We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Maegan Hayward. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Maegan below.

Hi Maegan, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

I grew up shopping for vintage and antique finds (sometimes that meant flea markets, sometimes trash picking, sometimes thrift store shopping, I did it all).
I’m originally from Florida, which was a mecca for fab finds from the past because so many folks headed that way to retire.
Back in the day you could find beautiful items: be it clothing, collectibles or furniture for next to nothing.
Visiting NYC for the first time in my late teens I remember thinking “wow, cool vintage stuff is everywhere but it’s expensive! Makes sense since rent and utilities are also more expensive, BUT maybe there is a way for me to get these Florida treasures and treasures from other more rural areas over to NYC and still keep the resale prices low.”
After funding my move to NYC, mainly by selling many of the treasures I mentioned before on eBay, my plan to have an affordable vintage store was a bit derailed by a job that became my career for around 15 years (working in post production sound for film, TV, music and advertising). I still bought, sold and collected vintage on the side at local markets, etc. because it was truly my passion.
I always knew working for someone else (no matter what the career) wasn’t what would make me happy. So I started amping up my vintage selling at local spots and then created a website. Eventually, I realized I needed to quit the “career” and get back to doing what I truly love. So,I dove in pretty much head first and opened my brick and mortar affordable vintage business in the East Village, my home of many years and the neighborhood I love.

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 back background and context?

My business is called East Village Vintage Collective. We sell vintage clothing, accessories, tchotchkes, and more. Everyone is welcome at EVVC and we strive to have an environment that makes people be able to shop affordable and to feel comfortable getting themselves vintage finds that allow them to let their unique style shine!

Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.

My side hustle was selling vintage for many years. I started my brick and mortar shop by reaching out to my landlord about the vacant storefront in my building and asking if I could possibly do a pop-up shop in the space for a month or so. We worked out a deal and I got some other vintage sellers on board to be a part of the shop in order to cover the shifts and fill the store with different sorts of finds. We all had other jobs and this was a way for us to try out taking a next step with our businesses with less risk. At a certain point I decided this was what I wanted to do and turned the pop-up into a real business of my own. And here I am 10 years later!

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

Selling online feels like a necessity these days. We sell through our website but also on Instagram and TikTok.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.eastvillagevintagecollective.com
• Instagram: @evvintagecollective
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/eastvillagevintagecollective/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maegan-hayward-967767a
• Twitter: https://x.com/RedsVintage
• Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/@eastvillagevintagecollecti6265
• Yelp: https://m.yelp.com/biz/east-village-vintage-collective-new-york

Image Credits

All pictures are mine.