We were lucky to catch up with Erica Qualy recently and have shared our conversation below.

Erica, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today. Crazy stuff happening is almost as certain as death and taxes – it’s technically “unexpected” but something unexpected happening is to be expected and so can you share a crazy story with our readers.

I found this really cool looking jacket that looked like it was 90’s. I almost left it on the rack but something was telling me to just grab it while I shopped. As I did a quick search on it, I saw it was a really awesome brand from the 90’s I had never heard of- it was a bit out of my price range but if I could sell it for market value, I’d make a decent profit so I took the risk. I’M SO GLAD I DID!!! The day I listed it, I got a message request in my DMs asking to purchase the piece if it was still available- no haggling or hemming and hawing, the customer was super polite and cordial. For some reason, and I rarely do this just FYI! LOL for some reason, I started to look at his profile while I was waiting for his payment to come through and I realized HOLD ON this is THEE ORIGINAL DESIGNER OF THIS PIECE!!!! Turns out he had been scouring the internet for as many of his old pieces as he could find, to put them into a museum exhibit!!!! *MIND. BLOWN*

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 background and context?

My name is Erica Qualy, I’m a vintage reseller here in Memphis, Tennessee. I think I got into the thrift to vintage pipeline pretty innocuously since my Dad would always take me with him as a kid. I knew of the magic of thrifting long before it became trendy or popular, but welcomed the new craze because I care deeply about the environment. That’s another aspect of the business that I really love, I feel like I’m actually doing some good in the world by sourcing pieces that otherwise may end up in a landfill. When I first started, it was mainly like a thrift store I was running out of my garage, except everything was Pay What You Want. As my business grew, I refined my tastes and started to gear towards exclusively vintage. I think vintage and thrifting is more than a trend, I 100% believe it is a lifestyle and one of the ways we can beat capitalism (another thing I’m passionate about).

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

Long story short- I didn’t. I grew it very slowly by flipping one piece at a time and squirreling away whatever money I could. From there, you tend to acquire what you need when you need it. For the longest time I didn’t even have a scale or a label printer, didn’t have any stamps or signature packaging… I feel like there is so much pressure to make everything cute and neat and that’s just not the real world. Just do what you can, when you can. Don’t let this idea of attaining the perfect business keep you from even starting. The hardest part is just starting!! Once you start, it will slowly come together. Friends and family (mostly friends in my case) will support you on your way, heck- even strangers! Trust.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

I don’t have a huge following so maybe you should take this with a grain of salt, but my “strategy” is just being me. I think being genuine is actually a skill and a muscle that needs to be flexed- I often find myself wanting to please everyone and it’s really not sustainable or healthy if you, like me, struggle with setting boundaries. It’s very uncommon these days for people to just be themselves when running a business, but I think people relate to that. Everyone is trying to sell you something and that can feel super insincere at times, but I will never give someone a compliment if I don’t mean it. I will never try and sell you something you don’t need. I always try my best to treat the customer how I would want to be treated, so sometimes I have to bend my own rules a little bit, but I think customer retention is key. That’s not to say let folks walk all over you, but simply putting yourself in their position if a conflict comes up. Often times there is a lesson in that interaction, and a way for you to improve your shop or policies moving forward.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @takostreasures_vintage

Image Credits
“Victorian Daydream” photos by Erica Qualy Models: Hannah Nelson & Louise Page
“Navy leotard” Photo by Erica Qualy, Model Erica Qualy
“Untitled” (Erica Snake) Photo by Jonathan Postal, Model Erica Qualy
“Untitled” (Witch in the woods) Photo by Jonathan Postal, Model Erica Qualy
“Dangerous” Model: Rachel Horton Photographer: Erica Qualy
“Ladybug” Model & Photographer: Erica Qualy
“Gnome” Model: Hannah Nelson Photographer: Erica Qualy
“Pyramid shot” Model: Louise Page Photographer: Erica Qualy
“Dolly Come to Life” Model: Hannah Nelson Photographer: Erica Qualy