Celebrate my Etsy shop's 2nd birthday with a 32% off flash sale!

Two years ago, on a day both much akin to, and also very different from, today, I took my life - and career - in an exciting new direction and opened an Etsy store dedicated to selling vintage and antique treasures of the sort that have brought me joy ever since I was a young child.

This wasn't a decision that I rushed into, nor that I came to lightly. I poured countless hours of thought, discussion, and research into the topic before Chronically Vintage on Etsy came into being.

No matter how long I live, I will never forget the rush of emotions and thoughts that were swirling through my mind and heart alike when the big day came! It was a magical experience and I was touched to my core to receive some of my very first sales (as well as plenty of others since then) from my very dear blog readers here.

In the twenty-four months that have passed since that day in 2014, my shop has grown and flourished in ways I could hardly have conceived of back then. I've gone from less than a hundred listings initially to having as many as 1,100 items in the shop at once (a record that was hit last November and which I hope to surpass later on this year).

I've been honoured to receive a good percentage of my business from repeat customers around the world, supplied items to dozens of brides for their special days, sold vintage goods to numerous Hollywood production and theater companies in both the US and UK (including having some of my vintage gloves worn on the TV series The Astronaut's Wives Club), and grown both as a person and a business woman with each every piece that has sold from my shop.

With all my heart, I want to thank you, my readers and customers, for your fantastic support and business over the past two years. It has been an incredible experience selling to many of you and I look forward to continuing to do so as Chronically Vintage head's into its next year of life.







Whether you're a returning or first time customer, to celebrate this joyful occasion, I invite you to pop on over to my shop, where you will currently find every single item on sale for 32% off (I was planning to offer 30% off, but it struck me that since this is my shop's second birthday, "32" would make more sense :)).

This flash sale is on from today, May 6th, until Wednesday May 11th. All prices have already been marked down and no coupon codes are needed. Simply add any item(s) you wish to your cart and watch the savings pile up!

A lot has changed in my world and in some respects, with my shop as well, since this same date two years ago, but what remains the same is my commitment to providing top-notch customer service, wonderful vintage treasures, and a fantastic buying experience for each and every person who visits my shop.

These points will never waver and you can bet that as Chronically Vintage on Etsy heads into its next year of life, things will only get better and more exciting there!

Big Canada Day Etsy shop sale, July's call for sponsors, and less than two weeks to my birthday!

Phew-y, now how's that for an action packed title for yah! :)

Only two more days beyond this one still linger in June. It's hard at times, even when the mercury bubbles up to near dizzying heights, to believe that we're really into summer. I yearned, nearly desperately at times, for this season to return all winter long and am elated that it is here at long last. I want to savour each minute, ray of sunshine, sip of ice cold lemonade, and walk on the toasty sand covered beach like there's no tomorrow.

As we gear up for the seventh month of the year, I cordially invite one and all who happen to have a relevant shop, blog, or other type of website and would like to sponsor Chronically Vintage to do just that. I love welcoming new sponsors, shinning the spotlight on your offerings (or writing, DIY creations, outfit posts, etc), and introducing you to the tens of thousands of readers from around the world who visit my blog every month.

If sponsoring Chronically Vintage is something you're keen on doing, please check out my sponsor page for further information and by all means feel free to email me any ol' time your heart desires. I look forward to working with you this summer!

And speaking of time flying by faster than Annie when she's rushing after a tennis ball, in less than two weeks, on July 10th to be exact, I'll be hitting the big 3-0, a point which excited and delights me, as much as aging objectively can. It's not, at this point in my life, that I really want to get older, but as the old expression goes, it sure beats the alternative! And as I truly like the changes that have been happening both in my personal and professional life, as well as some of the ways I've grown and evolved in recent months and years, I'm eager and excited to see what the next decade - one that is often totted to be the best in person's life - has in store for me.





In celebration of both Canada's birthday on July 1st and my own a few days later, starting today and running until two weeks from now (the last day will be Saturday July 12th), all items in my Etsy shop are on sale at 25% off their regular price (there's no coupon code involved with this sale, all the prices that you see now reflect this discount).

In the past couple of weeks I've added over three dozen new vintage jewelry and accessory listings to the shop, so there's even more to fall in love with and add to your own vintage collection there these days.

This will be the only sale of the summer, so if there's something you've been eyeing in my shop, be sure to snap it up now before for at a wonderfully discounted price before someone else beats you to it!

Have an awesome last weekend of June and start of summer, everyone! I'm off to hit the garage sale scene, take one of those aforementioned walks on the beach, and load up on groceries for Monday's festive Canada Day bbq celebration!

Chin up, buttercup!

My eyes felt like they'd been given a thorough scrubbing with coarse sandpaper. Weary and red, they blinked away a few more sleepy tears as I lay back against the wooden headboard, the bedroom fan rippling airwaves across my face as a full moon shone vividly across the dark sky outside. It was precisely nine days since I had opened my Etsy shop and you'd think that I would be nothing but a  bundle of happiness every second of the day as a result.

Nothing, unfortunately, could have been further from the truth. While I was, and very much am, elated that I launched a shop, what I wasn't prepared for once I'd done so was the toll and barrage of stress, challenging emotions, mixed reactions and responses (about having gone from being "just" a blog to a blog + a shop) from my online public, the toil that the financial investment I laid out to get things off the ground, and the incredible fatigue and long stretch of that zero sleep (three days or more sometimes at a time) that having done so would take on me. I was taken aback, and not in a good way, but how some people responded to me opening a shop and this hurt me to the core at a time when my emotions and nerves were already as a raw as a freshly peeled grape.

Beyond that though, was the larger picture. I was exhausted and worried and each new concern or reminder of what was troubling me seemed to heighten my anxiety and set me off into a fit of tears. This, I assure, sensitive soul as I always am, is not commonplace for me in the slightest. Quite the opposite actually, I'm usually the type to buck up instantly, smile through the stress, and plow forward with steadfast determination. But I think that I'd simply been pushing myself too hard, for too long, with a head far too full of concerns, and as a result I was going though a bit of mini emotional meltdown.

I loathed how I was feeling, knew that it was hampering my productivity, and that I truly was happy to have launched a shop, which, don't get me wrong, tons of folks (online and off) were, and are, wildly supportive of. I needed to pull myself up by the bootstraps and move forward right quickly. So that's what I did.

You see, I've always believed that we have the power to choose happiness and to create our own destiny. It's okay to be blue and sad, even to throw a pity party for ourselves from time to time, especially when such is justifiable, but hitting low points like that are incredibly draining and won't help you do anything more than tread water at best and at worst, they may cause you to sink entirely.

Glancing towards at the silvery May moon, I blinked away those straggling tears, got up, splashed cold water on my burning eyes, quite literally shook my head a few times, and vowed to look upward and onward, not down at my worries from here on out.

My Etsy shop is not my blog and I needed to realize that I can't see it as merely an extension of such. It is a brand new baby, with much growing and developing on its own to do. Yes, it may get a bit of help from my blog, its five year old sibling, and its audience sometimes, but I must look at it as the separate entity that it is and foster its growth and development right from the start in ways that are mix of familiar and brand new to me.

I had to remind myself that this (opening a vintage shop) was already the fulfillment of a dream of mine that took root years ago, that I'd already done so much and that I didn't have to push myself, no joke, to the point of collapse every single day for the shop to succeed. And, most of all, I had to tell myself that there will be times when peoples' true colours are shown and no amount of tears in the world will change the fact that there are plenty of fair-weather friends and blog readers in this world. It's flat out naive to think otherwise.

In the days since that last painfully long night, I have reevaluated and rejigged my schedule, stopped worrying quite as much (I'm a natural born worrier, so I'll never stop there entirely), began pacing myself better when it comes to handling the new trifecta of my shop + my blog + daily life, done several things that I believe will help grow my shop's sales numbers and reach, and above all, stopped crying, put a smile back on my face, and banished my temporary blues.

These are new and exciting times. I can't expect myself to know everything or to get each step 100% right all the time. I may know blogging like the back of my hand, but online business ownership and operation is brand spanking new to me and it will come with its fair share of challenges, and ultimately, I believe triumphs as well. Hard work and problem solving have never scared me away from anything, no matter how big the challenge, and I'm not about to let this be the first time that happens.

{Image source}

 

No way, no how! I'm following both pieces of advice in the graphic above, keeping calm and keeping my chin up alike. I can do this. I will do this. I am already doing this and it's going to be, as I knew months ago when I decided to open an Etsy shop, but nearly forgot in the process, incredible.

Chin up, buttercup? You better believe it, I've got a new business to run, grow, and to see turn into something utterly amazing!

A huge thank you and 12 ways you can help my Etsy shop grow

It's been 48 hours precisely since I announced the grand opening of my Etsy shop. The response, both in terms of each of your incredibly kind, supportive, and encouraging blog comments, emails, Facebook and Etsy private messages has been nearly overwhelming. From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank each and every one of you who has shared an uplifting, wonderfully sweet word with me, as well as to all those who have placed orders from my shop already. I appreciate both more than I could ever begin to put in towards and really feel like the shop is off to a stellar start!



{Throngs of you flocked to my shop in it's first 48 hours, with a total of about 3,000 pageviews in the first 48 hours alone. Talk about making a vintage loving, entrepreneurial gal feel loved! Image source.}


One of my goals for 2014 was to try and get better at asking for things. This is an area, as I discussed in my New Year's post on the subject of this year's goals, that I have struggled with (massively) my whole life. Even just typing the words of this post puts a knot in my throat and stomach alike, but one can't rightly attempt to make headway on the improvement front if they don't at least try or do whatever it is they want to become more confident in. And so, to that end, I was wondering if you, my awesome readers and friends, could please help me spread the good word about my Etsy shop.

I know that some of you have done one or more of these things already and I appreciate that you have with all my heart and heart and soul, just as I do those actions that anyone does as a result of reading this post (or anytime). One of the best and most beautiful elements of the online vintage community is how we rally around, support, and help one another, and today I would be honoured if you could do just that for me by undertaking any one - or more - of the following things.


-Favourite (heart) my shop on Etsy.


-Favourite (heart) as many of my Etsy listings that you like.


-Create one or more Etsy treasuries that includes one of the shop's listings.


-Post the shop and/or any of my listings that catch your on Facebook page.


-Tweet about the shop and/or any of my listings on Twitter.


-Pin any and all listings (the more the merrier!) to any of your Pinterest boards that you like. (I'm not on Tumblr, but by all means, if you are, feel free to post them on that site, too.)


-Post about the shop and/or any listings(s) you'd like on Google+.



-Stumble the shop and/or any listings you'd fancy on StumbleUpon.


-Include one ore more items from the shop in a Polyvore set.


-Instagram/regram any image from the shop (please just mention where it came from), any ol' time your heart desires.


-Blog about my shop's opening and/or include one or more of my listings in any of your posts - now or anytime - that you'd like. (And certainly feel free to blog about anything you've bought from me, either before it arrives or after. If you have a photo of yourself wearing an item you've purchased from the shop, please feel free to email it to me anytime and I'd be more than happy to include it in a future custom appreciation blog post here, with a link to your own blog, if you'd like.)


-Plus any other way you can think of! Want to interview me about my shop, discuss collaborating in some way, or anything else? Just let me know, I would love to team up with you and help introduce Chronically Vintage on Etsy to as large an audience as possible.


You, ladies and gents, know me and that it's very out of character for me to put out a call to action like this, but in becoming a small business owner, I've already had to do a lot of things that were outside of my (ultra shy, ultra confrontation fearing) comfort zone, and do you know what? I honestly feel like I've grown as a person and am very grateful that I had/needed to do every one of those things, which is how I think I'll feel about this post and about asking you to help me get the word out about my new shop, too.


I mean it with the utmost of sincerity when I say thank you.


Thank you for your support, for your help, for your encouragement, for your business, and for every way you'll play a roll in Chronically Vintage's Etsy success. This shop will flourish all the more because of each of you!

PS: Don't forget to take advantage of the coupon code GRANDOPENING to save 15% off on all purchases until May 12, 2014.

Announcing Chronically Vintage's new etsy shop

It is with the greatest of joy that today, at long last, I reveal my top secret vintage plans! As the title of this post gives away, I've launched my first ever etsy shop!

Given the fact that plenty of folks already know Chronically Vintage (the blog and social media presence) online, it made perfect sense for me to name my shop the same thing, which is precisely what I did. The shop officially opened to the general public a few hours ago and now 100% live and ready for business.

In these early initial days, you will primarily find a good sized selection of antique and vintage jewelry, with pieces spanning the Victorian era right on up to the 1980s, with a particular emphasis on items from the mid-twentieth century, as those are the decades I - and I know many of you - hold nearest and dearest to our hearts, in the listings right now.

In the coming weeks (and beyond!), I will be adding lots of great vintage clothing, hats, handbags, sewing and knitting related items, ephemera, and other great vintage goodies. Likewise in the near future, I will also be adding an in house line of handmade nickel-free jewelry (made by yours truly), a lot of which will have a vintage vibe to it (and/or be made with various vintage jewelry components) and all of which will be timeless in its style.



{Run, don't walk over to Chronically Vintage's Etsy shop, add it to your Etsy favourites, like and share it on social media, and by all means feel free to buy to your heart's content! :) Image source.}


I'm not entering into being an Etsy shop owner lightly in the slightest. Before I even registered a new etsy account, I set about going through the proper legal channels of opening a sole proprietorship business (the Canadian term for a small business with a single owner), registering for GST and PST (tax) numbers, doing a phenomenal amount of research on small business and Etsy shop ownership and operations, hiring a graphic designer to create my Etsy shop graphics (as well as new coordinating ones for my Facebook and Twitter accounts), ordering packaging and shipping supplies, had new business cards and address labels printed up, spent weeks photographing items and drafting listings, and perhaps most importantly of all, have been combing the Okanagan right, left and center for amazing vintage items to list in my shop.

As you've likely heard me say here before, this part of the world is not exactly overflowing with vintage fashions or accessories, but there are items - especially jewelry - to be had around these parts if one knows where to look, and I decided around the start of 2014 that the time had finally come to fulfill a very longstanding dream of mine to become a serious online vintage shop owner, no matter what hurdles (small volume of local merchandise, my health, life’s unavoidable curve balls, etc) came my way.

Making this decision has already proven to be one of the best and most fulfilling of my life and I believe in my heart of hearts, in no small part because of all of your support, that this shop will not only succeed, but flourish beyond my wildest dreams!

Though things may still be extra hectic for me for the next little while, I want all of you to know that I have every intention to keep blogging at more or less the same kind of regular basis that I usually do here and that I'll soon be back to visiting all of you at your wonderful sites and hanging out on social media at my usual clip.

This has been an incredibly exhilarating, at times stressful, eye-opening, creative, action packed, indescribably busy period for me over the past several weeks and I feel a sense of lightness and elation at being able to finally announce what has been keeping me so busy with all of you lately. Today is really and truly the realization of a  major dream of mine and one that I feel so blessed to be able share with each and every one of you.

Here's a sneak peak of just some of the (currently 85+ and counting) vintage listings that I have up in my etsy shop already. There's lots more (including Bakelite, novelty brooches, and oodles of 1930s, 1940s and 1950s jewelry) in the shop.




Thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone for your support and encouragement lately, even though you didn't know just what exactly it was that I was up. It has meant a tremendous amount to me and really helped make getting through the uber busy days easier.

This is such a fantastic, life changing new part of mine - and yours, my sweet friends - world. Chronically Vintage is expanding from "just" being a blog to being a blog plus and Etsy shop of the same name. This is so exciting, so much fun, and most of all, so very chalked full of even more vintage awesomeness for all of us!

As my way of further saying thank you, please use the Chronically Vintage exclusive coupon code GRANDOPENING between today and Monday May 12th to save 15% off any and all purchases from my Etsy shop. (As well, if I see that you're a Chronically Vintage reader and have used this coupon code, I will include a free surprise gift with your order.)

Happy shopping & many heartfelt thanks in advance for your wonderful support of Chronically Vintage on Etsy!