We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kirsten Oviedo a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Kirsten thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. So, what do you think about family businesses? Would you want your children or other family members to one day join your business?

I remember the first time that my future husband threw out the idea of us owning a business together. Being two years into chasing an Honors degree in Global Studies at a breakneck speed, my eyebrows went up with what has become typical early skepticism of all my husband’s great ideas. I didn’t know at the time how much we would actually enjoy working together and, of course, kids were still pretty far off the radar. Once we were married, starting a business actually became the most practical thing in the world for us to do while waiting on his residency paperwork to come through.

12 years later, we can’t really imagine working separate jobs. On a day-to-day level, owning a business gives us the freedom to homeschool and be really involved in ministry, things that we just wouldnt have the margin to do if we both had set hours. But show season is really where our family component really shines. We fly in 5-8 of our extended family members, some internationally, for our event season when it is all hands on deck. It’s hard work but everyone loves the memories that we make putting these events together every season. I love that these twice yearly family reunions are literally part of our business model.

Kirsten, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Our business got started right in the height of the painted furniture craze of the early 2010s. In our little Midwest town, It seemed like the world had gone obsessed with chevron, burlap, DIY and the color teal. We started off flipping a few Facebook finds on the side, and that quickly evolved into owning a little repurposing studio downtown where we offered custom work for clients. After a year or two, we decided to take our act on the road and spent 3 years zigzagging the country setting up at home decor events between Vegas and Atlanta. Those years on the road helped us refine our brand and display and finally set us on the career path we enjoy today.

In 2017, we bought the rights to open up a vintage market with a national event franchise in Hilliard Ohio. Our downtown market flourished beautifully for 5 years before, as it has done for many, the pandemic pushed us to re-evaluate things. We were in our late 20s, and just seriously questioning if being part of a franchise was giving us the freedom long-term to grow our business how we knew we could.

It was the hardest decision in the world to walk away from our market. We had moved across the country to establish that location and worked so hard to put down the roots that made our market so successful. We decided to take a couple years off markets to focus on the ecommerce portion of our home decor business, and during that time, we found that we really missed the in-person component of hosting markets. We wanted to give people an excuse to get out more and connect with friends and loved ones. In home decor, it is super easy to make it about the stuff. In re-branding, we wanted to make sure it was about the people. We want our guests to come out and have the best day with their favorite people. This year, we launched our vintage market company, The City Mercantile®, and opened up two locations. The support from our vendors and past customers has been phenomenal. We love that we get to explore the bounds of our creativity and flex our business model to do what’s best for us and our vendors.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

It’s always been important to Andres and I to take care of the people who choose to be involved at our market. We really look at our vendor pool as a big family. We bend over backwards to make sure they have a great experience with us and I think that has contributed a lot to the loyalty that we have felt in stepping back into the industry.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

When we stepped away from our market in 2021, I was devastated to let go of my socials. I had built one of the largest followings inside of our franchise and I considered the customer base that I had built there to be a collection of friends that I get to see twice a year, so starting our accounts over from literal zero as our new brand was daunting. After meeting with the success that we have had in just these 9 months, I now think of it more as a challenge against myself to see if I can do even better than before. I can’t wait to look back at this first year and reminisce about how it all started.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.thecitymercantile.com
• Instagram: @thecitymercantileeents
• Facebook: /thecitymercantileevents

Image Credits

Amie Photo Co.
Chelsea Hall Photography