A Mobile Shop Update: The End Is Near

It’s been awhile since I’ve updated you guys on the progress of my mobile shop venture and I’ve got tons of details to fill you in on since April.  

First things first…the clothes! One of the most fun (and indulgent) parts of launching this new facet of my business has been getting to stock up on lots and lots of vintage to fill the trailer with. Above are some peeks at what I have in store for you Brooklynites but believe me when I say that there is much more where that came from. My bedroom is literally exploding with vintage clothes and I can’t wait to share it will all of you!

My trailer-towing machine!

Aaand here she is getting towed away after a highway breakdown!

Also…I bought a car! The trailer isn’t going to tow itself, so naturally I needed a vehicle to pull it with. I decided on a Ford Escape since they’re affordable and powerful enough for towing. I’ve had a couple of major breakdowns (and just as many anxiety attacks) since buying my wheels but all in all, my vintage sourcing has been much more effective now that I don’t have to rely on friends and Zipcar for transportation. Learning how to drive with a 10-foot monstrosity attached to my car has also been, in a word, interesting but I keep telling myself that trailer towing will be a good skill to have if this whole vintage thing doesn’t work out...right?

The trailer primed and ready!

Me getting my construction on and sanding the trailer.

And we can’t forget about…the trailer construction! Since buying the trailer, I’ve gutted the inside and replaced a lot of missing wood paneling with the very generous help of my friend Zach who has a carpentry business and has donated his time and power tools to the cause. The inside is almost ready for finishing touches like a new paint job, hanging racks, checkered flooring and the deadstock 1950s floral wallpaper that I just ordered! I’ve also primed the outside (as you can see in the above photo) and it’s all ready for its teal paint job as soon as I can get a few clear days in Brooklyn...are you listening Mother Nature? 

And you can’t leave without hearing about…my new website! I finally have a domain name to call my own and pretty soon lapoubellevintage.com will be up and running. My super talented friend Hannah Rawe did some amazing drawings for the site (that is actually being coded as we speak). Above is a sneak peek at what the home page will look like.

All in all, these past few months have been a combination of amazingly exciting/incredibly stressful/creatively stimulating/physically exhausting. Getting this thing up and running has been a TON of work with lots of unexpected twists and turns and also one of the most satisfying experiences of my career thus far being able to actually create something that I’ve been conceptualizing for so long.

Thanks for reading and sorry for the very wordy post! Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for more daily updates and stay tuned for the launch date (and backyard party!) of the mobile shop!

Making Progress: An Update on Our Mobile Boutique

If you've been tracking my Kickstarter progress, you'll know that about two weeks ago, I reached my goal and my project to launch a mobile vintage boutique in Brooklyn was funded! It's been a crazy couple of weeks since then and, quite frankly, I'm still in a bit of shock that I'm really launching this thing! I wanted to keep you all updated with my progress on getting the trailer on the road so that my Kickstarter backers can get a good idea of how their money is being spent and hopefully it will be fun to follow along, too.

First things first: The very first day after the Kickstarter was funded, I officially certified my business with Kings County. This is actually a pretty easy process that just involves filling out some paperwork, getting it notarized and bringing it down to City Hall. After that, you're able to open up a business bank account, apply for permits and take care of all the little nitty gritty small biz details.

Kickstarter rewards: I'm working hard on getting all of my amazing backers the loot that is coming to them. I ordered some awesome vintage trailer thank you cards from The Brush and Mallett on Etsy and now I just need to write out 80 cards, phew!

The trailer: The most exciting announcement is that I found the camper trailer that La Poubelle Vintage mobile will be housed in (above). She is a 10-foot 1968 Shasta Airflyte and quite possibly the cutest little thing ever. I drove up to Maine to check her out this weekend and it ended up being a perfect fit for me. She needs a new paint job and plenty of interior work and I can't wait to start working on the construction! This was actually the first trailer that I looked at so I'm feeling lucky that I didn't have to drive all around the East Coast checking them out as these models can be hard to find in such good condition.

That's it for now but you can follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter where I post lots of mini updates on the goings on around here.

My Latest Project on Kickstarter

So I've been harassing my friends on Facebook for the past week now so its about time I shared my latest project with you! I've just launched a Kickstarter campaign to help fund the launch of a mobile vintage shop that I have been dreaming up for some time now. The page has a lot of the nitty gritty details but in short, I'm going to buy a 1960s or 1970s pull-behind trailer, gut and renovate it, and turn it into a little shop on wheels that I'll drive around New York and beyond! It'll be kind of like the awesome gourmet food trucks out there, just filled with hand-selected vintage clothes and accessories! Mobile retail is picking up on the West Coast but New York really doesn't have any shops on wheels, so this will be a first of its kind!

Please check out my page, and pledge if you feel so inclined. I just added a new reward tier and the first person to pledge $65, gets all the loot below including a 1970s hand-painted cotton scarf, a pair of glamorous 1960s flower earrings and a '70s suede purse with silver trim. If that doesn't strike your fancy, pledging over $50 gets you La Poubelle Vintage store credit! Plus, you'll get to watch a really cute video made by my friend Janelle Jones who is a super talented photographer/videographer.