Diana Mote: Interview: Ginger Does Vintage

For those who are not familiar with the online boutique, 'Ginger does Vintage' it is based in Manchester and owned by the lovely Nikki Gore. For the 80's obsessed folk you will want to start investing in this online boutique as Nikki only delivers the most retro and quirky clothes going which you will not be able to resist!

However, Nikki Gore talks about her passion and perseverance to owning a vintage boutique through the highs and lows whilst sharing her insight to a whole new world of fashion.

Name: Nikki Gore

Age: 32

Occupation: Part Time Sales Assistant and newly self made Vintage Seller.

Loves: Vintage (obviously), food, watching Masterchef like a geek! Fashion, especially quirky and alternative fashion.

Hates: Painting my nails! Being hungry. Rude People.

Inspirations: I am inspired by things I see more than people I want to be.

How did you come up with the name 'Ginger does Vintage'?

I am Ginger! It was originally 'Ginger Vintage' however I researched and found no one with the same name until a month later I set up a Facebook, Twitter page as well as my ASOS Boutique and found there was another business with the same name so I had to have a quick re-think, so this name was born. It made me laugh as it sounded like Debbie does Dallas! (bit sad I know).

What inspired you to setup your own fashion boutique?

I love vintage and love finding classic pieces that I think people will love. I'm not looking to become a millionaire or a super business woman through what I do as that's not the kind of person I am. As long as I can pay my bills and be happy selling vintage to people who appreciate old fashion clothing then that will keep me inspired to keep doing what I love. I'm not a vintage snob either, I sell clothes that are on trend now so if that's 80's crazy abstract shirt's then fabulous I'll sell them!!

Do you work alone or do you have a team helping you create your vintage clothing?

Any re-works I do, I do myself. I sew and customise everything by hand too! I sit down with all my bits and bobs and see what creative magic happens. Cheesy! I know! I have a lot of kind people helping me in other area's though. My boyfriend helps me with all the vintage fair's I go to as it is hard work carrying all that stock to and fro. But I also like the company. My boyfriend's younger sister sometimes does the modelling for me which is great. Apart from that it's just me.

Your boutique is based in Manchester. Do you venture out to claim the odd vintage piece or do you order online and add the extra touches?

So far I've been to the wholesalers only once which I was slightly reluctant to do as I see so much vintage rubbish at fair's that I didn't think it was possible to get good stock. I did find one close to me which I liked so I will be going back there as I can hand pick what I want. Before that though I used to set off around the area's near me and visit as many charity shops and car boot sales as I could to find those little bits of vintage gold.

Have you found eBay and ASOS Marketplace to be competitive with similar sellers?

Yes! I never thought there wouldn't be any competition just not as good as they are. It doesn't scare me though, I actually get obsessed by the different boutiques! I love viewing other boutiques and seeing how I can improve on mine (as I am only starting out they give me ideas on how to evolve and progress). ASOS Marketplace is amazing for vintage fashion as it shows people how you can wear it on trend. eBay is not as good anymore as people just want to purchase the product as cheap as possible. Some people cannot be bothered as much about the actual concept of it being Fashion.

Has social networking made it easier for you to get your brand name out there? If so what networks do you use and how do you attract vintage lovers?

Social networking is a great platform, especially the latest one's such as Instagram. I love instagram cause its straight to the point and it can find people you never thought possible. All I have to do is hash tag my pictures and people who are not following me can see my stuff.

Facebook is also a good platform as people are more familiar with it and 99.9% of the population are on it! People who are on my Facebook page can easily link up to my asos boutique which is great. It is easier and more accessible for people to buy my products. I am on Twitter but I can not get used to it! I wish I could promote more on Twitter but I'm not that keen on it. Finally I use Tumblr and Pintrest which can be difficult to gather followers however at least I am networking on different sites as it all helps.

Do you see yourself extending your brand into shops or other online stores?

To be honest it's not something I've thought that much into it as although I do customize vintage clothing it's not the main focus of my business. I've seen concessions in Topshop of vintage custom brands which is amazing but I know this is way down the line of where I am right now so to focus on that right now would only set me up to fail. I wouldn't rule it out but I think at this present time my small online boutique is what I need to concentrate on to reach it's highest peak.

What is the overall goal?

I definitely see myself extending into an online store of my own, with my own website, as I think that's the future of retail now. As you can see the high street retail stores are struggling at the minute, even the leading retailer's, so I think personally the way forward is definitely online. As for my overall goal I want a successful business in vintage clothing and hopefully home/kitchenware. As I said earlier I'm not looking to take over the world and make millions with my business I just want to do something I love and hope I can make a living off it. Deep down my dream would be to own an actual shop and hopefully in the future that might come true but at the moment the right thing to do (from a business point of view) is to stay online and create my very own virtual vintage paradise haha!

Is there any advice you can offer to people who are aspiring to setup their own clothing line?

Of course! Remember you are going to make mistakes but take this is a good thing as sometimes it's the only way you can make your business better. I like that I jumped in head first. I quit my well paid job and just went for it because all those things that I did wrong I am now doing okay at and getting better. I was lucky though that I had a little bit of money saved up and no responsibilities so I couldn't lose a house if it went wrong, I don't have kid's that need feeding if it went wrong. However I have had to make some sacrifices to make the boutique work I had to get a part time job just to make sure I paid my bills and I had to move back home which was very hard for me and the boyfriend.

If you could go back in time.....Where would you go?

England in the late 60's/70's it looked cool (sorry not very interesting)

Who would you meet?

Debbie Harry from Blondie - too cool for school!

What would you change?

My hair in High School, oh sweet lord it was bad!

Whats your favourite item in your wardrobe?

I bought a leopard print dress from a charity shop years ago, just a simple sleeveless slip dress that was too big but I totally love it and know matter how stressed I am at what to wear day or night I know I can always whack that little bad boy on, stick a belt round the waist and I'm happy! Simply Perfect :)

Taste of Ginger Does Vintage