Shop of the Week – Fiiimac Vintage 6

This week’s Shop of the Week is Fiiimac Vintage,  owned by Fiona.

What is the meaning behind your shop name?

I wish there was a better story behind my shop name, but the reality is: I was an Etsy shopper for a few years before I became a seller in January 2011…and that was my username. That was the default shop title Easy gave me. WORST. I wish I had had the foresight to see that this shop would keep me busy for years so I would give it a more memorable title, but I didn’t know anyone who was selling online at that point who could have given me tips, and I really just bumbled my way through a million rookie mistakes before I arrived at the current day. I like to think my dorky shop name is the last fossil of my initial inexperience. (If you’d like more evidence, though, please check out the photos for my first sold items; the horror!)

How did you get your start selling vintage?

I began selling on Etsy out of necessity. My parents are antique dealers and vintage collectors, and I grew up in a 100 year-old home attached to my mom’s antique shop, so my indoctrination into loving old stuff was early and strong. In 2011, when I was still living at home, my dad started complaining of the lack of room in the front closet, and my mom and I ended up sheepishly cleaning out nearly forty pairs of vintage brown leather boots of varying styles, all in our shared shoe size of 7-8. We picked out a few to keep, and decided I should try opening an internet shop for the rest. I had some previous experience selling odds and ends online on some other e-commerce websites, and although the experiences were fine, I knew Etsy was the one I wanted. The first few items zipped out fairly quickly, and I realized that I was working with stock that other people loved as much as I did. I had access to a lot of great stuff through estate sales and Mom’s antique connections, so I began picking, and now here we are.

What is your favorite item in your shop right now, and what makes it special to you?

My favorite items are the ones that bear strong evidence of another person’s personality. I love wearing cuffs and belts with other people’s names embossed on them for that reason. This great, large trucker wallet/clutch totally does it for me in the same way. I love that it’s just so obviously not from a mall store or boutique; it’s the real deal vintage, real deal weird!

What is the most unusual or amazing item you have sold from your shop?

I’m not sure, but I just scrolled through my old sold items and this pair of boots from ages ago just popped out at me (and excuse the awful old picture): genuine ponyhair and leather leopard print cowboy boots…and in my size. I loved them even when I sold them. Why didn’t I keep them?!

SOLD!

Do you sell your items at other venues outside of Etsy? If so, where can we find you?

Etsy is my only online selling venue—and for that matter, the only place to find evidence of my shop at all—but I do have pop-up sales in my home city of Halifax, Nova Scotia, about twice a year. That’s it! Everything I score will eventually turn up on Etsy. (And I have six boxes of unphotographed stock at the moment, so that will be a lot.)