From the Ground Up :: Part 1

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These notes are the beginning stages on how to take an average building and turn it into a Sustainable Vintage Clothing store.

First off you have to locate a building that will cater to the purpose. It is much easier on the budget if you can find a building that has little or no finish out needed. As far as major electrical and plumbing go. In this case we found a building that needed a little work, but not so much that we would have to take out loans just to turn on the electricity. We were choosing between two buildings we found that both had their pros and cons. One building was taking over a year lease in a high foot traffic shopping district in an artist neighborhood. The other building was quite a bit larger with a great rental rate next to the beach communities. We opted for the second location with the better rate. Because the building had sat vacant for the past few months we decided to negotiate early off in the lease to have the land lord bring the building up to code with Certificate of Occupancy. In order to get the land Lord to go along with this we agreed to pay a slightly higher rent to help subsidize the land lords expense. We also wholesale vintage clothing as well, so we needed a slightly larger location in order to have space to work in. We opted for a location outside the shopping districts but with with easy access from all directions, and good visibility. This first picture is what the building we found in Mission Bay San Diego looked like when we found it.


Once we got everything worked out with the lease we gave the land lord a little time to finish up what was left of the plumbing and electrical while we started collecting and processing our merchandise, and getting the inside ready.We have learned in the past that it is important to start collecting your product as soon as possible. When you get you shop ready you don’t want to have to wait on a vendor to get your order ready last minute. You don’t have to go rummaging through estate sales and border towns either. You can use a intermediate supplier like Dust Factory Vintage to locate and supply all your product, but you will still need time. You should start collection and washing you product a month or two before you plan on opening the doors.




After the walls were finished we started picking out the color samples,
and then began painting. (not our green)

 


 




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