Today we’d like to introduce you to Amy Ward
Hi Amy, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
In 2019 I jumped on the Instagram closet sale trend and started selling items from my closet that I no longer wore. I liked the idea of giving my clothes new life by being worn by someone else who would love them, rather than let them sit in my closet as clutter, or being dumped at the donation center to end up…who knows where. Plus making a little money here and there was thrilling. In 2020 during quarantine I was restless and as anxious as ever. The thrift stores were some of the few places open, so I started thrift shopping frequently to grasp at some sense of normalcy, in between finishing up my studies (spring 2020 college graduate!) and being outside where I felt happy and safe. I was surprised to find tons of high quality outdoorswear at the thrift stores, often times donated in pristine condition! I’d never owned any name-brand outdoorswear growing up because they were too expensive, and my family couldn’t afford it. I practically drooled over every piece I found, and couldn’t leave any behind. My brother was in on it too—he enjoyed the thrill of the thrift, and similarly to me, was extra excited about the outdoor-specific pieces we found. Due to complications of the pandemic, my brother and I plus our spouses ended up living together for about 6 months. Since we were going thrifting so often and were natually drawn to all the outdoorsy pieces, he decided we needed to start an Instagram operation and resell it. If for nothing else, we didn’t have the space to store it all, plus couldn’t justify trying to fit in everything! We called it, Outdoor Thrift (pretty straight forward!) He operated sales and sourced, I sourced and did content creation. Our spouses supported us. We gained a following, and sold our thrifted outdoorsy finds through Instagram stories. We did a couple in-person pop-up markets in our backyard which were so fun. Tons of people came by to shop! It was the first time we saw the thrifted fashion craze first-hand. What started out as a quarantine passion project turned into a full-blown business. We were small business owners! My brother moved to LA to go to MBA school, and I took over Outdoor Thrift. I’ve loved running the business and being able to try new ideas. I’ve had the capacity to grow as an entrepreneur and freedom to test out my ever-flowing waterfall of ideas. I hired employees, created a website for the inventory, been a vendor at local markets, hosted a backyard outdoor inclusivity speaker series, organized/hosted a “garage sale” style market, done small business collaborations, specialty item website drops, outdoor advocacy campaigns, upcycled damaged goods, organized giveaways, did educational content series’, curated donations for local needs, tuned my mending and repairing skills, did tons of content creation, created a reseller support group, and more. My newest venture is soon I’ll be launching my styling services and offering custom style bundles! What started out as selling clothes from my closet has turned into a business fused with fierce love and loyalty to people and planet. My mantra forevermore is “reduce, reuse, repair, recycle, and advocate!” As outdoor-lovers, and can and must do better to protect our planet from the waste and by-product of textile production.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The first market we did in our backyard was risky because it was the height of the pandemic. We felt comfortable enough with it being outside, but enforced everyone to wear masks and had sanitizing stations every few yards.
Learning the vintage world has been challenging because it is so nuanced to every brand and article of clothing. I was a college health major, not a fashion major!
Pricing pieces for their market value is tricky because a lot of times there aren’t any comparables for the pieces, especially if they are vintage, handmade, or one-of-one. Plus, we want to the pieces to be affordable to give better access to folks who want to get outside.
Figuring out the best way to scale the business has been challenging in that selling one of one pieces isn’t very sustainable for a solopreneur! It takes tons of time and resources to source, clean, mend if needed, research, photograph, measure, price, list, advertise, then package and ship a single order to a customer. But that’s the name of the game when it comes to keeping clothing in circulation and out of the landfill. This is part of why I am so excited to start offering my styling services so I can get really personal with people and curate whole bundles for them rather than single items.
I had a baby at the start of this year! Keeping a business going while nauseous and pregnant and now busy and tied with a little one is tricky! I have so many things I want to do but can’t because I am momming hard right now. I love it, but I miss the business too!
Hiring help and delegating efficiently is hard for someone who likes to be involved in everything and is strategizing non-stop in my brain.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I care about people and planet, and I believe strongly that the outdoors are for everyone. Unfortunately there are several barriers to entry into the outdoors, much of which involves clothing and equipment which is far too expensive for an industry that claims to be inclusive. My mission at Outdoor Thrift to help with accessibility to the outdoors and sustainability for a better future.
I’ve seen too much waste, too much consumption, too much greed, and too many barriers in the outdoor retail industry to sit still and not do anything about it. I am an expert at finding the goods that are already out there and are still fully functional, comfortable, and fashionable for their intended use. If you like going outside, there is no need to buy a new wardrobe in order to do so. This month I am launching my services as your stylist, curating specialty bundles for folks who love the outdoors and need a wardrobe to sustain it. Tell me your style preferences, sizes, outdoor hobbies, and more in an exploration call, make a payment, and I’ll go shopping for you—sustainably, of course. For you it’s thrift shopping; without all the hassle, giving you more time to be outside doing what you love!
How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
Dm me on Instagram, email me.
Donate your unwanted outdoorswear to guarantee they get circulated back into the outdoor community or recycled properly and not end up in a landfill. Know where your garments go when you’re done with them!
Watch for the launch of my new styling services soon! Oder a custom style bundle and let me do the thrift shopping for you so you can spend more time outside and feel good doing it. Refer your friends
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.outdoorthrift.com/links
- Instagram: @outdoor.thrift
