In case you didn't know by now, Adored Vintage is opening up a brick & mortar vintage shop in downtown Long Beach! Today I finally got to unpacking my old atelier and I have a lot more inventory than I previously thought! A few weeks ago I had looked for an office space in addition to the brick + mortar, but after a mental pros and cons list, I've decided to go another route.

Instead of an office space I'll be getting more industrial storage for all the backstock. Eventually I would like to expand to a larger retail space and don't want to be tied to a commercial office.

Anyhow, I have been scouring Pinterest for retail shop inspiration and visually it is finally forming in my brain! The space has it's challenges (it is only about 250 sq feet) and very large floor to ceiling windows. I haven't even started on anything in the shop other than unpacking a few boxes of vintage clothing, but already the excitement of "setting up shop" is tingling inside me!

So here are 10 Ideas I have for the Vintage Shop!

Industrial Garment Racks




I will be following this Industrial Clothing Rack DIY. I'm not quite sure if I'll paint the pipes gold/white... probably not gold. But white/grey...perhaps!

Chalkboard Wall + Greenery


I've always loved chalkboard walls! In my previous apartment, I painted the kitchen with chalkboard paint and had such a blast throughout the year drawing doodles and having my friends leave me notes.

Black + White + Grey



The overall color scheme for the shop space is white, grey, cream, with hints of black highlighted by greenery. I want it to be a pretty neutral canvas so the vintage clothes can really stand on their own and be the highlight of the shop.

Getting excited!

All the photos above are from my Retail + Boutique Shop Inspiration board on Pinterest!

The day is fast approaching! It's so soon! I am still in slight disbelief this is happening. I'm still thinking "What!? Am I doing this? Is this for real?"

But tis is!

By this weekend I will be moving into the new Adored Vintage retail + work studio. I feel that until all my things are actually in the space, I won't feel like it's real. There are so many things to do, I have so many ideas, so many plans! Part of me wishes I had some sort of device that would allow me to look at my future so I could see what the shop will eventually turn into.



Well, that's the other thing, I'm not sure what I want the space to be yet exactly. I really don't have plans to do a full time brick & mortar, not in the near future anyway. Although the space is a full front retail, I'll actually be curtaining off all the windows as about 50% of the time the space will be used as a photo studio and another 30% of the time I'll be sitting around the computer working in the space. And well, with this many windows and right on the street, I'd feel rather like a goldfish in a bowl (and the idea of that just makes me a bit ill).


This afternoon I had a bit of an anxiety attack because I don't know nor do I have definite plans for the space. Other than of course it is where I will work. What will it look like? How will everything fit there? All the "What?? When?? Where?? " questions swirling around my head were driving me crazy. And I'll be honest, I'm still anxious about not knowing. I plan so many things. I write lists. I have a backup plan for my backup plan. I'm THAT girl.

But diving into this new adventure is one of the scariest things I've ever done! I've never done it before and unlike most things in my life, I didn't spend months of research and writing pros and cons list and making Plan A, Plan B, and Plan C for it.

I just did it! (And I'm scared shitless, but like in a good way!)

So, lovelies, won't you dive into this adventure with me?