Sponsor Spotlight // Interview : Pulp Vintage

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Describe your business and how it got started?

Suzie and I have been best friends way before we had Pulp Vintage together. We came together as girlfriends because he had shared interests and personalities. Our business started just after this new year around early February. Although both our personal styles differ slightly, we've always shared a passion for vintage style. Our obsession lead us to constantly buy from vintage Etsy and Ebay, however, being that we were both broke graduate students... we couldn't afford to pay retail prices for these lovelies anymore, so naturally, we became thrifting queens :) This lead us to a surplus of clothes and diminished closet space, and a natural desire to share our amazing finds with girl likes us, at a reasonable price! The name from our shop is the title of a book from one of our favorite authors, Charles Bukowski.

Describe what you both do full time, besides running a vintage shop online.

Suzie is currently still in graduate school pursuing a career as an English high school teacher. I'm (Penny) just started my career as a speech therapist in an inner-city high school. We would both love to get paid to travel the world instead though :)

You two seem like such a great team, what's it like working with someone else and having to find a middle ground on what is right for the shop? Are there ever disagreements?

Thank you! We'd be lying if we said we haven't gone through some disagreements. You know what they say, never go into business with a friend or family! Suzie naturally takes more control, and I'm naturally more passive, but we realized if we didn't do this together we wouldn't want to do it all, it's both of ours baby. The key that works for us is to be 150% honest with each other (even if it's not what we wanna hear) and clearly delineating responsibilities.

Do you have any tips for people who are interested in opening a shop?

Have realistic expectations! Having an online shop won't make you rich, and you have to expect to put in a lot of work, time and effort to get (seemingly) a little out of it. You really have to love doing it. For Suzie and I, we can't wait to hit the thrift shops together. We're always saying if we haven't thrift for a week, it's like we have this crazy itch like an addict to get back at it! Yes the listing and the shooting and everything else can be tedious, but for now, we're still having fun. We also have a "5-year" plan and just opened a shop savings account, which keeps us going & its fun to look forward to thinking maybe we actually have a shot at making this our actual career one day.

Would either of you ever consider opening up a brick and mortar shop? If so, any dream locations?

It's definitely as aspiration of ours, but more than a brick and mortar shop, our major goal is to own a mobile vintage shop in a 60s/70s camper. Since we are already in NYC, I think our dream is to be able to get a license to travel between locations in the East Village and Williamsburg, where our target customers would most likely shop for vintage anyway. So if ya see us 5-10 years from now, don't be shy to say hi! :)

What inspires you the most everyday?

Culture and self-expression, for sure. We have a love/hate relationship with NYC at times, but we're so blessed to live in a city where we get to absorb the diversity, arts and endless culture around us and the freedom to express ourselves without judgment.