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

Miranda, appreciate you joining us today. Being a business owner can be really hard sometimes. It’s rewarding, but most business owners we’ve spoken sometimes think about what it would have been like to have had a regular job instead. Have you ever wondered that yourself? Maybe you can talk to us about a time when you felt this way?

I think about this all the time! I wake up every day feeling extremely lucky to be able to do what I do. I make an effort to sit in gratitude and let my customers and audience know how much I appreciate them every chance I get. The pandemic was very scary (for all small businesses, I think), and I have to constantly keep up with social media trends in order to reach my audience. There have been times where I envied my traditionally-employed friends and family for their paid time off, benefits, and general safety net. It’s sometimes overwhelming that my stability and income are never guaranteed. Still, I have never second guessed that this is what I LOVE to do and I want to do it as long as I can. I have been self-employed for over 10 years and loved every minute of it. I get to travel and express myself fully through my love of fashion. I have met so many amazing people all over the world – both my customers and other small business owners, whom I would never have connected with outside of entrepreneurship, arts and social media communities. It is a blessing and an honor and I try to never take it for granted.

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 am the owner and curator of Last Rites Vintage (@shoplastrites), the original alternative/goth vintage boutique. Last Rites was the first specifically dark-themed online shop offering authentic vintage clothing – long before Depop, Poshmark, and small businesses on Instagram became mainstream. Last Rites launched way back in early 2014, and to my knowledge it is the longest-running shop of its kind in the world!
Last Rites came to life after I left my mainstream retail job and listed some of my personal collection of vintage for sale on Instagram. Everything sold within minutes, and I put up some more items the next week…..and then never stopped! Last Rites has been my full-time job for a decade and I put my entire heart and soul into it. We drop new collections online every two weeks, and we travel all over the US and Canada to vend at some of the most exclusive small-business faires in the dark arts community.

I worked at consignment shops as a buyer in high school, have always been obsessed with the uniqueness and flair of vintage clothing, as well as the ethical benefits of shopping secondhand. I have several seamstresses, antique collectors and tailors in my family, who taught me how to appraise and restore aged garments when I was a teenager. I curate our selection based on the way I’ve dressed my whole life – a mix of goth, grunge, classic and glam. Last Rites specializes in casual and semi-formal wear with lots of western, romantic Victorian, rustic, retro 80s and rock-and-roll vibes. All our pieces are carefully restored to like-new condition, with an emphasis on flattering fit for all body type, and quality of construction.

In 2019, I launched my small-batch perfume line, Last Rites Alchemy. Our perfumes are all conceptualized and handmade by me. Part of my retail background is in cosmetics and fine fragrance. I love the art of scent and creating unexpected, yet nostalgic and familiar scent blends for folks to wear with their vintage.

How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?

Utilize social media and a standalone website! A mailing list via your website helps a ton with customer engagement, and feels more exclusive. Still, social media is the best place to find and connect with your community! I am super active on Instagram and Tiktok and it’s the best place to reach not only potential customers, but also other creatives and small business owners in your field. For the first 6 years of my business, I listed all of our one-of-a-kind items as individual sale posts on IG (first-come-first-serve style) and individually messaged each buyer to walk them through our FAQ’s and buying process, and answer any questions. This may seem wild, but it was actually amazing for getting to know clients on a more personal basis, and many of them are still with me to this day as regular customers. My business feels like a family. Reaching out to connect with your customers directly so they know it’s a real person (or people) behind your business makes such a huge difference.

Have you ever had to pivot?

Last Rites Alchemy started out as a side project for scented soap AND perfume, mainly soap, with a plan to eventually expand into a full line of body care products. Turns out I did NOT enjoy the process of making, packaging, or marketing soap and had been a bit ambitious with the body care brand. After a week of hand-wrapping several hundred tiny 2″ square soaps, I realized the time investment was not worth the cost or return. The perfumes had sold much better than the soaps, anyway – my customers were mainly interested in wearable scents. We scrapped the soap line after the first run and leaned hard into fragrance, which has done very well over the years as a compliment to our vintage clothing (the main focus). Lesson learned – no more soap.

Contact Info:

• Website: shoplastrites.com
• Instagram: shoplastrites
• Facebook: Last Rites Vintage