We were lucky to catch up with Lindsey Holm recently and have shared our conversation below.

Lindsey, appreciate you joining us today. What sort of legacy are you hoping to build. What do you think people will say about you after you are gone, what do you hope to be remembered for?

I would like my legacy to reflect my efforts to preserve, reuse or enhance some of the most gorgeous images, photographs, papers and typefaces that may otherwise be lost to time, and give them new life.

As a collector and an artist who uses vintage ephemera (i.e. items of collectible memorabilia, typically written or printed ones, that were originally expected to have only short-term usefulness or popularity) as their medium, I know when antique and vintage ephemera should be preserved as they are, when they can be pieced back together (either literally or digitally), or when to give them a fresh new life as part of a larger piece. Regardless of the outcome, that piece of history is being appreciated by others when it most likely would have been thrown away. In an increasingly digital world, I hope the work I do spreads awareness and appreciation for old paper.

Lindsey, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I was raised by a crafty and creative mother who frequently took me to flea markets, yard sales and antique malls. In my early twenties, I started selling vintage items on eBay and Etsy. After more than ten years of this in addition to pursuing a career in higher education and having a family, I wanted to reawaken the artist in myself and incorporate my own work into my shop.

I officially launched Moonbeam Mercantile in January 2020. I wanted to focus specifically on ephemera, old books, upcycling, and salvaging beautiful old things. I have a passion for saving those parts of our history that may be lost, but I also want to see them repurposed and reused in different and beautiful ways.

Today in my shop, you will find paper flower wreaths made with old book pages, bookmarks made from vintage book spines, Christmas ornaments made from antique sheet music, and vintage ephemera packs for other artists to appreciate and use in their own work. I even have begun offering digital vintage ephemera packs for those artists who want to utilize both physically via their printer, or digitally in an abundance of ways. A unique membership-based subscription model for access to exclusive royalty-free images from my own collection is forthcoming.

Do you sell on your site, or do you use a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc?

I have worked with nearly all of the major e-commerce players, but about 90% of my sales come from Etsy. Given the built-in audience and relative ease of maintaining a shop there, Etsy has been the platform that has worked best for me. Etsy is also the platform that gives me the feeling of being closest to my customers – I really appreciate every message, review, or suggestion I receive from people and the person-to-person communication on Etsy is just better than anywhere else. I am also working on my own website in which there will be a membership-based subscription model for those customers interested in receiving monthly access to exclusive vintage imagery. This will make it even easier for my customers to access the products I sell.

From a practical stand-point, no matter what platform a business owner uses, the most important thing to remember is to diversify. Never rely on a single platform for your sales, whether it be Etsy, eBay, Amazon, Poshmark, etc. These companies have the ability to close your shop without notice, and if that happens, you’re out of luck. Even though it is a lot of work, I look forward to eventually having full control of my own domain and shop once my website is fully complete. Then, if for some reason Etsy is no longer serving my needs, I still have a source of revenue that I can control and utilize via my own website.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

Absolutely! The book that planted the seed for me wanting to start my own journey as a business owner was “The Crossroads of Should and Must” by Elle Luna. It reminded me to listen to my heart rather than listening to all of the things others felt I “should” be doing. Secondly, the book “The Good Life Lab” by Wendy Tremayne allowed me to dream about a life where I wasn’t burdened by practical limitations. The couple who wrote this book lives entirely self-sufficiently in rural New Mexico, foraging and growing their own food, making biofuel and medicine, and essentially living off-the-grid on their own terms. While that isn’t my dream specifically (I need coffee shop lattes and book stores in my life), it inspired me to focus on a source of income in which I was fully in control and it gave me courage to focus not on who I should be, but who I could be.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.moonbeammercantile.com
• Instagram: @moonbeam.mercantile
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/moonbeammercantile
• Other: www.etsy.com/shop/moonbeammerc

Image Credits
Flemming Holm