We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Hannah Curley. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Hannah below.

Alright, Hannah thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?

In the middle of the COVID shutdown in 2020 my parents and I decided to start a business. We started out as an antique/estate store that sold all kinds of stuff! I came up with the name The Trove from thinking about a treasure trove. We had lots of great finds at our antique store and I thought it was the perfect name. The definition for Trove is “a store of valuable or delightful things” When I moved locations and changed the store to a women’s apparel and accessory store I kept the name because we still have lots of great finds, or preloved pieces, in our jewelry, handbags, and vintage clothing.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

When deciding what I wanted to go to college for, my parents supported me in majoring in something that I was truly passionate about. After touring Missouri State and learning about their Fashion program, with the College of Business, I was sold. I graduated from Missouri State in 2020 with a degree in Fashion Merchandising and Management with dreams of one day opening up a store. I come from a family of entrepreneurs with parents who had their own business, and an older brother who also has his own business as well, so it was always in the back of my mind.

In 2020, during the shutdown for COVID, my parents and I decided to open up an antique store called The Trove in a building that my parents owned in Lee’s Summit. Fast forward one year and my parents got an offer to sell their building, and it was time to decide what I was going to do next. I decided to begin looking for buildings in Downtown Lee’s Summit to open a Boutique and eventually we came across the perfect space! I kept the name and still carry some vintage/preloved items in the store like: preloved Louis Vuitton, Gucci, and Chanel handbags & wallets (all authenticated by Entrupy) , Estate Gold and Sterling Silver Jewelry, and some vintage apparel items. We make appointments with clients to come to the store to sell us these items.

The Trove is a unique store with contemporary and vintage items. Along with the vintage items listed above we also carry contemporary Women’s apparel, new Sterling Silver Jewelry, Diff Sunglasses and fun gift items such as candles, cups, candy, and Kitsch products. I truly feel like I have my dream job and if I had one piece of advice or words to live by it would be this: “Choose a job you love and you’ll never work a day in your life”. Running a store is not always easy, but for me it is worth it to get to do what I love.

I would not be where I am today without the tremendous support I have received from my parents. My mom helps me to cover hours at the store and has been one of my only employees. My dad has a background in the jewelry industry and has taught me so much about it along with the ins and outs of running a business. I cannot thank them enough for everything they have done for me in helping me to get my business started.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

For us, the best source of new clients has come through social media. In my opinion, social media is one of the best ways to grow your business in todays day in age. I have not done a whole lot of advertising, but I have run a few social media ads and posted in facebook groups/marketplace to gain customers.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

One of the things that I think is helping to build my reputation particularly with selling preowned Louis Vuitton, Gucci, and Chanel bags is that we use Entrupy to authenticate all of our bags. Entrupy is a company that we pay a subscription for and they give a certificate of authenticity for the preloved luxury items that we sell. This certificate has a money back guarantee for the authenticity. Without using Entrupy, with us being a new store, I don’t think we would have gained the traction and reputation that we have with selling these authentic items.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.thetrovefinds.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thetrovefinds/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thetrovefinds
• Other: Email: [email protected]