Can you tell us a little about how and why Southside Collector started? 

As a child I would love to rummage through toy baskets at garage sales , op shops & markets to find all kinds of amazing treasures.  From Polly Pockets to Duplo and things for my costume box looking for treasure at a bargain price has been running through me since a very young age. As I grew up I would attend markets and antique auctions and also op shops with my family. My passion for beautiful old things grew more and more the older I got.

At the age of 18 I had already been working in retail for quite some time but an opportunity arose that led me to open my own store. It was in a very unique space in James Street Burleigh Heads on the Gold Coast. My first store would lead me down a journey of many amazing events. 

J Vintage started off small just selling vintage and secondhand clothing and overtime grew into a well known business. I sold not only clothing but stocked vintage homewares, furniture and also hosted many local artists in a variety of art show events. 

My business expanded also doing regular markets at the local well known “Village Markets”. This helped drive customers to my store which was just down the road. 

Whilst I was running this store I was also studying full time at Griffith University completing a Bachelor of Digital Media.   I made many valuable connections with people in the industry. This led me down a different path and I made the decision to close my store, take some time to finish my degree and then take a leap many would think is quite crazy!

I moved to Melbourne when I was 22.  I had a job lined up with Adidas as a Visual Merchandiser and enrolled to complete further studies with my design skills. Moving to Melbourne like many other young creatives you come here thinking that there will be opportunities coming from all over. 

Unfortunately I hit a bump in my design journey and life came to a halt and I really was unsure about what I wanted to do next. Working a hospo job for a while and making the most of the Melbourne lifestyle I had a few years of just living and finding where I wanted to be.  A few years later, a job change or two and I found myself thinking why the heck am I working at a gym?

I had always said by 30 I wanted to open another stall and time was slowly creeping up on me so I started to do what I love the most.  With the support from my amazing partner and family I started to collect and sell vintage homewares and furniture and opened a stall at an amazing market called Market Fair located in Ferntree Gully. Slowly over a few months business picked up to the point where I decided if I give this my all and focus on this full time I will be able to do this full time. 

In January 2020 pre covid I quit my well paying full time job to run Southside Collector full time. Little did I know we were about to experience something no one in the entire world would have predicted to happen! 

Business was really starting to kick off and then covid hit and bam I needed to find new ways to source and sell to stay afloat! It’s been a wild ride over the past few years but I wouldn’t change it for the world.

My business continues to grow month by month and I’m constantly thinking of new ways to build my business and upskill myself.  I have learnt so many new skills in the past two years and I have met so many amazing people along the way.  They have helped me grow, develop my business and my skills. 

Many people work a whole lifetime and don’t love what they do. I love what I do and my dream is to share that passion and excitement with you all everyday.

Where to sell?

What platforms did you begin selling on and why? 

When I first started I was just selling on Facebook Marketplace but then I found  Market Fair and applied for a stall there. It is a fantastic opportunity to have a stall and sell things 7 days a week whilst not needing to be there.  Market Fair also has a website and I worked my butt off to load all my stock onto the site so customers who aren’t local can shop from all over Australia! 

It’s a great concept and there are many markets like this popping up all over the country where you pay a rent fee for a space and a small commission and the store does pretty much everything else! 

I’m very thankful to have found Market Fair the team are all very helpful. It’s given me the opportunity to have more time to source and expand my business.  I opened an Etsy store in November last year and then a new stall at Waverley Antique Bazaar in September this year called “Je Ne Sais Quoi Vintage”.

Selling at multiple venues and on multiple platforms allows you to gain new customers and followers from all over and this is really the key to success I believe.