If you browse through the Vogue Australia discussion forums on Online Vintage you can encounter hundreds of threads of people inquiring about or informing on vintage items and services on the internet.
Here are a few examples
Shopping on Facebook
Here's one discussing denim jackets, this helps internet users make more informed decisions on their vintage finds, one comment also says how using vintage denim is better than the ones in general pants or jeanswest, which helps promote the trend.
A similar discussion topic for 60's style dresses
http://forums.vogue.com.au/showthread.php?t=365285&highlight=vintage
... and 1920's flapper dresses
There is also a discussion about vintage shopping in Brisbane. Online communities help exchange information about offbeat places that are not well financed or advertised but the discussion forums help enable ways for them to promote for free. The poster asks for locations in the CBD but the replies mainly talk about places nearby, a lot of the users weren't aware of the many places you can get vintage even though they are vintage fans and they also discuss their experiences, success stories etc.
Many users also ask about good places to buy vintage online. personal reviews and feedback by real people (opposed to advertisers) is a big advantage for online communities, there is no sense of being fooled by advertisers as these people give personal account of their experience , which is important because buying things online can be risky too
Here's one that asks about hidden markets/op shops also a great way online communities find out about non mainstream things
Monday, October 25, 2010
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Trish Hunter Interview
What inspired you to start blogging?
I had been blogging on my Myspace page for a long while, showing my friends cool things that I’d found in opshops, but I was finding more and blogging more, so started Trish Hunter Finds in August 2008 in hope of getting readers from outside my friend group. I remember having 3 followers and was over the moon that people actually wanted to read my waffle, and it hasn’t stopped growing ever since! It’s even become the name of my online store.
What is it that you love so much about vintage items?
I love absolutely everything about vintage. I’m rather bias about it to be honest, but here are a few points.
- In general, Vintage items are quality products made to last you an eternity. Anything from a can opener through to a frock, they were made to be durable, not do fall apart or break within a few months.
Your vintage frock will last a thousand washes, it won’t date, and as I said earlier, you are probably the only one who owns that dress, so you will forever be receiving compliments.
Purchase a can opener for $5 new, have it break 10 times and replace 10 times that can opener could cost you $50! Buy an English made metal one at your local opshop for .50c and it will last you a life time.
- Often, especially when it comes to clothing, you can find something one of a kind, or so rare than you won’t even have to consider the possibility of someone arriving at a party wearing the same thing as you. The word individual can truly be used if you are a vintage wearer, and no doubt everyone at the party will be asking you where you got your dress from as they wouldn’t have seen anything so fabulous
- I love that with everything vintage, there’s a story behind it. If that 1960’s cocktail bar could talk I’m sure it’d have many a story to tell.
- Buying vintage is so affordable. If you were to hold up a 1950’s frock, and ask what it’d cost if it were made new today, it’d be a $1000+ dress. The fabric, workmanship, detail, hand stitching, care and love gone into that one dress would probably not even exist today. However you could probably pick it up at a vintage for around $200.
Day dresses are commonly found in Vintage shops for $60, which is the average cost for a dress at a mass produced chain store that’s stitching will fall apart, that’s fabric will pill, and that will fade, will go out of fashion in just a few months, and that thousands of the same dress are being worn by others.
- Buying vintage is recycling, it’s preventing items from going into landfill, it’s supporting small businesses, it’s smart, it’s fun, and you never know what you might just find!
How does using the internet aid your blog / business?
The Internet has changed the lives of vintage sellers so much over the last few years. It’s even got to the point where one of the largest collectables price guide book producers, have stopped creating books and has moved their entire price guide online.
These days if people have their internet down or disconnected even for a few hours panic can set in, as they can’t check their facebook, eBay etc. The internet is life now, and this is a huge benefit to Vintage stores who can’t or don’t want to have their own ‘real life’ shop premises. It is now actually possible to have a shop premises online, and for it to be successful.
It’s also great for store owners to list their stock online so that people can shop with them not solely where their retail premises is, but all around the world.
There is then of course eBay, where there’s a huge market for all things collectable and Vintage.
I love how the internet is forever growing and I look forward to how else I can use it to my advantage for my business in the future.
Do you think if you weren’t part of an online community, you’d still be as passionate about your hobby of collecting vintage?
I’m very lucky to have had so many lovely people enjoy my blog! It’s forever a nice feeling to know that people actually read and like my blabber, and all the nonsense that fills my head. I started it as just a medium to say what’s on my mind, and show the occasional ‘find’, which people really seemed to like seeing, and would then show me their finds, which would motivate me to find something else, and would then get excited to show off that! If I hadn’t have had that support, I don’t think I would have built up to where I am now, as everything I found, would grow my knowledge just a little more, and without that knowledge, I wouldn’t have the Trish Hunter Finds store. So really it’s all thanks to the online community that I am where I am now.
How does your blog act as a platform to connect like-minded vintage collectors online?
Pre-internet days, there were ‘real life’ groups like knitting groups, craft groups, walking groups you name it there probably was a small cluster of people getting together once a month to do what they love. Then blogging burst into our lives and it opened up the world…to the world and those small clusters of people grew into thousands and millions, and everyone could share, and comment, and motivate every day! It’s really great to see! I like to think that somehow my blog has motivated others, inspired people to opshop and recycle and blog, who then then inspired someone else, who inspired someone else.
What is the role of social networking sites in your business?
I love social networking! I have a facebook page (www.facebook.com/trishhunterfinds) where blog readers can join, and send me messages, interact with posts, show me their finds etc.
It’s an avenue where I can keep in touch with short announcements rather than posting a whole blog about something. It’s almost like mini blogging!
I can let people know if I’ll be at Camberwell market on Sunday, what I’ll be selling, I can show preview photos of stock coming into the shop soon.
Without facebook, or my blog, I doubt I’d have a business, or possibly even have my online store at all!
The cross promotion between all of the social networking sites is how people find me first, and then browse my store. Without them who knows where I’d be.
Do you see the web as facilitating some sort of vintage movement or trend?
The web simply makes buying vintage more accessible to people. Last week I posted a leather satchel off to the USA. There’s no way he would have ever visited my store in Australia being on the other side of the world, so I wouldn’t have made that sale if I wasn’t on the web. I don’t really see it as creating a new movement as such, but opening up the trend to the rest of the world to make it more accessible and huge!
Do you have any favourite websites related to vintage clothing that you visit regularly?
Not really, I have more of a passion for the collectables side of the Vintage world, however I have pretty much all of the images from this website as my desktop screensaver which is very inspirational - http://digilander.libero.it/guido_1953/
Where do you see your blog going in the future?
I’ve been quite slack with my blog of late. I’ve been ridiculously busy getting the business up and running, and working on the next chapter of Trish Hunter Finds, that the blog has had to sit on the back burner for a while, however I do hope to get back into it when my ‘traveling boutique’ is launched, I’ll be posting regular updates about where I go with my shop, the people I meet, where I’ll be next etc.
I can’t wait for that to all take place which will hopefully be early next year! All fingers crossed.
I had been blogging on my Myspace page for a long while, showing my friends cool things that I’d found in opshops, but I was finding more and blogging more, so started Trish Hunter Finds in August 2008 in hope of getting readers from outside my friend group. I remember having 3 followers and was over the moon that people actually wanted to read my waffle, and it hasn’t stopped growing ever since! It’s even become the name of my online store.
What is it that you love so much about vintage items?
I love absolutely everything about vintage. I’m rather bias about it to be honest, but here are a few points.
- In general, Vintage items are quality products made to last you an eternity. Anything from a can opener through to a frock, they were made to be durable, not do fall apart or break within a few months.
Your vintage frock will last a thousand washes, it won’t date, and as I said earlier, you are probably the only one who owns that dress, so you will forever be receiving compliments.
Purchase a can opener for $5 new, have it break 10 times and replace 10 times that can opener could cost you $50! Buy an English made metal one at your local opshop for .50c and it will last you a life time.
- Often, especially when it comes to clothing, you can find something one of a kind, or so rare than you won’t even have to consider the possibility of someone arriving at a party wearing the same thing as you. The word individual can truly be used if you are a vintage wearer, and no doubt everyone at the party will be asking you where you got your dress from as they wouldn’t have seen anything so fabulous
- I love that with everything vintage, there’s a story behind it. If that 1960’s cocktail bar could talk I’m sure it’d have many a story to tell.
- Buying vintage is so affordable. If you were to hold up a 1950’s frock, and ask what it’d cost if it were made new today, it’d be a $1000+ dress. The fabric, workmanship, detail, hand stitching, care and love gone into that one dress would probably not even exist today. However you could probably pick it up at a vintage for around $200.
Day dresses are commonly found in Vintage shops for $60, which is the average cost for a dress at a mass produced chain store that’s stitching will fall apart, that’s fabric will pill, and that will fade, will go out of fashion in just a few months, and that thousands of the same dress are being worn by others.
- Buying vintage is recycling, it’s preventing items from going into landfill, it’s supporting small businesses, it’s smart, it’s fun, and you never know what you might just find!
How does using the internet aid your blog / business?
The Internet has changed the lives of vintage sellers so much over the last few years. It’s even got to the point where one of the largest collectables price guide book producers, have stopped creating books and has moved their entire price guide online.
These days if people have their internet down or disconnected even for a few hours panic can set in, as they can’t check their facebook, eBay etc. The internet is life now, and this is a huge benefit to Vintage stores who can’t or don’t want to have their own ‘real life’ shop premises. It is now actually possible to have a shop premises online, and for it to be successful.
It’s also great for store owners to list their stock online so that people can shop with them not solely where their retail premises is, but all around the world.
There is then of course eBay, where there’s a huge market for all things collectable and Vintage.
I love how the internet is forever growing and I look forward to how else I can use it to my advantage for my business in the future.
Do you think if you weren’t part of an online community, you’d still be as passionate about your hobby of collecting vintage?
I’m very lucky to have had so many lovely people enjoy my blog! It’s forever a nice feeling to know that people actually read and like my blabber, and all the nonsense that fills my head. I started it as just a medium to say what’s on my mind, and show the occasional ‘find’, which people really seemed to like seeing, and would then show me their finds, which would motivate me to find something else, and would then get excited to show off that! If I hadn’t have had that support, I don’t think I would have built up to where I am now, as everything I found, would grow my knowledge just a little more, and without that knowledge, I wouldn’t have the Trish Hunter Finds store. So really it’s all thanks to the online community that I am where I am now.
How does your blog act as a platform to connect like-minded vintage collectors online?
Pre-internet days, there were ‘real life’ groups like knitting groups, craft groups, walking groups you name it there probably was a small cluster of people getting together once a month to do what they love. Then blogging burst into our lives and it opened up the world…to the world and those small clusters of people grew into thousands and millions, and everyone could share, and comment, and motivate every day! It’s really great to see! I like to think that somehow my blog has motivated others, inspired people to opshop and recycle and blog, who then then inspired someone else, who inspired someone else.
What is the role of social networking sites in your business?
I love social networking! I have a facebook page (www.facebook.com/trishhunterfinds) where blog readers can join, and send me messages, interact with posts, show me their finds etc.
It’s an avenue where I can keep in touch with short announcements rather than posting a whole blog about something. It’s almost like mini blogging!
I can let people know if I’ll be at Camberwell market on Sunday, what I’ll be selling, I can show preview photos of stock coming into the shop soon.
Without facebook, or my blog, I doubt I’d have a business, or possibly even have my online store at all!
The cross promotion between all of the social networking sites is how people find me first, and then browse my store. Without them who knows where I’d be.
Do you see the web as facilitating some sort of vintage movement or trend?
The web simply makes buying vintage more accessible to people. Last week I posted a leather satchel off to the USA. There’s no way he would have ever visited my store in Australia being on the other side of the world, so I wouldn’t have made that sale if I wasn’t on the web. I don’t really see it as creating a new movement as such, but opening up the trend to the rest of the world to make it more accessible and huge!
Do you have any favourite websites related to vintage clothing that you visit regularly?
Not really, I have more of a passion for the collectables side of the Vintage world, however I have pretty much all of the images from this website as my desktop screensaver which is very inspirational - http://digilander.libero.it/guido_1953/
Where do you see your blog going in the future?
I’ve been quite slack with my blog of late. I’ve been ridiculously busy getting the business up and running, and working on the next chapter of Trish Hunter Finds, that the blog has had to sit on the back burner for a while, however I do hope to get back into it when my ‘traveling boutique’ is launched, I’ll be posting regular updates about where I go with my shop, the people I meet, where I’ll be next etc.
I can’t wait for that to all take place which will hopefully be early next year! All fingers crossed.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Vintage Blogs and Discussion Forums
Some of the websites have really helped facilitate the vintage trend...
we looked at more blogs such as:
http://www.evolution-vintage.com/
and also discussion forums:
http://adorevintage.proboards.com/index.cgi
http://forums.vogue.com.au/
we looked at more blogs such as:
http://www.evolution-vintage.com/
and also discussion forums:
http://adorevintage.proboards.com/index.cgi
http://forums.vogue.com.au/
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Aesthetic inspiration
This is the home page for boutique homewares label Pony Rider. I like the overarching background image and the minimalist menu on the left hand side. www.ponyrider.com.au
We could use this logo from blogazine Side Street Sydney as a blueprint for our own. For some reason I really like the idea of having a simplistic logo framed in a circle - perhaps with a pastel pink background and white text reading 'Virtual Vintage'. www.sidestreetsydney.com.au
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
another example.
Here's an interesting video on How to Know If It's Vintage by StrawberryKoiVintage.
She posts up great How-to videos about vintage styles as well, such as mix-and-match, DIY hairstyle tutorials and thrift/vintage shopping.
Oh, and here's her blog. She also has an etsy store. I thought she has utilized online resources very well in promoting her love for vintage! :)
Monday, August 30, 2010
web 2.0: collectors' delight.
How has Web 2.0 aided the process of vintage collecting?
These may include:
- Vintage shopping made easy: eBay auctions (relating to both sellers and buyers of vintage items); and organizers of seasonal or one-off vintage markets can also notify potential buyers through Facebook groups and other social media
- Sharing of knowledge and expertise: Online communities and forums for both active collectors and people who are interested in knowing more about certain categories of vintage items (e.g. clothing, accessories, furniture), in which like-minded people can discuss about their collections and meet like-minded others
- Increased interactivity: Lookbooks, blogs, etc, that allows people to view each others' collections and make comments
- Exchanging items: Vintage Swap (see Ingrid's previous post)
And extending from the overarching theme.. There is a recent trend of "back to basics", with fascinations of reverting back to writing and mailing letters, using manual film cameras (e.g. lomography), wearing vintage or re-worked clothing; ironically, it seems that people maybe overwhelmed by all the technology around us thus take part in the above activities, but the Internet and online media have also helped spread this trend. So what is the relationship between the two?
I was doing a bit of research and came across this website called Swap-bot which allows people to initiate and organize group swaps online, many of which include vintage swaps. I also came across an online vintage boutique called Gary Pepper Vintage. Nicole Warne, founder of the site and owner, sources vintage across Australia (she blogs about it too!). After photographing each item, she puts them up on eBay for auction. I thought perhaps we can get in touch with her and if possible, organise an email Q&A interview? As Ingrid and Johanna mentioned previously, we can also contact Trish Hunter and Antonio Ruggerino about their collections.
It is apparent that the Internet has made this process possible and encourages the renewal of the old (which in turn becomes a new trend itself).
Potential target users
The usefulness of our site for companies and businesses looking to break into the vintage niche market is something to think about.
Consider the recent 'recycle-it' line by Sports Girl which attempts to tap into the vintage trend by selling "limited edition re-worked vintage fashion."
Businesses and larger corporations could find our investigation of how online media is facilitating the vintage trend useful. In highlighting the process by which individuals are buying and selling vintage online the site can also help companies generate ideas for the ways inwhich the vintage market can be penetrated.
Consider the recent 'recycle-it' line by Sports Girl which attempts to tap into the vintage trend by selling "limited edition re-worked vintage fashion."
Businesses and larger corporations could find our investigation of how online media is facilitating the vintage trend useful. In highlighting the process by which individuals are buying and selling vintage online the site can also help companies generate ideas for the ways inwhich the vintage market can be penetrated.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Who collects vintage?
Although vintage and antique collecting has largely been associated with an older demography it is a younger generation that seems to be embracing this trend and taking vintage online with their technologically savvy skills.
This is particularly evident if we look at the process of selling and buying vintage fashion online. Young female collectors generally between 20-25 years old started online vintage stores using a combination of facebook, blog sites and twitter as a way of marketing their e-bay store.
Consider the example of 'oh deer vintage' which has its own facebook, twitter, blog, to direct potential customers (predominantly young women who engage with these forms of online social networking) to her e-bay store.
Gary Pepper Vintage and Tuula are two other examples out of a wide range of'vintage brands' that have emerged out of new forms of online technology.
An exploration of this process of buying and selling vintage therefore seems to suggest that the internet is playing a major role in the revival of vintage as a trend among young people, specifically women. The fact that new technology is actually facilitating nostalgia and reconnecting people with objects of by-gone eras points to an interent paradox which we can investigate through our site.
This is particularly evident if we look at the process of selling and buying vintage fashion online. Young female collectors generally between 20-25 years old started online vintage stores using a combination of facebook, blog sites and twitter as a way of marketing their e-bay store.
Consider the example of 'oh deer vintage' which has its own facebook, twitter, blog, to direct potential customers (predominantly young women who engage with these forms of online social networking) to her e-bay store.
Gary Pepper Vintage and Tuula are two other examples out of a wide range of'vintage brands' that have emerged out of new forms of online technology.
An exploration of this process of buying and selling vintage therefore seems to suggest that the internet is playing a major role in the revival of vintage as a trend among young people, specifically women. The fact that new technology is actually facilitating nostalgia and reconnecting people with objects of by-gone eras points to an interent paradox which we can investigate through our site.
A few websites that may be good points of reference
The Vintage List :"The idea for The Vintage List came to me when I realized that the way vintage is being bought and sold online is changing - in the Web 2.0 world, buyers and sellers can no longer rely on just one shopping venue! Vintage shops are popping up all over the web, on various venues and on individual websites. I saw a real need for a way to bring all of these shops together, and The Vintage List was born!"
Swap Vintage: Swap Vintage is a unique online community set up specifically for members to be able to swap vintage items with one another - while it has a lot of the features of a regular social network, the main focus is to facilitate swapping"
Fashion Dig (Vintage Clothing): "Fashion Diggers love to talk about all things vintage, especially their fabulous finds. After all, it's not just the clothes...it's the story behind the clothes that count. Share your knowledge, or dilemmas, about vintage fashion and style with other like minded people here."
Swap Vintage: Swap Vintage is a unique online community set up specifically for members to be able to swap vintage items with one another - while it has a lot of the features of a regular social network, the main focus is to facilitate swapping"
A news article on how online vintage fashion retailer ModCloth utilizes the participatory and user-generated aspects of Web 2.0 / crowd-sourcing: "ModCloth takes its customers' fashion advice to improve its buying decisions, but it's also about building community. Customers leave comments on clothing samples and vote, but can also share their views with friends via Facebook or Twitter. It results in a group of people who may not know each other, but share in common an interest in fashion and a desire to talk about it. These fashionistas are a part of a community more complex than garments, though. ModCloth's blog, ModLife, covers everything from fashion to recipes, and provides "cool links" on the Web. There's even a link to a Flickr account where customers upload photos of their favorite ModCloth outfits...Online shops generally have a narrow frame of thought, assuming their customers came to them for only their products. But Web 2.0 is about community, and ModCloth was right in assuming that its shoppers have more in common than clothing."
Online vintage fashion communities in which geographically dispersed users upload photos of themselves in their day-to-day outfits, many focused on or incorporating vintage:
Chicismo: "a global community of girls sharing their personal style and inspiring others."
LOOKBOOK.nu: "The Internet's largest source of fashion inspiration from real people around the world" and "collective fashion consciousness." Typing 'vintage' into the search box on the homepage brings up 5265 look matches and 99 different users.
Blogs:
Trish Hunter Finds - A girl in Victoria who has an extensive vintage collection from clothes to books to kitsch porcelain figurines. Also an online store. Has 163 followers to date and media coverage including front page of Heidelberg & Diamond Valley Weekly, Melbourne Weekly Eastern and Emerald Hill Weekly.
Vintage ephemera in the digital realm
How has the Internet has impacted on vintage collecting? Here is a relevant excerpt from the Wikipedia article on Collecting
"The Internet offers many resources to any collector: personal sites presenting one's collection, online collectible catalogs, dealer/shops websites displaying their merchandise, Internet trading platforms, collector clubs, autograph club, collector forums and collector mailing lists.
Finding retired editions has become much more convenient with the advent of Internet auctions and trading. It has never been easier to track down a retired piece, and to reach out to dozens of dealers using e-mail or their websites. Most retailers tend to focus on one or two specific lines. Their activity in acquiring inventory adds liquidity to the market, and their sales of retired pieces are important to establishing a trend in value that is more consistent than random sales between individuals that may not be meaningfully documented.
The public and dealers alike use Internet auction websites to buy and sell collectibles. The thrill of "winning" an auction, and the convenience of shopping from home have contributed to a shift in volume from in-store sales of retired pieces to auction/mail order sales through such auction sites.
When buying expensive retired pieces, an escrow account for funds transfer may decrease the buyer's chance of losing their money. A form of fraud on the buy side involves swapping a defective piece for a good one bought via auction. In this case, the buyer, who may have a repaired piece, or a slightly defective one, buys a mint condition piece from the edition via auction and ships the defective one to the seller, demanding a refund on the auction. Sellers should record item numbers and other details about the piece before shipping so the seller has the facts they need to avoid this scam."
Monday, August 23, 2010
Vintage Posters
I found this great poster site for a vintage poster collector and currator in Bondi: Antonio Ruggerino Galleria
Possibly conduct an interview with the collector and create a page for vintage posters.
However, this site also got me thinking about the use of vintage posters as thumbnails. It could be cute to have an old fashion or food poster as the thumbnail link for that page on the site. Although we will need to look into issues of copyright.
Some examples i found through a google search:
Possibly conduct an interview with the collector and create a page for vintage posters.
However, this site also got me thinking about the use of vintage posters as thumbnails. It could be cute to have an old fashion or food poster as the thumbnail link for that page on the site. Although we will need to look into issues of copyright.
Some examples i found through a google search:
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