Le Modern Trinket: Meet Stuck On Vintage.

photo shoot styled by Stephanie of S.O.V

If you know me then you will know that Christina Loves Vintage! I have three closets full of stuff many of which I tend to forget about. So, when that time comes to recycling my stuff I don't try to sell it to places like Cross Roads Trading Co. because they "don't sell vintage" They pretty much sell newer stuff which sucks because there is not that many good vintage boutiques in my area. Buffalo Exchange is hit or miss they also sell more of the new stuff.. That's why I love flea markets, thrift shops and 4th Street in Long Beach and my other little favorite spots for vintage. One of which would be my late night roaming of Etsy. My friends started an Etsy store called Stuck On Vintage back in 2009 of September. Almost a year now and they have all ready established themselves. Stuck On Vintage is Stephanie Mittelbuscher and Letiza Raguza. Both friends who like I dig vintage. They sell at the Rose Bowl, have vended at indie craft fairs and galleries.

For Stuck On Vintage's first real photo shoot Stephanie called me and asked if I would do the hair for her. This is when I knew that she was serious about her shop and wanted to list good images. SOV puts a lot of time into their business. Having an online store or Etsy is work. I know. Not only are you listing and shooting images you also have to hunt for your materials.. So, I asked Stephanie how does she do it.

LMT: How long have you been collecting vintage?
SOV: Both Letizia and I have been collecting vintage since high school.

LMT: How much time does it consume?
SOV: I eat, breath and live vintage! Every free minute I have, I am listing, doing photo shoots, collecting ideas, shopping.. I also recently started doing a bit of styling work with my photographer friend. The majority of my time goes to my 22 month old daughter. Letizia is currently a full time art student at UCLA. She is in her final year so much of her time is spent with her studies.

LMT: How do you acquire your vintage items?
SOV: Mum's the word.

LMT: Where can SOV be found?
SOV: Lately we have been doing a lot of Indie Arts & Crafts shows and music festivals. A few weeks back we did the Roots Roadhouse show at the Echoplex in Echo Park. Two weeks ago we did the Pasadena Rose Bowl Flea Market. Last weekend we set up shop at The Box Shop Indie Crafts and Arts and Fashion Fair in Costa Mesa. This Saturday (8/21) we will have a booth at the Wrightwood Classic Car Show. Labor Day weekend we will also have a spot at the FYF Festival in Downtown Los Angeles. Summer is a busy time of the year. It involves getting out and networking and promoting ourselves which is a lot of fun. We also have an Etsy store which will be turning one year next month since we opened it. In the past we listed on eBay as well. We are also on Facebook and have a Twitter account as well. We post our shows and we also have a blog.

LMT: Etsy or Ebay? Which is better?
SOV: We did sell on eBay in the beginning. We tried it for a couple of months and then switched to Etsy because it just works for us better. We hope to one day have a studio with a store front and our own website. We also have a great idea in mind but for now it is a secret. We are also working on a sister store on a similar site called "Big Cartel" This shop will be called "Into the Woods" and will feature some vintage clothing, house and kitchen wares, small furniture pieces, recycled and up-cycled clothing and handmade item. All with more of an earthy feel to it.

LMT: How does it pay the bills?
SOV: We are slow growing at this point. It's tough to grow right now in our current economic situation. I also recently relocated and with the move Letizia and I have a good distance between us both now It makes things even a little more tricky and costly. Starting a business from scratch is tricky itself without having a background in business. It's a trial by error situation and we are growing everyday

I have passed on tons of my clothing to SOV stuff that I don't use anymore or was too big and I never got altered. Here's one of my dresses.. LOVE THIS ONE.. I wore it once and it was too big.. So years latter I passed it on to SOV.. It's funny to be at shows vending alongside SOV and I come across my old dresses! Keep up with them so you can find them at upcoming show/events.