Vintage and thrifted goods have found a booming market in Saint John on Instagram.
Homegrown Vintage (created by Niki Burnham in January 2020), the Frugal Fern (created by Madeleine Adams in spring 2019) and Thrifted Sister (created by Allie Case in June 2020) are three examples of local Instagram businesses that sell their goods online.
“I think Instagram is honestly great because it’s typically local people that are following you, because you know they want your products,” said Case.
The three businesswomen have been long-time vintage collectors, so creating an Instagram account felt like a natural extension of their interests.
Vintage wicker peacock chair (sold) by Homegrown Vintage (Credit: Homegrown Vintage Instagram)
“When you’re talking about building communities and growing a following that wants to not only know the products that you’re selling but know the person and the brand behind those products, Instagram has really been that for me,” explained Burnham. “I’ve been able to share a lot about myself, which makes people trust and invest into my account as well. They’re investing in not just the pieces that I’m selling but investing in me.”
The platform’s versatile and user-friendly interface, emphasis on visuals, and ability to grow and develop one’s brand and community made it the best choice to operate their business from.
Burnham thinks platforms such as Facebook Marketplace provided people with more opportunities to search for and buy secondhand items online while Instagram became a dominant vintage seller platform.
“There’s a massive, massive community all over the world of vintage sellers on Instagram, but there were none in Saint John and I saw that as an opportunity,” she said.
All three accounts have established a unique brand and a steady base of followers on the social media platform. Popular goods include mid-century modern furniture, antique home décor and clothing, large gold ornate mirrors, wicker and rattan and brass items.
Retro Bohemian hand stitched and painted bag (sold) by The Frugal Fern (Credit: The Frugal Fern Instagram)
Learning to photograph their sale items was relatively simple, with the women curating, editing and posting from their homes and iPhones.
“With this day and age everyone is on their phone, they’re constantly taking pictures, so you just kind of figure out what works,” said Case.
Each mentioned that the Maritimes has a enthusiastic community of vintage sellers and customers on Instagram.
“Everybody’s been super supportive, from other vintage sellers in Saint John to everybody who has purchased an item from me,” said Case. “It makes you feel good, the support that I’ve received and just being so new into this business.”
She added the vintage community across the Maritimes share a genuine camaraderie and are eager to help with questions.
“I have a mid-century modern dresser that’s sitting in my living room right now and when I first got it I couldn’t really find a lot of information on it online,” Case said. She adds its was nice being able to reach out to a fellow vintage shop and say, “Hey I want to send you a couple pictures, what can you tell me about this piece?,” saying maybe they’ve come across it or maybe it’s something that they know a lot about.
Each woman continued to sell throughout the COVID-19 lockdown and offer a variety of deferred and contactless pick-ups and drop-off times for their customers.
Brass cats figurines (pre-sold) by Thrifted Sister (Credit: Thrifted Sister Instagram)
Burnham also used her platform to promote local and community partners and build her followers. “I tried my best to help people see and influence them to support local and think about the goods they’re buying during such a crazy time,” she said.
Burnham, Adams and Case are focused on growing their Saint John base and maintaining customer connections.
“By doing this I’ve met a lot of really, really interesting people,” added Adams. “It’s opened my eyes so much to just how much local talent that we have that I would have never known about by doing Instagram.”
