Today we’d like to introduce you to Julia Marchenko.
Julia, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I started selling vintage on Etsy back in 2010 when I was a homeschooling mom looking to supplement our family’s income. I have enjoyed wearing vintage clothing, so already had some great inventory in my closet, and the flexibility of having an online shop allowed me to continue to spend my days with my kids. When other children were in school, mine were being dragged around the neighborhood’s estate sales! Eight years later, and I have over 300 items in my shop and do this full-time, with new and growing sections in my shop featuring vintage books, artwork, and housewares.
I named the shop after my great-grandmother, whose lifetime spanned all ten decades of the 20th c. She was a tireless Old Country matriarch who inspired me to always look outside the (big) box to reinvent myself. A Holocaust survivor, legendary dollar-stretcher and lifelong seamstress, she nurtured my childhood dreams. Her spirit fuels my shop’s philosophy: It is the WOMAN who makes the clothes. Looking good comes from self-knowledge and self-love (not keeping up with appearances). I search for vintage finds that express personal style, not trends or fashions.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
For most of my business, I was balancing my job not just with parenting, but homeschooling. The boundaries between what was personal and professional were often blurred and it was easy to feel that I was neglecting something important at any given moment. Letting go of a perfectionist mindset and allowing myself some downtime were a struggle.
I also had to learn pretty much all aspects of this trade while on-the-job and short of modeling and mending, am still the person who wears all the other hats in this enterprise: stylist, photographer, art-director, researcher, and writer, to say nothing of accounting, shipping, and marketing. I sometimes have assistance from generous interns and loving relatives and friends, but mostly shoulder all of this myself.
In addition, I went through a dramatic life change three years ago when my marriage ended, and I moved into an apartment in Evanston, sent the kids to school for the first time at ages 13 and 8, and became a full-time vintage seller! In the vintage world, I have had to deal with everything from a crazed and competitive colleague who was attempting to hide my wares underneath a table during a vintage clothing show we were a part of, to some very expensive laundry mistakes (do NOT wash 1940s rayon crepe! It will shrink!).
Thanks to a very loving and supportive network of relatives and friends who not only help me with babysitting but are always scouting out cool old clothing on my behalf, the Etsy shop continues to grow and the mistakes regarding collaborators and fabric care are few and far between now!
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Basya Berkman Vintage Fashions story. Tell us more about the business.
I sell women’s antique and vintage clothing online via Etsy and sometimes by appointment from my home studio in Evanston. I am known for using real ladies, not mannequins or professional models to display the pieces, as well as my styling — I mix and match decades and am not afraid to get theatrical, experimental, and humorous.
For instance, I recently styled an Edwardian era jacket over a 1920s camisole paired with 1990s pants and a 1930s silk negligee as a modern-day party frock. Every vintage seller would love to come across an early Chanel, yes, but I really enjoy showing my customers potential ways to find true style outside of labels and trends.
From stem to stern I handle everything myself, putting my personal touch on every aspect, including a hand-written thank you note for each customer.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
Good fortune has played a fairly large role in my business. Weeks after I decided to start selling vintage, a huge thrift store opened up in my neighborhood and I met someone whose job it was to buy unclaimed goods from storage facilities — all of which gave me opportunities for interesting inventory.
I’ve also been lucky enough to find members of the homeschooling community who wanted to get involved – teen girls who were eager to model and intern, and a fellow momschooler who was a wiz at the needle has been my Vintage Repair Fairy since the very beginning. Maybe it’s not luck, but LIKE, as in like attracts like?
Contact Info:
- Website: www.basyaberkman.etsy.com
- Phone: 847/814-0875
- Email: basyaberkman@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/basyaberkmanvintage/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BasyaBerkmanVintage/
- Other: https://www.pinterest.com/basyaberkman/pins/
Getting in touch: VoyageChicago is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
