We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Mitchell Hammes a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Mitchell, appreciate you joining us today. What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?

I used to say drive, but I feel like that has changed. There’s so many young entrepreneurs with so much energy that it seems like everyone has drive. I would say being different and creating something new is what’s important. Find the gap and fill it. Instead of competing with someone to make the best product, create a product no one else has.

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.

At a young age I always enjoyed thrifting. My family used to take me to garage sales, flea markets, and auctions. I loved the thrill of the hunt, finding “treasures”, and collecting items that were unique and obscure. I appreciated the quality, rarity, and nostalgia of owning something from the past. I also liked to repurpose, resell, and make a little money along the way. I guess thrifting is a part of my DNA. It was a natural extension to turn my hobby into a full time career.

Today, I sell vintage clothing. I’ve always appreciated distinctive fashion, not fast trends. I started selling vintage pieces out of my closet while I was in high school. After graduating, interest from others grew and I expanded by doing pop-ups in my driveway. Soon after, I opened my first brick and mortar store in La Crosse and found a lot of success within the first year, even in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. My goal was always to expand to a larger market and Madison was at the top of my list. Eighteen months after opening my first store, I relocated to State Street and have been here for three years.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

We run our social media as genuine as possible. We try not to put ourselves on a podium. We want our page to be natural. We don’t force product on anyone, instead try to showcase a friendly environment where everyone is accepted.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

We have always been very proud of our curation, and I believe that’s a huge reason we are where we are today. We make sure we always have something for everyone. Instead of curating one specific aesthetic, we carry multiple giving customers plenty of options. I think people have gotten so used to walking into a retail and seeing a rack full of the exact same shirt in different sizes or colors. At Singlestitch we have over one thousand items that are all unique and individual. There are no duplicates, therefore giving our customers an opportunity to find something they love and will cherish forever. We curate our store with wearable nostalgia, and that is something you can’t get anywhere else.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.shopsinglestitch.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/singlestitch_madison