Trade-Up! Fashionable Flipped Threads Lead to Fabulous Profits

Notes from Chris

Episode 947

From a young age, Rachael Sadler of Birmingham, England has had a love affair with fashion. But while many of her peers headed to popular box stores to spend their hard-earned allowance, Rachael set her sights on something a bit more... old school. It wasn’t just the thrill of the hunt that had her hopping from thrift store to vintage hideaway—it was a desire to find something that was uniquely hers. She had a personality that stood out, and she wanted her wardrobe to reflect that!

When she went off to University, she studied fashion design (naturally). After she graduated, Rachael opted to take a year off to travel the world with her boyfriend. When they found their way back home after months of camping, they were broke. She knew that she should be looking for a full-time job, but Rachael took the last £20 ($25.02) to her name and indulged in a little retail therapy.

And that’s where our story begins—with £20 ($25.02) and a pastel-colored zebra print jacket which Rachael assures us was much cooler than it sounds.

When she got home, she asked her mom to take a photo of her wearing her funky new find. Then she recalled something her sister had said to her in passing about an online platform called ASOS Marketplace. It was a fashion website that provided a platform for small boutiques to sell their own label or vintage collections without the need of opening a brick and mortar establishment. Since the steep overheads were pretty much the only thing keeping her from opening her own vintage storefront, she jumped at the opportunity to sign up as a seller.

She named her new shop Ada's Attic Vintage. But she wasn’t relying on the shop to pay the bills just yet—this was a side hustle after all. She worked a few waitressing gigs before finally scoring a job designing window displays for a large clothing brand. And when she wasn’t artistically posing mannequins, she was scouring her local thrift shops in pursuit of more promising items to flip.

Now, a little over six years later, a lot has changed for both Rachael and Ava’s Attic Vintage. She launched her own website using Shopify in addition to her Etsy shop, and she’s expanded her offerings to include personal and group shopping tours in Birmingham, London, and Nottingham through Eventbrite and Airbnb. That’s right! Starting around £45 - 65 a pop, you can scour the racks with Rachael and even get some expert advice on your look.

She also waved goodbye to her position as a window display designer! Although she’d enjoyed it, she started to feel like a square peg in a round hole. After three years, she cut her hours back, and then quit entirely to focus more of her efforts on Ava’s Attic Vintage.

These days, Rachael brings in anywhere from £2,000 - 3,000 ($2501.80 - 3752.70) a month!

Moving forward, Rachael is looking to grow her vintage shop. She’s also eager to expand her vintage shopping tours and start designing her own pieces to make available for purchase. No matter what Rachael ends up doing, we’re pretty sure she’ll do it with style!

 

---

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

• Ada's Attic Vintage: Check out Rachael's current offerings over on her website!
• ASOS Marketplace: The platform that Rachael originally got Ada's Attic Vintage started on before setting out on her own
• Shopify: Rachael used Shopify to set up her site for Ada's Attic Vintage, and they're offering a 21-day trial and exclusive discount for all Side Hustle School listeners!

 

SEE ALSO:

• A Packed Closet Leads to Secondhand Subscription Boxes: A professional organizer finds a way to stitch her passion for thrift shopping into profits
• Vintage Clothing Shop Sells Retro Jeans for Modern Money: The daughter of Ukrainian immigrants turns a love of shopping into an e-commerce shop selling one-of-a-kind vintage clothing
• Bargain Hunter Designs One-of-a-Kind Flea Market: Obsessed with the “thrill of the hunt,” a weekend warrior finds more than she bargains for when she brings her love of flea markets to the shopping malls of Dallas

Inspiration is good; inspiration combined with action is better. Now get back to work!

Yours in the revolution,