Birds Chasing Bugs

While looking for Etsy treasury photographs for the Midwest Treasury Team one of my favorite shops is BirdsChasingBugs. It's a vintage store with great photography and items. It's primarily clothes and shoes, but it also has handbags and items for the home. I had to learn more about Amber and this great vintage clothes shop.

How did you get started selling vintage?:

I started selling vintage apparel while I was in college. There was a really charming vintage store/boutique that consigned vintage items of all sorts. I started doing it as a way to make back the money I spent on things that I would acquire at thrift stores. I’m totally manic about shopping at thrift stores, and selling some pieces that I found made me feel like there was balance to the equation. I’m always scheming to put my hobbies to work for me.

Why does vintage clothing appeal to you?:

Clothing will never again be constructed the way it used to be. Not en masse, anyway. I find vintage clothing utterly and truly captivating. Clothes used to be constructed from fine, natural materials, such as wool, silk, cotton, and fur. These natural materials make the world of difference when it comes to comfort. Also, the details that you find on vintage clothes are always stunning.

I love the freedom to pick and choose across genres and generations. I have this romantic idea that people of the past had more style and grace than your average person today, so there’s definitely some romanticism. Moreover, vintage clothes are fancy, and I love being fancy. Why put on jeans and a t-shirt when you can put on one fabulous dress? You would have done twice the work and you wouldn’t look half as awesome. Vintage clothes spark my imagination. I could wax on and on for days about why I love vintage clothes, but I’ll stop here.

What are your favorite vintage items to sell (shoes, dresses, etc)?:
I feel like I am still figuring this part out. When I look at my “items sold” list, it seems like I have the best knack for shoes, but I really would love to be able to sell more dresses. In general, anything fancy that you can put on your body is what I am interested in selling, at least in BirdsChasingBugs. I have another store in the works, PirateVintage, that is going to focus more on housewares and guy-friendly stuff.

What advice would you give to someone looking to buy or sell vintage clothing?:

If you are looking to sell vintage of any sort, treat your shop as if you are curating an art exhibit. Make it beautiful, make it genuine, and be passionate about it. If you don’t have passion, it will show.

If you are looking to buy vintage clothing, remember that there’s no such thing as “too fancy.” Also, that truly great vintage piece will last you forever, if cared for properly. Be kind to your vintage clothes, and they’ll be kind to you. Invest in the proper cleaning of your garments.

I enjoy the timeless designs and the items at BirdsChasingBugs. It really is a great vintage clothing store. I'll be sure to keep an eye out for your new store, PirateVintage. This was my first interview and it was fun to do, thanks Amber. Wishing everyone a happy weekend, and some great finds to vintage shoppers and buyers alike.

My Stupid and Exciting Day

Yesterday I knew I was featured somewhere. The bookends to the left were up to 57 views in in just over a hour before they sold at my Modred12 store on Etsy. If you get views like that every day, congratulations. I however, do not. I didn't know where the views were coming from though, so I had to wait until today/24 hrs for them to show up in my Google Analytics. For a brief moment I thought I was in Etsy's finds e-mail, but since I've never been promoted by Etsy I have no idea why I thought that.

This morning I woke up, and checked my Google Analytics. They were featured in a very popular and cool blog called Apartment Therapy. My shop had over 100 more views than it does on a busy day. I was thrilled-click here for the article.

I guess I was so excited that I didn't check the time. I was taking my youngest to school thinking it was 8:30, it was actually 9:30. I looked at the car clock, thinking it had to be wrong. I started driving to school, no kids walking and no school traffic. Yup, I really goofed; I asked the pre-school if "parent stupidity" could count as the reason he was late when I signed him in. I mis-read the time when I got up and just checked the minutes after that. I was an hour off all morning and had to scramble to get my oldest to the dentist. Usually I'm very time conscience, so I'm not sure what happened today. Oh well, it was a stupid and exciting day all in one.

Sale at ModredVintage on Zibbet

It's getting to be Halloween time. The leaves are turning and my black cat Modred is getting restless. It's his time of the year, when black cats decorate the neighborhood. In fact, when he lays on our front steps he's our best Halloween decoration-until he moves that is.


In honor of it being Modred's (or Mo as he's known around the house) month, my on-line shops are all decorated with a new avatar and banner. Also, my Zibbet shop is having a 20% off sale. I have a new stock of vintage patterns in, along with my usual home decor items like vintage glassware and pottery. I've been listing new items, so stop on by. Just click on the black cat, he wants to say hello.

Weekend Blog Hop

It's time for the weekend blog hop. It's a fun way to discover new blogs and be discovered. If you're interested in joining in, just click below. Happy blogging and weekend to everyone!

Vintage Appliances

My first apartment had a vintage refrigerator in it, of course I was young and it worked fine for me. Who cares if items left in the freezer turned into ice balls, or that I had to defrost it every once in awhile? Honestly, I didn't defrost it that much, hence the ice balls. I do remember standing there with a blow dryer, the whole freezer was becoming a block of ice.

I love the look of vintage appliances, but they aren't always practical. Besides the ice block above they are also big energy wasters, made in a time when "save the earth" wasn't too high on the list. I came across some great vintage looking appliances on the inter net, thanks to Stumble Upon. They are called Big Chill Fridge, and I love the look of their appliances. Stoves, fridges, ovens, they do it all. You can choose from a variety of colors and sizes, and they are new. Vintage looks with modern conveniences, you know this vintage woman is a fan.

An Example of Great Customer Service

Since I ranted about my customer experience yesterday, I decided to talk about a great customer experience I did have. It was on Zibbet, and the shop was graphicdesignbytara.

I was looking for an ad. for Craftcult and Project Wonderful, and I contacted her. She promptly answered and I told her what I wanted. After some back and forth she made the advertisement up above. which I was very pleased with. All communication and delivery of the item were timely and I felt that my business mattered, which as a customer you always appreciate. You might have seen my ad., but if you haven't that's okay as well. In fact, this reminds me that I need to do some more advertising. I just wanted to add all my experiences on Zibbet have been great and I enjoy shopping there. If only I had more money...

New Uses for Old Jars and Customer Service Rant

I love what MidwestFinds on Etsy has done. Have an old jar?-put a lid on it. Instant soap dispenser. It's another clever idea that I love. I also like the way it looks, if you have an old blue Mason jar at home, it would really add some vintage style.

And now for the second part of my post, if you sell on Zibbet on Etsy, please answer you "messages to seller/convos." Since the black cat is my thing, I stumbled across a funky pre-made shop banner that I thought would work for Halloween for my Zibbet/Etsy shops. I really like it. I sent a convo. and more than 24hrs later no reply.

Just so you know, I like to send convos before I buy. I had a bad experience on E-bay. Bought the item, and nothing. I sent messages to the seller, nothing. I filed a claim of non-receipt and did get my money back, but I guess she was sick and couldn't respond to my messages. Unless I'm in a coma I get to the computer and can respond to my customers. Part of running an online business means being able to check your e-mails. If you can't or are away, please put a message in the announcement so at least I know.

So, I will give the banner maker a little bit more time, but will likely end up going elsewhere. I really like the look of the pre-made one, but I don't and won't wait around for forever. After all, Modred is a black cat and Halloween is coming up, he's got things to do.