Myriad objects can be found in alleyways: trash, puddles of urine, the occasional penny — and in Athens, a vintage clothing store.
Betty’s Vintage Finds, 8 N. Court St., is the newest addition to the collection of consignment stores in Athens. It is located conspicuously in the alleyway by Pita Pit on Court Street and opened its doors in July.
“I get a vicarious enjoyment out of seeing people getting excited about finding something,” said Mary White, the store’s owner.
A longtime collector of vintage clothing, White started selling clothes from the trunk of her car. While she was working as a clerk for the government, the other women in the office would slide out during their lunch break to peek at and pawn her most recent finds.
White opened her first store in Lancaster in 2007. The store remained open for only two years before she decided to close it.
“I didn’t realize how much you had to put into advertising,” White said. “And it’s really hard for small businesses to get capital at first.”
White moved her collection into three storage units in Westerville, but as her pool of clothing grew, she soon got the itch to open a new store. Plus, the racks she had acquired to display the clothing were starting to crowd her living place.
“It was either sell the hat rack or open a store,” White said. “So I opened
a store.”
The details fell into place for the Court Street store, White said. She had been visiting Athens and had considered opening something there since she had closed her Lancaster store in 2009. The day she called for the basement space was the day it was serendipitously listed for rental. She enlisted her son James and daughter Robin to help with the day-to-day needs of the store.
The name was obvious, too.
“I always told my mom that, if I opened a vintage store, I’d name it after my grandma Betty,” White said. “Every time I saw her, she was always wearing some crazy dress, and whenever my siblings and I would see a flamboyant dress, we’d laugh and say, ‘Oh, that’s a grandma Betty dress.’ ”
So far, business has been good, White said. She keeps her inventory at 1,000 pieces and prices her wares well below the retail rule of charging three times the cost of the item. Instead, she’d rather move her inventory so more people can enjoy the clothing and she can keep fueling her penchant for vintage clothes
hunting.
“I still make a profit,” White said. “But I’d rather make a quick nickel than a slow dime.”
mh317008@ohiou.edu
