Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Erwin Franklin. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Erwin thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

After I graduated from college I spent over a decade in the restaurant industry around Birmingham, AL. While the creative part of cooking was fulfilling for a time, I was always beholden to someone else’s vision in some way, and that always left me feeling like something was missing.

In mid 2019 I began to resell as a side hustle, and when I decided to leave the restaurant industry in late 2020, it became my primary source of income. I have always loved to thrift and go to yard sales and estate sales. I spent many a Saturday morning when I was a kid riding around in my dads truck and hitting every garage sale in the area. There was something about the rush of finding that diamond in the rough that always had me coming back for more.

Over the next two years I traveled all over the country doing vintage conventions and learning the business. I watched the vintage wave grow and wash over the fashion world. It has become a huge market over the past 2 years and the market research was showing no signs of it slowing down.

I realized one day when I was out sourcing that there wasn’t really a shop like I would want to shop at in my area. Understanding that Birmingham is usually a little behind on the trends, I knew I needed to act quickly before someone else met the need. I dove head first into market research and trying to find a space. I knew the vintage community in the area was strong enough to support it, and that half the battle would be letting people know we were there.

I am lucky enough to have a lot of people around me that believe in my vision and have supported me every step of the way. There have definitely been ups and downs and sometimes I wonder if I made the right decision, but I wouldn’t trade any of the stress for the world. It’s been the most fulfilling almost 2 years of my life. I’m still growing and the shop gets amazing feedback from everyone that visits. So far we’ve had people from as far away as Australia come through! I don’t plan on going anywhere. There is definitely no quit in me.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I was born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama and graduated from the University of Alabama with a BA in psychology in 2010. I spent the next decade working the restaurant industry around Birmingham. I always say I probably went to college more for my mom, than for myself. I never really knew what I was doing there. What I was working towards. I was never one of those kids that knew exactly what profession they wanted to haves when they grew up. I just always knew I wanted to be my own boss. Whether it was owning my own restaurant or something else.

I grew up thrifting and going to yard sales, so when one of my friends came into a restaurant I was managing and told me he was making good money selling vintage T-shirts online, i saw an opportunity to do something more fulfilling. It took me another year to make it more than a side hustle and almost 3 years to get a brick and mortar.

My shop’s slogan is “More than Vintage.” I wanted people to understand that there is a lot more to the shop than just vintage clothes, We have local brands, art, memorabilia, jewelry and even 1 of 1 custom pieces. However, I think the thing I am most proud of is the shops ability to bring people to gather. I didn’t realize when I started that it would become somewhat of a hub in the vintage community. People meet here to do deals, to have meetings and just to pass some time while they are in the city. It makes me feel so good when people tell me how comfortable they feel here and that they just love to come hang and talk shop.

The greatest thing about this entire endeavor is that I never went into it for the money. The shop has never been about getting rich. It has always been about doing something I love and providing a space where like minded folks can gather an find things they fall in love with. I’m working hard to create a sustainable brand with the shop as an incubator, and really bring the gospel of curated secondhand clothing to the area. I want to smash the preconception that all old clothes are cheap and dirty and not worth your time. Just a small thing like shopping at a store like mine, or even your run of the mill thrift store, can do a lot to help slow down the damage we are doing to the planet.

I am so excited about where this business could go, and right now I am just trying to focus on growing it enough to be sustainable.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

When I first got into reselling I was focusing more on sneakers. It was at a time when the sneaker market was exploding and it was much easier for me to source shoes from my computer than to spend hours in the thrift looking for vintage. I also already had a great base of knowledge with sneakers because I am personally a sneaker fanatic. It only took me a few months to realize that 1.) the price point of sneakers was in itself restrictive unless you can quickly move the product and 2.) the return on investment when compared to a piece of vintage was minuscule. That is when I pivoted heavily into vintage. I spent hours online doing research and learning tags and terminology. Before I always just grabbed what I thought looked cool and now I understood that this was a skill I needed to learn. It was the best decision I could have made and sent me on the path to eventually open the shop.

Do you have any stories of times when you almost missed payroll or any other near death experiences for your business?

I honestly feel like I have had more of those times than not in the first year of business. However, every time we need a good weekend in sales or need saving in the 11th hour, we always end up pulling it out in the end. I can’t help but take that as a sign that I am on the right track. It has definitely been a new type of stress, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.magiccitymerc.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/magiccitymerc
• Facebook: Facebook.com/magiccitymerc/
• Twitter: Twitter.com/magiccitymerc
• Yelp: https://m.yelp.com/biz/magic-city-mercantile-birmingham

Image Credits
Jack Leventry