We recently connected with Cammy Thompson and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Cammy thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What do you think Corporate America gets wrong in your industry? Any stories or anecdotes that illustrate why this matters?

Greed. They put profits over people, both the consumer and the employee. This isn’t a sustainable model. We keep costs low for our consumers and pay our employees a fair wage. I will never be a billionaire with this model, but I would never want to be if it meant sacrificing these standards.

Cammy, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My partner and fiancée, Candace started her own vintage pop up store just before COVID started. We met in 2021, and I went to one of the markets where she was vending. I was hooked, and we started having discussions about how to be better at what we do. And eventually we landed a retail space and opened the store.

Any advice for managing a team?

Listening to what your partner or employee needs and fulfilling what you can of those needs, while explaining why you can’t fulfill the needs you are not capable of fulfilling, is the key to managing people. It is important for people to know you have their back. People often think managing is making decisions. That’s the minimum for any role, not just management. Building relationships is the keystone to leadership.

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

We make sure to do markets that attract people who will like the store. For instance we do not miss a pride event or an alternative market. We always have coupons and fliers for the store while we are there.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.strangetimesvintage.com
• Instagram: @strangetimesvtg

Image Credits
Keifer Negri (image with the filling station pump) Lauren Williams (image of Candace behind the register)