Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Nate Hamilton. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Nate, appreciate you joining us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?
I relocated from West Seattle to Ocean Shores, WA just before the West Seattle bridge broke. With me came my collection of vintage goods…two storage units full. Three months after moving, I happened upon the retail space (where my shop is now). The opportunity just fell from the sky. Saying YES to the lease and then opening the shop within two weeks was the beginning of one crazy journey!
Nate, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I became interested in vintage collecting at a very young age. As a youth, I ‘dumpster dove’ in Orange County, CA and would find items to flip at school, making pocket change for the gang to play the Arcade or buy candy and pop. As an adult, I tended bar for over 25 years in Seattle. One of the restaurants was located just outside the Fremont Sunday Market, where I would pick up a vintage find, tell stories about it all day, and flip it to one of my guests at the bar.
Later, I owned and operated Clyde & Sons Salvage at the Georgetown Trailer Park Shopping Mall in Seattle, where I sold my man-cave picks, paranormal items and barware. I love finding and offering up the weird and interesting collectible vintage stuff. Everything I sell has a story behind it. Ask me and I’ll tell you!
My personal passion for all things vintage as well as the paranormal are now on display and for sale at NATE’S VINTAGE, 339 Damon Road, Ocean Shores, WA 98569
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
NATE’S VINTAGE opened in January, 2020, just before the COVID pandemic hit. Three months in, I had to shut down. My landlord was kind enough to cut my rent in half during the lock-down, which was great. To keep going, I turned to eBay and sold a few rock’n roll posters from my private collection. Luckily, I was able to ride out the COVID storm.
How did you build your audience on social media?
Social Media has been key for me and my business. That, and The Golden Rule (treating one another like you want to be treated).
I post daily on Social Media (Instagram and Facebook) and it generates sales and lots of in-person conversation.
One of my favorite sales was a Seattle Sonics numbered/signed poster that used to hang in a barber shop on Rainier Avenue. A man bought it from me and it now hangs in Shawn Kemp’s marijuana store in Seattle by Climate Pledge Arena.
Contact Info:
- Website: natesvintage.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/natesvintage/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100076981186888
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6QxOagUzsU
- Other: Google Nates Vintage for Google reviews!
Image Credits
Photos by Mardi Hamilton