Sunday, February 21, 2010

Growing Pains...


Don't you just love these Burberry Ads?!!!!!!



I am new to this whole blogging thing.... so I have decided to use this as somewhat of a diary of sorts.
Today I packed up all of my inventory and moved it out of my house and to my store. Being a mom and owning a business has taught me:

#1 That My family is #1.
#2 It does not work well when you mix business with home.

If you own your own business you are nodding your heads right now in agreement. Trying to balance both parts of my life is what led me to sell on etsy. To grow my business both at my boutique and online I realize once you reach a certain amount of success you must make some hard decisions. Inventory management of my boutique is what brought me to etsy. I thought it would be a good way to get rid of excess inventory...what I have found is that I love the idea of creating an online store (much like my brick and mortar store) with it's own identity and feeling, rather than just sell what I am trying to get rid of.


So I went out and bought a brand new camera and have set out on a journey I never intended on taking. In the next few weeks I will be trying different ways of shooting items on mannequins as well as models and grouping items in different ways. Such as getting ready for Spring with long, 70's, bohemian maxi dresses and bright, 80's, colors and prints, which are two of my favorite fashion styles. I will be testing out different ways of catagorizing my items---

By the decade: mod 60's-bohemian 70's -retro 80's
By the item: dresses- skirts- tops

I am also thinking I might suggest pairing one of my dresses with a necklace, hat or accessory from someone elses store.

And who knows if any of this will get done in the next couple of weeks since I have to do taxes, sew costumes for my daughter's upcoming play Prince and the Pauper, go on a buying trip oh yeahh ....and did I mention be a mom and a wife?

Oh well thanks for listening I'm sure it will all get done eventually.






Saturday, February 13, 2010

hawaiian vintage finds...


This is just a sampling of the great vintage Hawaiian dresses we found on our recent trip to Honolulu. Look for this and many more beautiful items in our etsy shop soon.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/vintageurbanrenewal

A Little About Urban Renewal...

When we say we come from coast to coast we really mean it. My husband is from Oahu and I am from Boston...and we met somewhere in the middle in Oregon. Which is where we own and operate our two stores. One is a snow, surf, skate shop -Extreme Board Shop, that we have had for over 16 years the other is a sweet little resale boutique -Urban Renewal, next to the cutest coffee shop -Dutch Bros., in the downtown area of Grants Pass. My husband's family has run a Japanese restaurant -Matsukaze, for over 25 years next to the board shop.We have two daughters (one of which models for me and the other has her own blog http://www.sweeetcooker.blogspot.com) a cat, five chickens and one bird. My family is my highest priority and our great employees make it possible for us to be parents and travel without worrying about our businesses.

I grew up wearing vintage clothing and have a fascination with mod styles from the 60's, bohemian styles from the 70's and retro 80's clothes. When I was younger I would go to thrift stores, raid my dad and grandpa's closets and put together eclectic outfits. I have sewn for as long as I can remember and worked for a designer after graduating highschool. Changing and re-purposing clothes to make them more current is one of my favorite creative outlets. Follow us on this blog and
http://www.flickr.com/photos/vintageurbanrenewal/

to get updates on our most current escapades and etsy posts.

We are extremely excited about our etsy store and would love for you to choose us as one of your favorites. Visit us and do some shopping at:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/vintageurbanrenewal
.

Happy Hunting!

michelle
one of the deers @
vintageurbanrenewal

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