We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Haley Vizz a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Haley 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?
I used to operate under a less exciting name (Eternal Era) and it just didn’t feel right! It didn’t sound exciting or draw attention to the brand like I wanted it to. After having some time sitting in a car ride home from Florida, I just started to think of a bunch of different words that I liked and started putting them together. Disco Dolphin sounded catchy, fun and exciting! It was exactly what I wanted my brand to reflect and now I feel the name is a much better fit!
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.
Welcome to Disco Dolphin- your retro rewind to when fashion had flavor & closets had chaos! Here, we specialize slinging statement vintage pieces from the ’70s to Y2K for the bold, the brave, and the fashionably rebellious! Disco Dolphin does not stop at being just a vintage fashion brand, here we embrace the celebration of self-expression through style in all sorts of ways, all while sticking a middle finger up to fast fashion! We may primarily be known for our bold, nostalgic pieces, but we also offer a curated mix of funky, more modern secondhand finds that make trendy fashion more accessible to everyone! We also enjoy throwing in custom up-cycled pieces + exclusive in-house designs created by us! Being your go-to source for fresh, sustainable pieces you won’t find anywhere else is our goal! We also go beyond just clothing items to take your looks to a whole new level offering a variety of jewelry and accessories in the mix – all intended to spark joy and help you show up as your most vibrant and authentic self!
What truly sets Disco Dolphin apart is the full experience we offer! We’re not just your ordinary, everyday boring white-walled store! When you step into Disco Dolphin you are stepping into a world of fun! We take pride in providing a funky aesthetic that creates a vibe that feels more like a party than a store! We’re talking a huge handmade disco ball mirror, pink walls, purple and white checkered flooring, and the cutest rock and roll themed dressing room you ever seen! Pairing all that with the kind of welcoming + personal customer service (that feels almost extinct these days) truly sets us apart visually and emotionally! It’s that magic blend that that keeps people coming back, not just for the clothes, but for the feeling!
We mainly want people who discover our brand to know that we are an inclusive store and welcome all humans of all kinds! This is a safe space for you to feel your best, no matter your age, gender identity, skin color, etc! We carry a variety of sizes to be as inclusive as possible for all our potential customers, and love to get the community involved with us in more ways than one! We not only accept clothing donations to host $1 sales within our community to raise funds for various organizations, but we also have a buy sell trade program in store! We want to buy your clothes from you and offer up to 30% of what we can sell them for in store as a cash buyout, or you can accept up to 50% store credit! Another thing we’d like to add to this, is the fact we still operate as a pop up shop, spreading a lil disco to the general Charlotte area! In our pop up shops, we offer fun DIY experiences such as custom charm jewelry + custom bag charms that we hope to bring to a bigger storefront location down the road!
We’d love to hear your thoughts about selling platforms like Amazon/Etsy vs selling on your own site.
We primarily operate best selling in person in our store, or pop ups! I (the owner, Haley) am more of a people person vs behind a screen & thrive with IRL interactions! It gives me the opportunity to express to each and every person how much I do care about each human that checks me out! We do realize though that in this day and age, it is detrimental to have some sort of online presence! While we are still working to thrive on the internet like we do in person, we do have a website as well as sell on Etsy! Since I am a one-woman show though, that is still something I am working hard at making as exciting as the store!
We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.
Originally, Disco Dolphin was supposed to be my creative outlet where I explored other interests of mine with the same goal: making people feel good! As a full time hairstylist with my own private salon studio, I make people feel good all the time through hair, now Disco Dolphin completes the package! Since getting the storefront, it’s turned into another full time job in addition to my salon and I wouldn’t have it any other way! From being only a pop up shop, to having an antique mall booth space, then being given this incredible opportunity for a small storefront – my business has grown massively in the last 6 months and I cannot wait to see where it’s taken in the future!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.ShopDiscoDolphin.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/discodolphinvtg
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DiscoDolphinVTG/
- Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@discodolphinvtg
Image Credits
Tommy Rocchio Jr.