Image Credit
Photo by Allison Michael Orenstein
We were lucky to catch up with Vanessa Samet recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Vanessa, thanks for 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 am incredibly happy as a business owner and wish I had done it sooner. I think I led a corporate life for so long due to what I understood to be other people’s visions for me. I thought a corporate job was expected of me and I didn’t believe in myself enough to do my own dream. Sometimes, when sales are down or income is uncertain, it can be easy to think I should just throw in the towel. I can always go back to doing a regular job, but working in my own business is tiring but it doesn’t feel like work. It brings me joy.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Vanessa’s Vintage sells vintage costume and fine jewelry from the 1900s-2000s. The business got its start selling on the website, One Kings Lane. Now, the collection is carried at various retailers, and sells at vintage events and trunk shows in the New York metro area. The collection has been featured in Vogue, Elle, Harper’s Bazaar, and L’Officiel magazines, as well as on NBC news.
My grandfather had a jewelry store in New York City. My grandmother was a fashionista who allowed me to play with her jewelry when I visited and told me stories about the history of each piece. I was taught at an early age about the appreciation of craftsmanship, good design, and the special sentimentality of jewelry.
As a teen, I would go to vintage shops and enjoyed the hunt for something unique to stand out from the crowd. I also traveled a lot overseas, which gave me the opportunity to absorb other fashion aesthetics and design sensibilities.
I studied Art History and French in college, and then got my Masters in Arts Administration. I was fortunate to study with Richard Martin, the former curator of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute, and be able to work after graduation at Christie’s auction house. I then worked in historic preservation and the luxury interior design worlds. Being able to work in these industries helped me to further hone my eye and served to increase my love of the arts and design in all their forms.
All that time, I was amassing a large personal collection of vintage jewelry that I loved but wasn’t wearing. So I started my business to share my passion for vintage with others.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
I had tried for months to get into an “exclusive” selling community on Instagram. I had interviewed with them and sent a whole bunch of images. They seemed to be ready to sign a deal and then I learned that a competitor who was on their platform had spoken to them and told them who knows what about me so they suddenly backed out. I was livid, sad, and felt hopeless, like nothing that big would ever present itself again. The next day I was invited to a photo shoot to use my jewelry. I didn’t know what it was but I had said yes. The images were beautiful and wound up being in a well-known magazine. I could see when I posted them on social media that the woman I had spoken with and my competitor both saw them. Then, the woman at the community’s boss saw my posts. All of a sudden, they reached out again to say they’d love to still do something with me in the future. I have yet to work with them.
Basically, I’ve learned that if it doesn’t come to me, it wasn’t meant for me at that moment. There is more than one way to find a great deal or opportunity. Pick yourself up, stay true to who you are, and keep going. We have limited resources and time, so keep focusing on your vision and doing what you do. Let the haters hate, let the stupid people be stupid, but focus on what you do and your next steps. What we focus on, grows.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
I had a very mean boss at a corporate job in the art world one time. He was so nasty to me and told me that I didn’t have an eye or taste. It’s hard for me to get his voice out of my head sometimes. So when my clients are happy or see my collection and say “you have a great eye” it makes me feel so great. A favorite quote I love is by Eleanor Roosevelt, “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” I’ve decided not to consent to anyone’s opinions of me. Client feedback is one thing, and I do want to provide them with the best items and service, but other people’s criticisms of me are not valid or any of my business.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://vanessasvintage.com
- Instagram: @vanessasvintage
- Facebook: @vanessasvintagenyc
- Other: TikTok: vanessas.vintage
