A Conversation with Vintage Jewelry Expert Vanessa Samet - Episode #39

[00:00:00] Welcome to the Jewelry Resellers Podcast, your go-to source for all things shiny, sparkly,

[00:00:06] and of course profitable.

[00:00:08] I'm your host Desiree and I'll be your guide on this dazzling journey through the world

[00:00:12] of reselling jewelry.

[00:00:15] We'll be diving deep into the art and science of reselling, uncovering valuable tips, insider

[00:00:21] secrets and sharing stories from successful Jewelry Resellers.

[00:00:26] We'll explore market trends, industry news and even discuss how to find those hidden gems

[00:00:32] just waiting to be discovered in thrift stores, estate sales and beyond.

[00:00:37] So if you're dreaming of turning your hobby into a hustle or if you're a season pro looking

[00:00:43] to stay at the top of your jewelry reselling game, join me each week for insights, stories

[00:00:49] and more on the Jewelry Resellers Podcast.

[00:00:52] Hey friends, just wanted to give you a heads up about today's recording.

[00:00:59] We had a lot of technical difficulties when we were recording this episode.

[00:01:04] My microphone went out and then Vanessa's video kept freezing so if you watch the

[00:01:10] podcast on YouTube, you will see her video gets frozen quite a bit.

[00:01:15] Anyways, I just wanted to let you know before you listen to this episode so you know

[00:01:21] what was going on.

[00:01:23] But there's still a lot of great information here so I decided to go ahead and post it

[00:01:27] anyway.

[00:01:28] So I hope you enjoy it.

[00:01:30] Let's get into it now.

[00:01:32] Okay, I have a very special guest Vanessa.

[00:01:40] I am so thankful that you decided to be here today because I have been kind of stalking

[00:01:46] you on social media for a little while.

[00:01:50] Yes, yes I admit it.

[00:01:51] So I just want to say welcome.

[00:01:53] How are you?

[00:01:54] Well thank you and thank you for having me and thank you for stalking me because I love

[00:02:01] this idea that you've started with the Jewelry Resellers Podcast.

[00:02:08] I think it's fabulous.

[00:02:09] What a great way to bring our community together so I'm so appreciative to be here

[00:02:14] today.

[00:02:15] Thank you.

[00:02:16] Thank you for having me.

[00:02:17] You are so welcome.

[00:02:18] I mean it's definitely an honor to speak to someone who has as much experience and just

[00:02:26] like I was saying earlier, just good Jewelry people so I know that my listeners and my

[00:02:32] viewers are going to be really thrilled to hear your story.

[00:02:36] So why don't we go ahead and start there?

[00:02:38] Let's introduce yourself and give us a little background on what you do.

[00:02:42] Sure, thank you.

[00:02:44] So my name is Vanessa Samet and I own Vanessa's Vintage here in New York City.

[00:02:52] And I guess I've had a love of Jewelry and Vintage since I was little and I feel like

[00:03:03] it's a little bit in my blood.

[00:03:06] My father's father, he had a jewelry store down on Canal Street in New York City and

[00:03:14] I remember going in there as a little girl and getting to play with jewelry and he would,

[00:03:21] you know, I'd go in the back and he'd have these huge goggles on his head, you know, like

[00:03:24] with looking at stones and he would let me look at things.

[00:03:29] And then on my mom's side, my grandmother was a fashionista and she would go to all

[00:03:36] the flea markets and she would just dig around for Vintage and she would always

[00:03:43] show me her jewelry and let me play with it and play dress up with it.

[00:03:49] And so I had that kind of growing up and then, you know, as a teenager I would hit the

[00:03:55] vintage stores and the goodwill and all these places just to find something unique

[00:04:04] and exciting.

[00:04:05] And you know, from there I studied art history in college and then I got a master's in arts

[00:04:14] administration in New York and I just started collecting and I was lucky I worked in the

[00:04:24] art world in decorative arts too so I got to really get a good background on that and

[00:04:32] be able to hold and see and touch incredible things.

[00:04:37] So that was really great for training my eye and then I just kind of fell into different

[00:04:46] fields after that and then I started really selling my own jewelry collection in, I'd

[00:04:54] say about five years ago.

[00:04:56] I mean, I was always kind of, you know, my friends were joking.

[00:05:01] They said, you know, we need an intervention here because you have collected so much jewelry

[00:05:06] and I said, yeah.

[00:05:07] And he said, look, you know, I had formed a business a while ago for something else

[00:05:13] and they said why don't you just turn it into a vintage business?

[00:05:16] And I said, oh, yeah, there we go.

[00:05:18] So that's how it started.

[00:05:20] That's kind of my background, yes.

[00:05:24] Wow.

[00:05:24] So I want to because I was looking at your website and I'm going to put a link to her

[00:05:29] website so all of you guys, yeah, so all of you guys can check it out.

[00:05:34] But Vanessa with her background in art history and even on your about page, you said that

[00:05:42] used to work at Christie's auction house.

[00:05:44] Now that's going to be something we're going to have to talk about.

[00:05:47] I did.

[00:05:48] Yeah.

[00:05:48] I mean, it seems like your experience is so vast because you kind of have not only the

[00:05:54] history and the design, but then also the business side, you know, working in an auction

[00:05:59] house.

[00:05:59] So yes.

[00:06:00] Yes.

[00:06:00] Yeah.

[00:06:00] How did you like what did that journey look like?

[00:06:05] It actually I was fortunate because it came about really when I was in grad school.

[00:06:10] So I went to NYU for grad school and they had internship.

[00:06:19] Internships were a big component of studying there.

[00:06:23] And thanks to the program and the connections of the different professors in the program,

[00:06:31] I was able to get an internship at Christie's auction house.

[00:06:37] My my first one was actually in the Latin American department and shout out to those

[00:06:42] ladies.

[00:06:43] They were so much fun.

[00:06:44] I had such a great time.

[00:06:46] But my my Spanish is not that great.

[00:06:50] It improved, but you know, but they were so lovely.

[00:06:54] And then, you know, after graduation, I because I had interned there before I

[00:07:01] was able to work in the European furniture department there.

[00:07:06] And I I always love decorative art.

[00:07:09] So being in that department, you know, they had all of the decorative arts

[00:07:15] departments kind of corralled in one area.

[00:07:19] And so we were next door to and this is a while ago, believe me, I'm vintage too.

[00:07:25] But they meet me.

[00:07:27] We were next to the next to the American furniture department.

[00:07:32] And then across the hall was the rugs and carpet department.

[00:07:36] And then down the hall was Russian decorative arts and decorative objects.

[00:07:40] So jewelry.

[00:07:42] So it was amazing.

[00:07:44] I mean, how many people can say I've held a Faberge egg in my hand, you know,

[00:07:50] before the sale of this winter egg that they sold when I was there.

[00:07:55] So and and they would have jewelry on display, of course.

[00:08:00] So I would go down there and I would try on these incredible pieces of vintage

[00:08:06] jewelry, I mean, not vintage antique jewelry.

[00:08:08] I couldn't get it around my neck, but, you know, a diamond necklace owned by

[00:08:13] Marie Antoinette, you know, things like that that I just.

[00:08:18] Oh, my gosh. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:08:19] So you steal my art.

[00:08:21] It was it was it was such a great opportunity.

[00:08:24] And I was so fortunate to to work there because it also really helped

[00:08:29] to develop my eye.

[00:08:31] And I'd say for those of of of of you out there who who want to get into reselling

[00:08:40] and want to really kind of learn that the best is is hands on.

[00:08:45] And if you, you know, wherever you're at, like, like go to flea markets,

[00:08:51] you know, talk to vendors, pick things up, feel them with your hands,

[00:08:56] you know, turn them over.

[00:08:58] Always look at every angle of an object.

[00:09:02] Really kind of feel the weight in your hand, at least for jewelry,

[00:09:06] and just really, really just expose yourself to as much as you.

[00:09:13] I mean, it didn't sound right.

[00:09:15] But, you know, you know, take take advantage wherever you can,

[00:09:20] wherever whatever capacity you can for

[00:09:24] really just seeing things in person, because there's a lot of great stuff online.

[00:09:31] But there's also nothing like really tangibly seeing something in person.

[00:09:37] I totally agree.

[00:09:38] And that's kind of how I learned as well, just by looking at pieces up close.

[00:09:43] And like you said, holding them, really feeling the weight, feeling the material.

[00:09:49] I mean, sometimes little things like the temperature of a piece

[00:09:55] will give you so much information about, you know, what it's made of or,

[00:09:59] you know, what kind of quality and things like that.

[00:10:03] So obviously you have a vast amount of knowledge as it relates to vintage jewelry.

[00:10:11] So do you specialize in any particular era or anything like that?

[00:10:16] Like share with us your the way you the way you work with it.

[00:10:21] Thank you. I can't I can't say I specialize in one particular era.

[00:10:28] I like to say that I keep the focus more on American

[00:10:36] vintage versus maybe designers from from France or wherever.

[00:10:44] And what I would I love about vintage pieces, I think personally,

[00:10:49] I gravitate towards pieces from the 1930s and 40s.

[00:10:55] I don't know why it's just if I'm if I'm out somewhere and I see something,

[00:10:59] I just my eyes just light up when I when I see something from that era.

[00:11:03] But I think what attracts me the most to a piece is

[00:11:08] if it really epitomizes and represents the era that it was made in.

[00:11:15] So a 1960s mod piece, like big plastic, cool, hoop,

[00:11:22] bright colored earrings or whatever it is that really represents that era

[00:11:27] and that vibe of like 60s or, you know,

[00:11:33] I think I think that's what attracts me more.

[00:11:36] I can't say I really specialize in one one particular piece.

[00:11:41] There are some people to where

[00:11:44] I think also as a vendor, sometimes it helps to to know what I don't know,

[00:11:50] which means that I love Bakelite and I can I can tell something's Bakelite.

[00:11:55] Obviously if you test it with Simicrome or whatever.

[00:11:58] But there are so many people out there who specialize in it.

[00:12:02] And so I kind of let that let them do their thing.

[00:12:07] And I don't carry too much Bakelite like

[00:12:11] not that I don't love it, it's just I know there are so many other people out

[00:12:15] there who are really specialized in it and know it so much more.

[00:12:19] So so I guess you could say I'm a little bit of a generalist when it

[00:12:22] comes to stuff like that or Native American jewelry.

[00:12:29] You know, Zuni pieces or I love it.

[00:12:35] But I know there's so many other people out there who really know it and love it

[00:12:39] and you know, can really they have a developed eye for it.

[00:12:45] So I guess you could say I'm a generalist.

[00:12:48] That was a long wind.

[00:12:53] All right. Well, I do want to say I don't know if you know,

[00:12:56] but your video is frozen. I can still hear you fine.

[00:13:00] Oh, no. Really? Yeah.

[00:13:02] You know, I just want to mention it because, you know, if someone's watching the video,

[00:13:07] you know, I'll just let them know I'm aware that Vanessa's video is frozen.

[00:13:14] So should is there something I can do?

[00:13:17] Should I try to turn my camera off and on or something?

[00:13:20] Oh, yeah. Let's try that and let's see. OK.

[00:13:23] Let me try that. I'm so sorry. Oh, no. Don't worry.

[00:13:26] OK. Let me try this.

[00:13:31] Is that working? OK, yes. OK.

[00:13:35] OK. I don't know what happened there.

[00:13:37] I'm so sorry. I don't know if maybe because I'm on my phone,

[00:13:40] I have to touch the screen or something.

[00:13:42] I don't know. I apologize.

[00:13:45] Well, it might be or sometimes, you know,

[00:13:48] sometimes the Internet gets a little, you know, if you're on Wi-Fi,

[00:13:51] sometimes it could be a little spotty, but you know, it's OK

[00:13:54] because the audio is just as important.

[00:13:58] That's just as good. OK. OK.

[00:14:00] Sorry about that. No worries.

[00:14:02] No worries. No worries. This is, you know, this is real life.

[00:14:06] Sometimes what happens, right? Yeah. OK.

[00:14:09] So and it's interesting, you said you don't really specialize in anything

[00:14:13] because I'm kind of the same way, you know,

[00:14:17] because it's more about what can I find?

[00:14:20] What do I have, you know, access to?

[00:14:23] So, I mean, I know what I would love to specialize in,

[00:14:27] but it's not like I have an abundance of, you know, that particular thing.

[00:14:31] So I think you're right in your approach as it relates

[00:14:35] to just kind of knowing a little about a lot.

[00:14:37] And then if you find something, maybe you do a deep dive on that particular thing.

[00:14:41] Right. I don't know if it's it's the same for you.

[00:14:46] You know, when I when I started out,

[00:14:48] I I was really just gravitating towards things that spoke to me.

[00:14:52] You know, I was really just if I saw something at an estate sale and it

[00:14:58] I just liked it. That's when I got it.

[00:15:00] It wasn't really planned.

[00:15:02] It grew my business grew more organically, I'd say.

[00:15:08] And I think that that just I just was gravitating

[00:15:12] tating towards things I like.

[00:15:14] I don't know what area is your favorite.

[00:15:17] What would you like to you mentioned?

[00:15:20] You wanted to specialize in something.

[00:15:22] I don't know what what era that is or what what pieces.

[00:15:26] Well, I really love Art Deco.

[00:15:29] Like I just I just think it's so fun.

[00:15:31] And I really love Art Nouveau.

[00:15:33] And I think I really love Art Nouveau is because I can recognize it easily.

[00:15:39] So I figure, oh, it's easy for me to recognize it when I see it.

[00:15:42] You know, if I could only find those types of pieces, that would be great.

[00:15:46] But that just doesn't happen. I just, you know, it just I

[00:15:49] when I go out, I kind of find a mishmash of everything, you know,

[00:15:53] or sometimes nothing or sometimes, you know, only one thing.

[00:15:57] So it's very unpredictable as it relates, you know, to sourcing sometimes

[00:16:02] because you never know what what you're going to find and how much of it

[00:16:07] or if you're going to find one piece, if you're going to find 20 pieces

[00:16:11] or if you're going to find 100 pieces, you never know.

[00:16:13] Right? So how do how do you approach like sourcing for your business?

[00:16:17] It's it's very true.

[00:16:18] I, you know, I would say I was fortunate

[00:16:23] that I had kind of accrued my own collection

[00:16:27] before I really started selling.

[00:16:29] So I did I did have a good amount of inventory already.

[00:16:35] And I realized I'm just not using it.

[00:16:38] It's sitting in a drawer, you know, it's not.

[00:16:41] And so I was like, oh, I can resell this certain pieces.

[00:16:43] Of course, I'll always keep.

[00:16:46] But but it exactly like what you were saying,

[00:16:52] I just I have to kind of go with an open mind.

[00:16:55] And some days I'll hit a flea market, you know, that the only the only way

[00:16:59] I can get up early in the morning is if I know I'm going to a flea market

[00:17:03] or selling at a vintage show, I can get up no problem early

[00:17:08] in the morning to do that.

[00:17:09] But every other moment I'm like, no, I can't get up.

[00:17:12] I'm the same way.

[00:17:15] But so I just you have to keep an open mind because like what you were saying,

[00:17:19] sometimes I'll hit there's a flea market that I really enjoyed visiting.

[00:17:25] I haven't been in a while, but it happens three times a year

[00:17:29] about an hour north of New York City

[00:17:32] in this at this old airfield.

[00:17:35] And it's called Stormville and it's not too far.

[00:17:40] So I used to love to go up there and look around.

[00:17:43] Now, a lot of the flea market is kind of more contemporary things,

[00:17:48] you know, socks and and soaps and candles and things.

[00:17:52] But in the field there, they had vintage.

[00:17:55] And so I would go up there and look around and I just I never knew

[00:18:00] what I was going to find.

[00:18:01] And every once in a while, a vendor would be there and I'd hit a table

[00:18:05] and it would be like, wow, you know, look at all this great stuff.

[00:18:08] And I would come back with a lot.

[00:18:10] And then sometimes it just just nothing really spoke to me.

[00:18:13] So I think that's the thing what I've learned too.

[00:18:17] There's that, you know, there's that saying nothing haunts you like

[00:18:19] the vintage you didn't buy.

[00:18:21] And and what I've learned is I have from my own business,

[00:18:27] I have kind of like a monthly spending plan where I have a line item

[00:18:32] for inventory where I'm allowed to get.

[00:18:34] And if if I don't see something, then OK, it rolls over to the next month.

[00:18:39] You know, budget line.

[00:18:41] But I've learned that if something special comes up, especially for vintage

[00:18:45] at a decent price where I know I can flip it for profit,

[00:18:51] I get it. It's it's, you know, I just pieces are I think as vintage

[00:18:57] becomes more popular too, it's harder and harder to find good pieces

[00:19:03] or find pieces that aren't fake because I see a lot of fakes out there now.

[00:19:09] It's it's amazing to me.

[00:19:12] So, yeah.

[00:19:15] Well, how do you recognize when they're fakes?

[00:19:18] Like what are some tips you can share with us so that way if we see stuff out there?

[00:19:22] Well, yeah, I mean, I think I think there's a lot of factors I look at

[00:19:27] when I'm examining jewelry.

[00:19:30] You know, there's there's sort of

[00:19:34] all different kinds of of things.

[00:19:37] So, you know, I'll look at if it's marked, I'll look at the mark.

[00:19:42] I'll see if it looks legitimate or not.

[00:19:46] You know, I did a little Instagram reels on this

[00:19:52] on my page where I talk about and it's not it's not a hard and fast rule

[00:19:57] because sometimes marks were different depending on the year of the brand.

[00:20:03] But, you know, if something's going sticking out and looking sloppy, it might be fake.

[00:20:13] Mark should be crisp, you know, they should be clean.

[00:20:16] They should be very obvious that it was a simple stamp onto a piece

[00:20:21] that was during the time period.

[00:20:26] If something has a, you know, what's known as a cartouche,

[00:20:30] like a rounded seal on it as a mark,

[00:20:36] like maybe a Miriam Haskell or whatever.

[00:20:39] Take a look at it, see if that looks like it the same color of the metal

[00:20:44] of what it's stamped onto because people will take old marks

[00:20:49] and stick them on a new piece.

[00:20:52] I've seen that.

[00:20:53] I've seen that.

[00:20:54] Did you see there was

[00:20:57] I can't remember where I saw it, but I saw it online where there was a place

[00:21:00] that was actually making Miriam Haskell tags.

[00:21:04] Oh, yeah. Right.

[00:21:04] And then they were just attaching the tags like they were selling the tags by itself

[00:21:10] so people could attach it to their own fake pieces, I guess.

[00:21:14] Oh, yeah.

[00:21:15] Yeah, it happened.

[00:21:16] And I'm not sure if it were Miriam, if it was Miriam Haskell

[00:21:21] or Hattie Carnegie, but I know even back in the 60s or 50s,

[00:21:28] there was an employee who worked at the factory

[00:21:32] who stole a lot of these old, you know, cartouches

[00:21:36] and then would manufacture his own pieces

[00:21:41] and then stick the cartouche on there.

[00:21:42] So you had some really good pieces in the 50s

[00:21:47] that had the Miriam Haskell or I can't remember which one it was.

[00:21:51] So so don't quote me on that per se, but, you know, you had good fakes

[00:21:55] in the 50s that had the fake mark on it back then, too.

[00:21:59] So it's it's not something necessarily new,

[00:22:04] but I think as vintage becomes more and more popular

[00:22:08] and more and more mainstream now, it really is sadly prolific

[00:22:15] in terms of people trying to take advantage of the popularity of pieces, you know.

[00:22:23] Yeah. Yeah.

[00:22:25] All right. So that's that's a good way then to just really know, I guess,

[00:22:31] know the piece or do some research, because I think, too,

[00:22:34] you can always compare online, you know, authentic pieces

[00:22:38] to maybe a piece that you may have, or maybe you just picked up at

[00:22:42] a yard sale or whatever.

[00:22:43] And then you can check and see and compare it to the authentic pieces

[00:22:49] or at least look, you know, understand what the markings in the stamps

[00:22:52] should look like, like how you said.

[00:22:55] So I think that's a good way because that's what I do, too.

[00:22:57] I just I look online and I see what the authentic

[00:23:01] how it's supposed to look and then I compare it to what I have.

[00:23:03] Yes. Or also these older books that were published, really,

[00:23:08] I'd say in the eighties and nineties, like about collecting vintage jewelry.

[00:23:15] I would say, you know, take a look at those as well.

[00:23:20] And if you if you they're harder and harder to find as well,

[00:23:24] because I think people buy them and or the prices are going up and up and up,

[00:23:27] you know, on if I look on eBay for a vintage book,

[00:23:32] they're there, but they're pricey now because everybody wants them.

[00:23:36] But, you know, go to your local library, see if it's there and study it,

[00:23:41] you know, and take a look.

[00:23:45] And I think really what I would suggest to is putting on

[00:23:50] your biggest kind of type A glasses

[00:23:55] when you're looking at something, you know, really

[00:24:00] seeing checking everything is the color,

[00:24:03] the scale of a piece because,

[00:24:07] you know, the same thing too, as if something's not marked,

[00:24:11] different designs would repeat over the years.

[00:24:15] You know, so

[00:24:17] in the 20s, they love these long drop earrings, you know,

[00:24:21] and then it was repeated again in the 60s

[00:24:24] and then it was repeated again in the 80s.

[00:24:26] And what changed was scale and

[00:24:31] and so I'd say really try to look at the scale,

[00:24:36] the relation of the design elements to each other

[00:24:42] and and really just the color as well.

[00:24:47] One way I can tell fakes is the gold color.

[00:24:52] Now is the fakes are much more yellow.

[00:24:55] Yellowy. Oh, exactly.

[00:24:58] It's like it looks like a canary or something.

[00:25:00] Like it's very yellow.

[00:25:01] Yes.

[00:25:03] And, you know, I can I can tell from the color of the golds

[00:25:08] the depth of color of a rhinestone.

[00:25:11] If it looks if the foil on the on the rhinestone

[00:25:15] looks too mirror like it's definitely more contemporary.

[00:25:19] Yes. Yes. Mm hmm.

[00:25:21] Yeah. And even sometimes some of the findings and the the clasps

[00:25:26] like you can just tell they're like they're not like high quality clasp

[00:25:30] because I have a thing about clasps on necklaces.

[00:25:34] You know, I'm very picky about clasp

[00:25:37] and I can recognize a good clasp right away because

[00:25:41] you know, because you think like if they spent so much time

[00:25:44] designing the beautiful necklace, why would they be haphazard on the clasp?

[00:25:49] That just doesn't happen. Exactly.

[00:25:51] So I tell people that I say, look at the whole thing,

[00:25:55] not just the pendant, not just the chain or whatever.

[00:25:58] It's everything.

[00:25:59] Yes. Or even kind of learning about the construction of a piece, right?

[00:26:05] So lobster clasps weren't done until the 80s.

[00:26:09] You know, they weren't really around.

[00:26:11] So there's like a two part scenario

[00:26:14] if I find a piece that looks older than the 80s,

[00:26:18] but it's got a lobster clasp on it, you know, like is it

[00:26:23] was the clasp just replaced, you know, because

[00:26:27] I don't know, the original one fell off or whatever happened to it.

[00:26:31] So is it just a modern part replacement basically?

[00:26:34] Or is it something more dodgy going on there?

[00:26:39] Exactly. Yeah.

[00:26:40] Yeah. So I'd say looking at definitely clasp's construction.

[00:26:47] Everything, you know.

[00:26:49] Yeah. And that's something that takes time to, you know, none of us,

[00:26:53] you know, are just born with this and we figure it out on day one.

[00:26:57] No. Like you said, the more you are

[00:27:00] looking at pieces in person, even like you said,

[00:27:04] in a book or online, whatever, in a video,

[00:27:08] the more you look, the more you will learn

[00:27:10] and you'll be able to recognize certain things

[00:27:14] that maybe may not look right or, you know, you're kind of questioning,

[00:27:19] you know, you'll learn how to figure that out with time.

[00:27:22] Exactly. And I while I've been doing this

[00:27:27] quite a while, I also have to keep an open mind

[00:27:31] and I still sometimes run things by other vendors that I know and trust.

[00:27:37] Like I'll be like, hey, you know, what do you think of this?

[00:27:40] Because I don't know.

[00:27:42] I love it, but something's weird about it, you know, or whatever.

[00:27:46] It's it never hurts to bounce something off someone else.

[00:27:49] It's also it's not an exact science.

[00:27:53] If I but I really appreciated what you said, too, about,

[00:27:58] you know, being transparent.

[00:28:00] So if I have a piece and something seems a little

[00:28:05] different on it, like I'll tell the person who I'm selling it to.

[00:28:09] Look, I think this class might be later or it was added after.

[00:28:17] Yes, I've done that too.

[00:28:18] Yeah. Yeah.

[00:28:19] And sometimes you can tell that like a stone's been replaced,

[00:28:22] like I had some vintage broaches I was selling in a live show.

[00:28:26] And I said, you know, when I'm looking at it close, I say,

[00:28:29] now I don't know for sure, but it looks like these stones have been replaced.

[00:28:33] Now, some people don't care because they just think it's beautiful either way.

[00:28:37] Right. And then some people like me are very picky about those things.

[00:28:41] Right. Right.

[00:28:42] So I don't have a problem telling people,

[00:28:44] I think the stones are replaced, but I have no no idea if if.

[00:28:48] But it just kind of, you know, you can you can tell sometimes.

[00:28:51] Oh, yes. Yes.

[00:28:53] And I think the key and this is what I really suggest to to other resailers

[00:28:59] is just be just be transparent.

[00:29:02] Yes. Just be honest, you know.

[00:29:05] And if if I don't know, I I'm just I say, I'm sorry, I really don't know.

[00:29:11] There's nothing wrong with that.

[00:29:13] Yeah, there's nothing wrong with that.

[00:29:15] I'd rather it it saves on getting things returned.

[00:29:19] It saves on also, you know, just being showing up with integrity

[00:29:25] and getting and having as I as you build your brand,

[00:29:28] you want people to know that they can trust you and what you're saying.

[00:29:34] I think that's really important.

[00:29:37] Yeah, I agree. I totally agree.

[00:29:40] So now, since we are kind of talking about your business and selling,

[00:29:44] let's talk about how do you sell your vintage jewelry pieces?

[00:29:47] I know you have a website, but is that the only way that you sell vintage jewelry?

[00:29:53] Thank you for asking. I do sell on my website.

[00:29:57] As you know, with the nature of vintage, it's

[00:30:00] it's very time consuming to list on your website because.

[00:30:05] Oh my gosh, listing anywhere, even on eBay.

[00:30:07] That's exactly.

[00:30:09] Exactly, because each piece is unique, right?

[00:30:11] So each piece gets so I sell on my website,

[00:30:16] but I also sell a lot in person.

[00:30:19] I love doing pop up sales and events

[00:30:24] because I just love interacting with people.

[00:30:27] And so I I do pop ups.

[00:30:31] Actually, I'll be selling at if for those in New York City,

[00:30:36] I'll be selling at West Elm.

[00:30:40] They have the you know, the chain West Elm, they allow

[00:30:44] vendors to

[00:30:48] have pop ups in their stores.

[00:30:49] So yes, so I will be there.

[00:30:53] I go to the one on the upper west side.

[00:30:56] It's really near Lincoln Center in New York and

[00:31:00] I'll be there on Saturday, March 30th.

[00:31:04] And then I do pop up trunk shows at different boutiques.

[00:31:08] So then Saturday, April 6th, I'll be in New Canaan, Connecticut.

[00:31:13] I kind of stick to like the Metropolitan New York area.

[00:31:18] But I have been known to travel.

[00:31:21] I went up to Rhode Island last summer to sell a new port there

[00:31:27] at Sarah Campbell.

[00:31:28] So I'll be at Sarah Campbell's shop in New Canaan, Connecticut

[00:31:32] on April 6th.

[00:31:33] And then I sell at a very large vintage show

[00:31:39] in Manhattan called the Manhattan Vintage Show.

[00:31:42] I have a booth there and that the next show is April 12th to 14th.

[00:31:49] And it's huge.

[00:31:51] It's it is an incredible event.

[00:31:55] Ninety dealers are there.

[00:31:56] Oh, wow. Enormous.

[00:31:58] It's in the heart of Manhattan, you know, 18th Street and between

[00:32:03] six and seventh avenues in a huge event space.

[00:32:06] And we take it over for three days and there's just vintage everything.

[00:32:12] There's clothing, accessories, jewelry.

[00:32:15] Sounds like heaven on earth.

[00:32:17] It is really amazing.

[00:32:20] There's I mean, it's it is you can spend all day there

[00:32:23] or go back several days

[00:32:26] and see to take a take a look.

[00:32:29] They they really it's it's been around forever.

[00:32:33] But a new owner Amy Abrams took it over

[00:32:39] I'd say four or five years ago,

[00:32:41] and she's really kind of turned it into this blockbuster event.

[00:32:46] There's a DJ.

[00:32:48] There's food.

[00:32:49] There's an open bar and not an open bar.

[00:32:51] There's a bar.

[00:32:52] Everything say, wow.

[00:32:53] There's a seamstress on site who can tailor

[00:32:58] vintage clothing if you buy something it needs to be fitted.

[00:33:04] It's really quite an event.

[00:33:05] So I'll be there April 12th to 14th.

[00:33:08] And then I got into the next show, which is very end of May.

[00:33:13] So I think that's May 31st to June 3rd.

[00:33:16] And yeah, you can go to Manhattan Vintage dot com

[00:33:20] and buy tickets to get in.

[00:33:22] They've been they've been selling out the last few shows.

[00:33:26] It's become so popular.

[00:33:27] So if I don't know if you want to,

[00:33:31] I would love to see if you ever decided to a road trip to New York City.

[00:33:35] I'd love to see you.

[00:33:37] Yes, I would love to.

[00:33:38] I don't know if you saw I posted this on Instagram

[00:33:42] that there is actually a

[00:33:46] hip hop jewelry exhibit that's coming to the American Museum

[00:33:51] of Natural History, I think, or something like that.

[00:33:53] And it's in New York and I said, I need to go see that exhibit.

[00:33:56] But now I'm thinking I need to see that exhibit.

[00:33:59] I need to go to that vintage show and then I I need to come to you.

[00:34:04] Yes, that would be amazing.

[00:34:05] You know, if you can time it, when do you know when the exhibit starts?

[00:34:09] I don't know. I have to look it up.

[00:34:11] I think it starts at the end of April.

[00:34:15] I'm not sure.

[00:34:17] But it and I don't know if it's going to be a permanent exhibit

[00:34:20] or if it's just going to be for the summer or something like that.

[00:34:23] Right, right.

[00:34:23] But it was just amazing because they they're going to showcase

[00:34:26] all this jewelry from these iconic hip hop legends.

[00:34:29] And you know, and it's not vintage, but still just to see all of that in one place.

[00:34:33] I think. Oh, yeah.

[00:34:34] It is fantastic. Oh, yeah.

[00:34:36] And actually, I went to the Museum of Natural History had a show.

[00:34:45] I think it just closed.

[00:34:46] So maybe they're getting ready for this next one that you just mentioned.

[00:34:50] But it was sponsored by.

[00:34:55] Van van Cleef and Arpel.

[00:34:58] And it was all about green green jewels.

[00:35:02] And it was held in.

[00:35:04] They've redone the entrance to one side of the museum,

[00:35:08] which is the coolest looking entrance.

[00:35:10] And that's where the Gem Hall is now.

[00:35:13] And the show was in there and it was small.

[00:35:18] It wasn't a huge show, but it was, you know, this dark room with all lit up

[00:35:23] with all these incredible gems.

[00:35:26] I mean, just amazing.

[00:35:28] We're talking killer emeralds and and and

[00:35:32] peridose and things like that.

[00:35:34] All designer pieces.

[00:35:36] It was really spectacular.

[00:35:38] I was. Oh, I bet.

[00:35:40] Yeah, I think I left a trail of drool in front of the kids.

[00:35:43] Yes, but I'm seeing that's totally my my jam.

[00:35:46] You know, I love stuff like that.

[00:35:48] Yeah, it's it's really amazing, you know, and I feel fortunate

[00:35:54] to live to live in New York City because there is so much to see.

[00:35:57] And yes, you know, the the Metropolitan Museum of Art

[00:36:02] has their costume Institute.

[00:36:06] They just recently had a show Women Designing for Women,

[00:36:10] which was really amazing showcasing different female designers

[00:36:16] throughout the years.

[00:36:17] And that that was really fun.

[00:36:21] So there's always something to see and especially for jewelry.

[00:36:27] Yeah, different different places host different things.

[00:36:30] So I think that sounds like a lot of fun to check out

[00:36:34] that the Museum of Natural History of Coming Show.

[00:36:37] That sounds amazing. Oh, yeah.

[00:36:39] Yeah. And so somehow someway I'm going to have to get there

[00:36:43] because I don't want to miss it, you know, and I don't know if it's

[00:36:46] one of those exhibits, you know, maybe it travels to different museums

[00:36:49] or something like that. But yeah, definitely, because I live in Las Vegas

[00:36:53] and we don't really have stuff like that out here.

[00:36:56] I mean, we have museums, but yeah, they never show show like jewelry

[00:37:01] or gemstones or anything.

[00:37:03] Yeah, they should they should do that.

[00:37:05] They should change that.

[00:37:05] You need to talk to someone out there about that.

[00:37:08] Yes, I do. I really do.

[00:37:10] So I mean, I've only been I've been to Vegas twice

[00:37:14] and both were unfortunately kind of short stints,

[00:37:17] but you guys have some great vintage out there.

[00:37:19] You really do. We do.

[00:37:22] We have a lot of antique malls out here and all of them are fantastic, you know?

[00:37:28] And but we also have a lot of resellers out here too.

[00:37:31] So, you know, there is some competition depending on what you're looking for.

[00:37:35] But for the most part, we do because we have a lot of transplants

[00:37:39] from California that come here right now.

[00:37:41] And and when they get rid of their stuff or whatever, it ends up,

[00:37:45] you know, in our thrift stores and our antique malls

[00:37:48] and flea markets and all the things. So yeah.

[00:37:51] Yeah, no, it's great.

[00:37:53] I did visit a couple of antique malls when I was out there

[00:37:57] and great variety of things.

[00:38:00] And I also love to, you know, I got

[00:38:05] a big rhinestone necklace that was made for a showgirl, you know,

[00:38:10] at some probably for some grand show at some point.

[00:38:15] It's definitely probably from the 60s, but it's it was so well made.

[00:38:18] It was definitely a costume piece, you know, and and just incredible.

[00:38:24] But I love I loved going out there.

[00:38:27] It really you guys have great vintage out there. Yeah.

[00:38:31] Yeah, there's a lot.

[00:38:33] You know, like how in California, there's like the old Hollywood.

[00:38:36] Well, here in Vegas, there's Old Vegas.

[00:38:38] Yes, where it had all the glam and the glitz and the costume designs

[00:38:43] and all that stuff. Yes.

[00:38:45] And I need to do more research in that because I bet there's

[00:38:49] there's probably.

[00:38:52] I'm going to guess there has to be some type of

[00:38:54] a exhibit or something somewhere.

[00:38:57] Maybe someone has a private collection that they'd let they'd let me see.

[00:39:00] Yeah, yeah.

[00:39:01] But yeah, I'm going to have to look into that.

[00:39:03] Yeah, maybe you're coming up with a great idea.

[00:39:06] Like I could I could see also like

[00:39:10] a show museum show about the costumes of the showgirls.

[00:39:15] Yes, yeah. I mean, that would be amazing.

[00:39:17] I know in Radio City Music Hall

[00:39:21] and I don't know if it was a temporary thing or not.

[00:39:24] But last time I was in Radio City Music Hall,

[00:39:28] they had on the second floor,

[00:39:31] they had cases of some of these costumes

[00:39:34] that the Rockettes would wear or the showgirls wear.

[00:39:39] And they had some of the jewelry from the

[00:39:45] fifties that Hubei designed.

[00:39:49] And it was amazing.

[00:39:52] So, yeah, I mean, that is that is couture.

[00:39:55] You know, they're they're made for for these these dancers.

[00:39:59] They're made for these performers and it's they're incredibly well made.

[00:40:04] So yeah, because they have to stand up to being put on and taken off.

[00:40:07] You know, sometimes, you know, they do several costume changes in one show.

[00:40:11] So they've got to hurry up, put it on, take it off, hurry up.

[00:40:14] Exactly. Exactly.

[00:40:15] And then they'll do the show, you know, for six nights, straight or whatever.

[00:40:19] Exactly. I know we had and I don't know if it's even still there,

[00:40:23] but we had the Liberace Museum and it had all of his

[00:40:27] costumes and stuff in there.

[00:40:29] I don't know if it's still there.

[00:40:30] I got to check to see if it's still there.

[00:40:31] But yeah, that kind of stuff.

[00:40:33] I love I love that stuff too.

[00:40:35] Yeah, me too.

[00:40:35] I actually when I was out there, I don't know if it's still on.

[00:40:38] But there was a there was a Princess Diana exhibit out there going on

[00:40:43] somewhere on this.

[00:40:44] It was like, I think kind of lower down on the strip.

[00:40:47] But but there was some sort of Princess Diana.

[00:40:50] I don't know if it was all her original dresses or not.

[00:40:54] But that was going on.

[00:40:56] I mean, it was it's been a while.

[00:40:57] I was out there, I think in August.

[00:41:00] So but I don't know if it's still going on.

[00:41:02] But I wanted to see that too.

[00:41:04] Yeah, and seeing.

[00:41:07] Yeah, because all right.

[00:41:09] And now you've got me thinking.

[00:41:11] So much I want to see.

[00:41:14] OK, so my list, my list of, you know, things to do before I die just keeps

[00:41:19] getting longer and longer.

[00:41:22] I hear you.

[00:41:24] Well, let's talk about then then you selling so you only sell on your website.

[00:41:29] You don't sell on any other platform.

[00:41:31] Well, I do have on Instagram and Facebook.

[00:41:35] It's I do have kind of it's linked to that.

[00:41:39] I I have I have to admit, I'm not so great about doing Instagram lives.

[00:41:44] I need to be better about that.

[00:41:45] I know when I've done it, people have all been excited and said,

[00:41:49] well, you need to do more of these because.

[00:41:53] You know, it's it's great with social media now.

[00:41:56] It's it's brought the whole world together in terms of, you know,

[00:42:01] sellers and and buyers.

[00:42:03] And.

[00:42:05] I have lots of clients, you know, around the around the country

[00:42:10] and also I'm getting more and more around the world.

[00:42:13] So oh, I bet it's it's important to to do that and get out there

[00:42:18] and and do more lives.

[00:42:20] So it's it's on my it's on my right.

[00:42:22] It's on my agenda.

[00:42:25] Yeah, well, I'm looking at these gorgeous pieces on your website.

[00:42:28] I mean, I can only imagine, you know, you doing a show.

[00:42:32] Yeah.

[00:42:34] I don't see how you would not be successful with these gorgeous pieces.

[00:42:38] Oh, thank you so much.

[00:42:40] I am, you know, I I really enjoy it and I don't know about you.

[00:42:45] But when I'm selling, there's something magical that happens with a client.

[00:42:51] I might have a fantastic pair of earrings

[00:42:56] and and different people try them on and they all say, oh, these are great.

[00:43:00] But they they pass on them and then one client puts them on

[00:43:05] and it's like it was made for them.

[00:43:07] Yes. And and there's nothing I love more than watching someone looking in the mirror

[00:43:13] and and looking as they try on a piece of vintage that's kind of meant for them

[00:43:19] and watching their whole face light up.

[00:43:21] That's that's what brings me so much joy.

[00:43:24] Like I feel like in a weird way, I don't know, have you found this

[00:43:27] where where the pieces kind of find their owners, you know, I don't know.

[00:43:33] Yes. Yes. And sometimes

[00:43:37] I'll find a piece and I know exactly who's going to love it.

[00:43:41] Yes. You know, like I know, oh, I know she's going to want this.

[00:43:46] And sure enough, I would say probably about 95 percent of the time I'm right on.

[00:43:51] Exactly. Yes.

[00:43:52] I have I have one customer she loves red

[00:43:56] red stone rings, you know, and when I get one in, I'm like, here you go.

[00:44:01] You know, do you like it or not?

[00:44:03] Or, you know, she that's what she gravitates towards, you know,

[00:44:06] there it's nice to be able to connect with with customers too

[00:44:11] and be able to keep in mind what they like if I'm on the hunt for something.

[00:44:16] And I'll see. Oh, look, that she would really like that, you know.

[00:44:21] So, yeah. Yeah.

[00:44:22] And you you sell live though, too.

[00:44:25] Don't you? You sell.

[00:44:27] I love it. You sell. Yes.

[00:44:29] Right now I'm doing Poshmark lives, you know, I don't have.

[00:44:33] I don't have as is vast of a inventory is is yours.

[00:44:37] But I love live shows just because the energy of the show.

[00:44:42] Yes. It's so fun.

[00:44:44] It really works with my personality.

[00:44:46] I just enjoy it so much.

[00:44:48] And I actually surprised myself by how much I really love doing live selling.

[00:44:53] So I'm hoping to expand that and not have to maybe do it through like Poshmark,

[00:44:59] like maybe do do it like on my own website or maybe like on my social media

[00:45:05] and stuff like that. Right.

[00:45:07] But, you know, I haven't been doing it that long.

[00:45:09] I want to say maybe about six months ish, you know.

[00:45:12] So so I'm still trying to develop

[00:45:17] develop a whole like system and plan and how I'm going to make it work.

[00:45:21] But the funny thing is, is when I sell on a live show, I tend to sell out.

[00:45:26] And my problem is not being able to keep up with enough inventory

[00:45:31] because I'm selling it too fast.

[00:45:33] Yes. You know.

[00:45:34] I have that same problem.

[00:45:36] I do sometimes. Yeah.

[00:45:38] After after a big vintage show, you know, where I mean, I'm lucky

[00:45:44] because Manhattan Vintage Show is just so busy.

[00:45:48] I mean, it's it's wonderful.

[00:45:49] Everybody is there for vintage and loves vintage.

[00:45:52] And so but I will I will sell a lot at that show.

[00:45:56] And then, you know, it's not like I can, you know, they're they're a dime a dozen,

[00:46:00] you know, we are looking for, you know, special unique pieces.

[00:46:05] So I then have to switch gears and try to replenish, you know, because

[00:46:11] that's been the challenge for me too,

[00:46:12] because it's not like I can just place another order for 200 pieces or something

[00:46:17] like that. That's not, you know, it just doesn't work like that. No.

[00:46:20] Or yeah.

[00:46:22] Or I this the same client that I love, you know, she's she's so sweet.

[00:46:27] She wants to support me.

[00:46:28] And she's always like, well, do you have do you have more rings?

[00:46:30] Do you have more rings?

[00:46:31] Do you have more rings?

[00:46:32] And sometimes I'm like, not yet, you know, because I just I'm looking, you know,

[00:46:37] but I don't it's not.

[00:46:39] It's not like I can turn it around that quickly sometimes, you know,

[00:46:43] we have to find the right pieces. So.

[00:46:46] Yes. Yes.

[00:46:47] I I went yard sailing a few weeks ago and I found a bunch of fantastic stuff.

[00:46:53] Well, I ended up doing a live show like that was a Saturday.

[00:46:57] I did a live show on Monday thinking, OK, this may last for the week.

[00:47:02] Well, on Monday, because everything was selling so quickly,

[00:47:05] I ended up going through all of it like all the inventory.

[00:47:09] And I I was like, oh my gosh, I said now, you know,

[00:47:13] I don't have anything to sell for the rest of the week.

[00:47:16] But I mean, I guess it's a good problem to have, right?

[00:47:20] Yeah, I was going to say that it's it's a it's a double edged sword.

[00:47:23] It's congrats on having a wonderful sale.

[00:47:26] But, you know, exactly the nature of our our businesses is we're selling

[00:47:31] unique pieces, so it's not it's not as easy to replenish or restock.

[00:47:38] I mean, I think the other thing too is, you know, I mentioned like this pair of

[00:47:42] earrings, like many people will try it on or whatever.

[00:47:45] But there's also I have to be careful of fatigue as well.

[00:47:49] Like if if sometimes everyone wants to well, I'll get a piece and

[00:47:55] everyone will love it.

[00:47:56] You know, I get so many likes on Instagram and people ask about it,

[00:48:00] but then it just doesn't sell.

[00:48:01] And I'm thinking, oh, is it the price that I marked it at?

[00:48:04] Is it, you know, but it's not.

[00:48:06] It's people say, oh, it's great.

[00:48:08] But but then I can't show it again right away because people people say,

[00:48:14] oh, I just saw that, you know, so yes.

[00:48:17] Yes.

[00:48:18] That's what I've noticed too.

[00:48:19] Yeah. Sometimes they want to see what else you've got.

[00:48:22] So they don't buy something even though they love it.

[00:48:25] Yeah. They're like, hmm, let me see what else she posts before I actually

[00:48:29] click, you know, or hit the buy button or whatever.

[00:48:31] Because I've had people tell me that they say, oh, no, I really like it.

[00:48:34] But I just wanted to see if you were going to put something else up.

[00:48:37] Exactly. Exactly.

[00:48:39] And that can be difficult because sometimes I, you know,

[00:48:45] I don't want them to get fatigued or though that's the only thing she has,

[00:48:50] you know, so it's hard.

[00:48:52] Sometimes I have to.

[00:48:54] For lack of a better word, I have to take things out of rotation and then.

[00:48:58] Right.

[00:48:58] Wait and then show it again.

[00:49:02] But I think the beauty is with with like social media, Instagram.

[00:49:10] You know, my friend told me this too.

[00:49:12] She said, you know, not everybody's going to see it.

[00:49:14] You know what I mean?

[00:49:15] It's not like all.

[00:49:17] However, many followers of yours are on at the same time or see it.

[00:49:21] So.

[00:49:23] It's but yeah, I have to keep that in mind as well.

[00:49:27] If something doesn't sell right away, I can't show it over and over and over.

[00:49:32] Yes. Yes. I totally get it.

[00:49:34] Yeah. Yeah.

[00:49:35] So the last thing I wanted to ask you is.

[00:49:40] As it relates to care, cleaning and storage of your vintage pieces,

[00:49:46] because that seems to be a question a lot of people have.

[00:49:49] Yes. So how do you manage that?

[00:49:52] Let's start with like if you buy something, do you clean it?

[00:49:56] Do you polish it?

[00:49:57] Like, how do you yeah, I mean it or care for it?

[00:50:01] It really depends on the piece.

[00:50:06] I am very wary sometimes to clean vintage,

[00:50:11] especially something that's plated

[00:50:15] if there's because if there's any sort of

[00:50:20] lift or or or or nick or whatever, even if it's not visible to my eye.

[00:50:29] The moment I submerge that in something,

[00:50:32] the moment I do something like that, it can get really scary

[00:50:37] and can lift the gilding.

[00:50:41] You know, I do try to clean it most pieces,

[00:50:44] but sometimes it'll just be very like a soft, gentle cloth.

[00:50:49] Dipped in a mixture of I like dawn dish soap and water.

[00:50:57] And I'll just lightly rub that to see if some dirt will come off

[00:51:01] because it's good with, you know, oils and things like that.

[00:51:06] And then I always make sure to rinse it off

[00:51:09] and then definitely dry it.

[00:51:13] As I'm sure you know, with rhinestones

[00:51:16] you have to be careful about submerging them completely in water.

[00:51:20] I don't yeah, yeah, I don't do that either.

[00:51:22] Can discolor them because if the water gets in behind the foil,

[00:51:27] it's it's a goner.

[00:51:29] There are so many clear rhinestones that turn black when that happens.

[00:51:34] And, you know, I think it really depends on the piece.

[00:51:38] Yes, I try to clean it up a little.

[00:51:41] Sometimes I'm lucky because in New York

[00:51:45] I have really good repairs and they have these killer

[00:51:50] professional steam machines.

[00:51:53] So if I have a really good piece, I will bring it to them

[00:51:57] and ask them to to clean it for me

[00:52:02] with the steam machine and that can make a real difference.

[00:52:07] The sonic things, if something's gold, pure gold or, you know,

[00:52:12] 100 percent gold, 100 percent silver.

[00:52:14] I have a sonic cleaner that I use, which which works pretty well.

[00:52:20] But it really depends on the piece.

[00:52:24] Do you find that one thing works for you that you that you really like to use?

[00:52:34] Oh, I don't hear you anymore. Sorry.

[00:52:42] OK, can you hear me next?

[00:52:44] I can't.

[00:52:45] For some reason, my plugged in mic wasn't working.

[00:52:48] Oh, OK.

[00:52:50] But I don't really clean anything.

[00:52:54] I mean, unless like someone spilled ketchup and it's obvious that someone spilled

[00:52:57] something, I'll take a wipe, you know, wipe and just kind of wipe that thing off.

[00:53:02] Right.

[00:53:03] But I don't actually clean it.

[00:53:06] And I make sure I tell people this is as is, you know,

[00:53:10] and when you get it, you may want to clean it yourself because

[00:53:13] I don't want to ruin it and I don't want to take a chance that exactly

[00:53:17] it gets messed up or something.

[00:53:21] Yeah, so.

[00:53:24] I prefer not to clean it unless it's like horrendously dirty or something,

[00:53:28] you know, right?

[00:53:28] Looks like someone just spilled ice cream or something.

[00:53:32] But I have bought pieces and I don't know if you've had this

[00:53:37] where it has a smell.

[00:53:40] It has like a weird kind of old smell.

[00:53:43] It's like it's perfume, cigarette smoke.

[00:53:46] Yeah, yeah, all together.

[00:53:49] Yeah, yeah.

[00:53:51] And so I try to like, you know, air it out and stuff.

[00:53:55] But sometimes you can't get rid of that that weird smell.

[00:53:58] Yeah, I remember I had, you know, an old kind of locket.

[00:54:04] You know, they would make Avon especially would make these perfume

[00:54:08] lockets and and oh, it still smelled like that old perfume.

[00:54:12] And it wasn't a good.

[00:54:13] It was like a kind of grandma perfume smell.

[00:54:16] It wasn't good.

[00:54:18] And I I did.

[00:54:20] I tried to clean that out and then just air it out.

[00:54:24] But yeah, some of that can really linger.

[00:54:27] Yeah, it's it's it's hard.

[00:54:30] Sometimes if something is that strong, I won't even I'll pass on it

[00:54:36] because I know I just won't be able to get it out.

[00:54:39] Yeah, and a lot of people are sensitive to smells

[00:54:42] and they'll tell you, let's say this is a beautiful piece,

[00:54:44] but it smells horrible, you know, like, yeah.

[00:54:46] So yeah, you have to really be careful with that too.

[00:54:49] And I don't know any any way or any tricks to get that weird smell out.

[00:54:55] I mean, other than just airing it out, I guess.

[00:54:57] But yeah, yeah.

[00:54:59] I mean, other than cleaning, like I since I only, you know,

[00:55:03] I really only sell jewelry or an occasional handbag or something like that.

[00:55:08] I don't I don't sell clothing.

[00:55:12] So that's a whole other ballgame, too.

[00:55:16] Yeah, with smells and stains and all of it.

[00:55:18] So but yeah, if a piece of jewelry really has something on it,

[00:55:25] I sometimes am a little wary to to even get it.

[00:55:31] So yeah.

[00:55:32] Yeah. OK, well, that's really helpful, you know.

[00:55:35] And I think too, like I said, I air on the side of caution.

[00:55:39] I don't clean it and I just tell people I'm selling it as is because

[00:55:44] I don't want to take the risk of maybe damaging,

[00:55:47] damaging it, trying to clean it or polish it or put something on it or anything.

[00:55:51] Right, right.

[00:55:52] I agree. I think it's with vintage.

[00:55:55] It's always best to air on the side of caution.

[00:55:58] And and just, you know, let's let someone else do it.

[00:56:03] I mean, again, I feel fortunate that I'm in New York City.

[00:56:08] I have some really amazing repairs that I can lean on if I need to.

[00:56:13] So so if it's not something really simple, I take it to them.

[00:56:19] I don't mess with it.

[00:56:22] And sometimes if they'll say it's too dangerous to do X, Y or Z,

[00:56:26] because if we do, it might lift this off or it might do that.

[00:56:29] Then exactly, it's it's sold as is.

[00:56:32] And I just tell people, you know, sometimes you have to understand

[00:56:35] if something is vintage, it's maybe it's 60, 70 years old.

[00:56:39] It might have some wear on it.

[00:56:41] It might have some, you know, some marking to it.

[00:56:44] And it's sometimes it's kind of the beauty of it to me.

[00:56:49] So yeah.

[00:56:51] So how do you store your pieces?

[00:56:53] Because I kind of just store mine each in a little plastic bag.

[00:56:58] Yeah. Mm hmm.

[00:56:59] I don't know if that's right or wrong, but it's what works.

[00:57:02] Yeah. I mean, I definitely store them in in those those plastic bags.

[00:57:09] When I'm when I'm traveling, I definitely travel with each piece

[00:57:14] and one of those little kind of plastic bags,

[00:57:18] you know, for for vintage earrings, a suggestion is to bag each individual

[00:57:25] earring, don't have them travel together so they're not banging around together

[00:57:30] and scratching each other.

[00:57:31] Like I'll have maybe a larger plastic bag and then I'll put one in on its own.

[00:57:37] And then I'll bag the other earring and then put them both in

[00:57:42] into the larger bag, if that makes sense.

[00:57:45] But but when it's when it's, you know, when it's not traveling,

[00:57:51] I store them usually just on some velvet with

[00:57:55] but they're definitely covered because I don't want dust on there.

[00:57:59] I don't want, you know, it protects them from the air and everything.

[00:58:03] And, you know, protects the patina as well to not.

[00:58:09] Yeah, I just keep make sure they're covered.

[00:58:11] Okay, that's good to know.

[00:58:13] Yeah, because I do the same thing and I put them in like these plastic bins.

[00:58:17] Yeah, that way if God forbid, yeah,

[00:58:20] something drops or something falls over, at least it'll be contained

[00:58:24] in that one, you know, small like shoebox size bin.

[00:58:27] Exactly.

[00:58:28] And I don't know if you do this.

[00:58:30] The way I store them is I kind of group them by by type.

[00:58:35] So earrings, necklaces, whatever.

[00:58:39] And then I group by color.

[00:58:40] So I'll have, you know, all my red necklaces together.

[00:58:46] I'll have all my, you know, green earrings together in a tray or whatever.

[00:58:51] And that helps me find things quickly if someone's looking for something

[00:58:56] that that can help.

[00:58:59] Mm hmm.

[00:58:59] Okay, that's good.

[00:59:00] That's good tips.

[00:59:01] I know a lot of people store them like also by type,

[00:59:05] like they put all the necklaces together, all the brooches,

[00:59:09] all the earrings together.

[00:59:10] Yeah.

[00:59:11] So that way they know when they sell it, okay, it's in the necklace section or whatever.

[00:59:16] Yeah.

[00:59:16] And there are a lot of good, you know, places online,

[00:59:20] like even Amazon or

[00:59:25] like there are some jewelry supply companies online where you can find these storage trays,

[00:59:31] which I really love, which they'll have like plastic, clear plastic tops,

[00:59:38] but they'll be made out of like a, it's kind of like a corrugated cardboard or something.

[00:59:42] But that way I use those a lot for storage.

[00:59:45] So I can look in and into the top without having to open it up and see what's in there.

[00:59:50] But then with the, they're in a tray so I can stack them easily.

[00:59:54] So those are really helpful.

[00:59:57] Those are what I use as well.

[00:59:59] Oh, OK. Yeah. Those are some good tips.

[01:00:00] I use something similar to it's like a clear acrylic,

[01:00:05] I guess, tray and it has a lid on it, but it has all these separate compartments.

[01:00:09] Yeah.

[01:00:10] Could hold a bunch of different, a different variety of pieces or whatever.

[01:00:14] Exactly.

[01:00:15] Oh, I'm getting a phone call.

[01:00:19] I don't know what I should do.

[01:00:21] Sorry.

[01:00:23] That's OK.

[01:00:24] I forget to turn off my business

[01:00:25] and I'm going to go to the store.

[01:00:26] I'm going to go to the store.

[01:00:27] I forget to turn off my business line.

[01:00:31] No worries. This is this has definitely been a technically interesting.

[01:00:37] Yeah, I don't know how I got frozen before.

[01:00:40] It's a trend.

[01:00:41] So it's OK.

[01:00:42] And then my mic went out.

[01:00:44] So I don't know.

[01:00:45] I don't know.

[01:00:46] We're just going to roll with it.

[01:00:47] We're just going to roll with it.

[01:00:48] That's what you got to do, right?

[01:00:50] Yeah. Yeah.

[01:00:50] That's the only way to be.

[01:00:52] Yeah.

[01:00:54] Before we close out, if you can tell me

[01:00:56] what has been your best sale to date and then let us know

[01:01:01] what has been your worst sale to date.

[01:01:05] Oh, I would say

[01:01:09] my best sale was actually last year.

[01:01:16] I had an incredible necklace

[01:01:19] by Louis Rousslet, who would do glass for Chanel.

[01:01:25] And it was a beautiful piece.

[01:01:27] And I was at the vintage show and

[01:01:32] I guess, well, a very, very famous fashion designer came into the booth

[01:01:39] and and bought it from me.

[01:01:42] And she really appreciated it, which was so much fun.

[01:01:46] And she wanted to know the history of it.

[01:01:48] And so that was really great.

[01:01:50] And I was trying not to fangirl too much

[01:01:52] when I was selling it to her.

[01:01:54] Oh, gosh.

[01:01:55] Now I'm so curious.

[01:01:57] Yeah, I just don't know if I should say who it was.

[01:01:59] So sorry, I can't do that.

[01:02:01] But I told her it was and it was a good piece.

[01:02:04] It was I think it was eight hundred something dollars.

[01:02:06] And she bought it and it was just really nice.

[01:02:09] And and and that was a lot of fun.

[01:02:14] I'd say for me, the hardest and it's not the worst

[01:02:20] but is sometimes when I'm selling a piece

[01:02:22] that it's a lower price point and then people want to return it.

[01:02:27] And it's just it's a lot of labor intensity

[01:02:32] to the point where if I value my time and I value, you know,

[01:02:37] everything and if I have to issue a return label and all of it.

[01:02:41] I mean, there is a point where, yes,

[01:02:43] I want to provide good customer service,

[01:02:45] but there's a point where it's like this isn't worth it.

[01:02:49] You know, you know,

[01:02:51] like, I guess so I haven't heard too much of that at all.

[01:02:57] I did have one thing also last year.

[01:03:00] I don't know.

[01:03:00] I guess it was the best of times and the worst of times last year.

[01:03:03] But I mean, it was it was a return on a piece

[01:03:06] that wasn't that much money.

[01:03:09] And I just it it wound up not being worth it for me.

[01:03:15] You know, kind of sometimes you're paying for the price of the headache

[01:03:19] for lack of a better word.

[01:03:20] And I just didn't it was a lot.

[01:03:24] But for the most part, I'm I'm fortunate.

[01:03:27] I usually only have good good sales.

[01:03:31] Yeah, yeah.

[01:03:32] And I think that is, you know, just a testament to who you are,

[01:03:35] how you run your business and people know you and they trust you

[01:03:39] and they know that they're going to get, you know, what they want.

[01:03:44] You know, they're looking for something specific

[01:03:46] and they know you're going to deliver.

[01:03:49] Thank you. Thank you so much.

[01:03:50] I appreciate that.

[01:03:53] Yes, so anything else before we let you go and anything else

[01:03:59] you want to share or I guess just, you know, if people want to see my collection,

[01:04:06] I they can find it on Vanessa's vintage all one word dot com.

[01:04:12] And I'll make sure to put a link in the description as well as the show notes.

[01:04:16] Yes, and I'm I'm pretty active on Instagram, which is also at Vanessa's vintage

[01:04:24] all one word, no apostrophe.

[01:04:26] And then I've started to join TikTok.

[01:04:30] I have to say I not that with it yet in terms of video content,

[01:04:36] but I'm on there now too.

[01:04:38] So yeah, people can have a follow and someone's in New York,

[01:04:44] you know, feel free to check out the shows and and my my social media

[01:04:50] to see where I'll be next because I'd love to love to chat.

[01:04:54] All right. Well, thank you so much, Vanessa.

[01:04:57] I really enjoyed this conversation and I've learned so much.

[01:05:02] And yeah, I mean, I'm going to try and make a plan

[01:05:06] to get out there to see you at some point.

[01:05:09] Thank you. I would love that really.

[01:05:11] Please hit me up. You come out.

[01:05:13] Yeah, I would love to do that.

[01:05:16] All right. Well, thank you again.

[01:05:18] Thank you. I will be I'll be chatting with you on the socials.

[01:05:23] Sounds good. Thank you.

[01:05:24] I look forward to seeing I'm going to try to join one of your lives.

[01:05:27] See that. Yeah. Oh, yay.

[01:05:29] Yeah. Thank you.

[01:05:31] I have a great day.

[01:05:33] OK. Thank you. Bye bye.