Vintage Is a Form of Luxury with Jennifer Kelly-Nichols of Vintage Frills

Ep 147: Vintage Is a Form of Luxury with Jennifer Kelly-Nichols of Vintage Frills Part of noseyAF's 31 Days of Black Business series 🖤 She was too scared to sign a lease, so she bought a short school bus and painted it pink instead. She'll tell you she cheated a little.

Jennifer Kelly spent years as the logistical backbone at Chanel, Tiffany's, and Neiman Marcus before burning out during COVID. Now she runs Vintage Frills, a Chicago boutique organized entirely by color: a red room, a blue room, a neutrals room she called the dungeon in her business plan.

People fly in from around the world to shop it. The pink bus is still running pop-ups.

What We Talk About The difference between business and luxury business, and what luxury retail taught her about making people feel taken care of Where she actually sources: estate sales, not thrift stores, and why Hyde Park has the best ones in the city Her honest advice for anyone about to open an online boutique, including the friend who researched herself out of ever starting The unexpected turn: she says people move too fast and lose everything. She wanted Hyde Park first and didn't get it, and going slow is the reason she's still here five years later.

If you love a conversation with somebody who tells you the truth about the hard parts, this episode is for you. Chapters: 00:06 - Introduction to the 31 Days of Black Business Series 07:52 - Starting Vintage Frills: A Journey into Luxury Resale 11:47 - The Transition to Entrepreneurship 26:42 - The Art of Sourcing Vintage Luxury 29:21 - Navigating the Challenges of Starting an Online Boutique 37:44 - The Slow and Steady Journey of Business All about Jennifer Kelly You're gonna love Jennifer.

She grew up around resale and retail and turned that into a career at some of the biggest luxury brands in the world before building her own. Vintage Frills hit five years this past July and has been recognized by American Express and Business Insider.

She started with Vintage Fleet, a short school bus she painted pink and had graffiti'd, which still does pop-ups and, in her words, saves them from financial peril. She's a curvy cutie herself, so yes, there are plus sizes, and yes, she'll pull things from the back for you.

Things We Mentioned Vintage Frills → Vintage Fleet, the pink school bus, still doing pop-ups including Logan Square Farmers Market , where she sources American Express and Business Insider features This series is supported by Off the Grid , a podcast for small business owners who want to leave social media without losing their clients. Find them at offthegrid.fun 🖤 Connect with Jennifer Kelly Website: IG: @vintagefrills Visit Vintage Frills at 2846 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL 60618 Stay Connected 📬 Get the noseyAF Dispatch → Subscribe here 🏡 Grab the Good Neighbor Playbook → Download it free More ways to connect Email: stephanie@ Follow on IG: @stephaniegraham Listen to more episodes: Support & Feedback noseyAF is listener-supported ; thank you for being here. 💛🫶🏾 ⭐ Rate & Review the Show 📣 Share noseyAF with a friend who needs to hear this Episode Credits Produced, Hosted, and Edited by Stephanie Graham Lyrics: Queen Lex Instrumental: Freddie Bam Fam Cover Art: Emma McGoldrick