days a week shop isn't in my plan. It doesn't interest me. I'm clear on that at least. I haven't gotten clear to what exactly it is I will be doing in the retail shop. Other than the vague "Oh I'm going to sell vintage and work in it".

Oh man! I do love this part of the process!



The dreaming up. The putting together. The planning. The pinning. Oh yes, the pinning! I am a very visual creature. I will paint myself a picture and from that I will start to derive what this space will be and how I will be utilizing it to move forward with my business.

*excitement all a buzzing*

Maybe A Vintage Brick and Mortar?

I've been dreaming of a new space and I wanted to share what's been happening with you. It was just about a week ago that I declared I would begin my search for a new live/work situation for Adored Vintage HERE and within a matter of days an ideal place has opened its doors.

So here's the dealio. I had hoped to have a live/work loft where I could schedule vintage visits by appointment only. I looked into other cities, into other states...and by chance happened upon an interesting listing of a retail store with a loft behind it. I must have sputtered coffee at my computer when I saw this and immediately sent an email inquiring about the location.

No answer. No email. No call. Panic sets in. (Mind you this is only in a matter of hours, but in LA if you spot a space, you need to JUMP on it!) Determined as I am, I hitch a ride with the fella to just scope out the space and lo and behold, I was able to see the space first!

And oh yes...it feels so right and better than I had hoped for! I have a separate WORK STUDIO for Adored Vintage right now which I've found really isn't my thing. The back and forth and scheduling of projects and always feeling like I never had enough time and the battle with traffic and parking tickets...it's been really fun having a little workshop, but I'm ready to move forward!

Everything is in the initial stages, but on Monday I find out if my application is approved. I am praying to God I am approved! I have so many plans and ideas for the new space. And it will be nice to use some new pieces of furniture I've acquired that's been sitting in storage (impulse flea market purchases...you know how that is!)

Just Processin' Stuff

I feel like I lived 3 different lives this weekend. Past, Present, and Future. Do you ever have those weekends that go by so slowly and yet you feel like you've done so many things?

Saturday was so hot in my work studio that I pretty much just lazed about bemoaning the heat while sipping at a gigantic serving of peach and blueberry iced tea (with fresh mashed up fruit...mmmmmm) I snapped some photos here and there of the studio and when I got home to look at the photos it made me realize I'm due to upgrade my camera. *le sigh*



Woooororroroororfgghhh. That's me just shaking of stuff. New week! It's rare I'm glad it's Monday. Monday, bloody Monday.

But this Monday is bringing a lot of things to the table and just dealing with things one at a time and feeling good, well more hopeful about it.

The weekend was really balanced and I need more weekends like that. Spent some solo time, made lunch for a girlfriend and I, went on a date with the fella, Church fellowship on Sunday...upgraded to an iphone 4GS which isn't a big deal to most people, but I'm not really a techie person (in fact I didn't even have a cellphone until I was 23-24, haha) so to me, was kinda a big deal.

How was your weekend?