Why don’t you start off by telling us a little bit about your business – How long ago did you start it, are your items exclusively available on Etsy.com, what sort of things do you sell?
My secret code name is Dahlila and my dear vintage shop is DahlilaFound on Etsy. I sell vintage decor, accessories and curios that I've found in my wanderings and fell in love with. I love sleuthing. I am an impetuous crow, terribly curious, attracted to anything shiny or odd. I've been picking up and collecting bobbles all my life. You should see my pockets and window sills--all beach glass and stones, buttons and beads. It's crazy.
DahlilaFound simply grew from my love of collecting. Now, I just share. My shop has been open for one busy and interesting year. The best part has been meeting new people--people who fell in love with something I found. I'm a matchmaker, really--and tradesman. I like to fix what's broken, rescue lost souls, wandering dogs, find good homes for everything from lovely old shoes to a good sturdy suitcase. It all feels connected--finding, fixing, adopting. It's in my heart.

I'm a good detective too. I can spot an odd relic behind a shed at 50 yds! I love  wandering flea markets and estate sales. What a job: I collect beautiful finds, dust them off, pretty them up, photograph them and present them to the world. I'm like a kindergartener, "Look what I found!" Show and tell for grown-ups.

I come from a peculiar family. My mother is the quintessential thrifty girl scout. She can find, make, repair or repurpose anything and still look lovely doing it. She's also an incredible seamstress, which I envy, but did not inherit. Growing up, yard sales were an occasion for adventure. Who knew what we would find or what she would make from it? Her father was a collector too: trinkets, tools, and real estate. He once built a house from brick and extension cords. My great, great grandfather was an apothecary in a medicine show, selling crazy tinctures in glass bottles, and my own father is a historian, art dealer, and a master antiquity sleuth. As you can see, it runs in the family. Tinker, trader, maker, seller.

Do you wear vintage yourself, and if so has that always been your style?
I love vintage clothes. I accessorize with sweaters, coats and jewelry. In my twenties, I created personas: Annie Hall, Louise Brooks, Stevie Nicks, goth--years before it was popular. Then Rocky Horror appeared and all hell broke lose. Dressing was about fantasy. I shopped in flea markets because the mall didn't express who I was.  I loved books: Interview with a Vampire, The Mists of Avalon and movies at the old Tower Theater: Room With A View, Out of Africa. I was such a romantic. I suppose I still am.

How much time do you spend ‘sourcing’ products to fill your shelves with?
I know a guy, who knows a guy. . . I travel and every week, then pick and choose carefully. I learned that over the year too. I'd rather have fewer items that are beautiful or interesting than just more stuff.

What are some of your favorite finds over the years?
That would take a memoir: My Life As a Crow. I love finds with a good story: a brief case with a 70s greyhound stub, a jacket with an 80s theater ticket. (I love what people leave in pockets!) Some finds are hard to part with: an exquisite Chinese red tea tin, a gorgeous red topper hat with black veil that I wore to a tango masquerade ball. Fabulous! I really own very little that's new.

What are some of the difficulties of running a ‘vintage’ business?
Trends and the economy. Something becomes popular, the market floods, and you get stuck holding an unsold slew of items. Vintage train cases are hot right now, and they're everywhere. I simply buy frugally and only the best pieces, then I stay the course, look for other niches.

What sort of marketing do you do for your business and what have you found to be the most effective? 
I am a Twitter junkie, but I think that thrill is ebbing. I tweet items twice a day. I don't want to be an annoying advertiser. I share and hope someone really loves what I sell.

Do you have any books, film or web sites that you would suggest for vintage inspiration?
Oh, my. It depends on your favorite era, really. I love TCM for old movies. My lists are long. Send me an email; I'll make you a list. :-)

Lastly, you said there was a story behind your business name, Dahlia Found Vintage, do you want to tell us about it?
I'll just say, there were two travelers, a man of letters and a young woman, a train, a love of Hemingway, Dinesen, Ondaatje, and the 30s. We wrote long stories, letters and e-mails in the form of telegrams. It was a crazy romance. In that life I was Dahlila and it agreed with me.

http://dahlilafound.etsy.com
bluedog04@att.net
Twitter: http://twitter.com/dahlila

back to top