Today we’d like to introduce you to Katie Doyle and Chad Hess.
Hi Katie and Chad, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
We are Chad Hess and Katie Doyle, the duo behind the business. Our love for vintage was born out of being thrifty and frugal. When we met, we both liked finding a good deal and the hunt of treasure, so we not only started collecting but selling. Now, we are using our skill set to help others in need with estate sales in the Metro Atlanta area and all around Georgia. Chad has been a professional freelancer photographer for over 15 years. His skills come in handy with the staging and marketing. Katie has been in the food service industry for over a decade, so she excels with customers and handling high volume. We started out a little business on Etsy, Kitty’s Knack Shack, at the end of 2019, and it’s grown into what it is today. We’ve sold thousands of vintage and secondhand items to be loved again and hopefully to be loved again for generations to come, all out of a 1-bedroom loft apartment on the Eastside of Atlanta. We’ve been lucky to rent a garage space outside our building, where a part of our business puts love into vintage vehicles. Chad has owned over 50 vintage vehicles, mainly Volkswagen Bugs and some American vintage cars. We are currently finishing up building a 1967 Volkswagen Bug and have a 1966 one on the market for sale. We recently acquired a 1959 Volkswagen as our next project that’s been sitting in a garage for 40 years! Our love for vintage does not stop.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Operating a small business, no matter what you’re doing, is never a smooth road. We wear a lot of hats, especially being just the two of us. Everything is up to us – sourcing, photographing, marketing, listing, accounting, packing, shipping, and the list goes on to be a small successful business. Our start to begin on the internet, right before the pandemic hit, was probably a smart move. Who knew that the following year, so many people would only be shopping online? We focused our energy online, whether that’s Etsy or through social media like Facebook and Instagram. We were happy to keep ourselves busy during such a weird time in the world, even if it wasn’t easy.
We exist in a very competitive environment; even big brands are stepping into the secondhand and vintage world, so we have had periods of time where we haven’t been able to source much. Our skill set has been used to pivot into real estate sales and help out some relators in the metro Atlanta area, which was a fun and interesting path. We developed quite the passion for helping others in need with our expertise.
We’ve been slow and quiet the last few months to focus in on the full restoration of a 1967 Volkswagen Bug. The loft Chad has lived in for over 13 years, and the whole building is being sold, so we are trying to find a place for our business to grow. We would have to agree that this will be our biggest hurdle. Together, we will find a way to continue to do all our the things we are passionate about.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Kitty’s Knack Shack is an Estate Sale company in Atlanta, GA, specializing in vintage cars, mid-century, and antique collectibles. Let us dig through your crowded basements and attics so you don’t have to. Not only do we do estate sales, we offer small vintage knick-knacks and goods online via Etsy and E-bay while selling locally to the Atlanta community on social media through Facebook, Instagram, & TikTok. Our marketing with Chad’s photography and staging really sets us apart from other companies. We have great passion to give things a new life while maintaining sensitivity during usually a hard situation. Vintage cameras are a big passion of ours. We’ve bought multiple huge collections from people throughout the southeast, but we love to find a new home for most anything, so it doesn’t end up in a landfill.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
Everything we’ve ever done has been with the help of friends. Georgia Vintage Goods does pop-up markets around the city, which we participated in for about a year, and they support a bunch of vintage resellers and makers. Atlanta really shows up for those markets! Laurel Bristow, an infectious disease researcher at Emory, gained a lot of popularity during the pandemic and gave us a big shout-out on Instagram in our early days. She supported so many small businesses and told people to shop small during the holidays in the early days of the pandemic. Peter Karprick (@trustzabo), Eric Shoemaker (@aircooledartifacts), Jason Shubert (of @mongo_atl) have all lend a hand in helping us build our Volkswagens, whether through parts or an actual hand in the build. Our families have been big supporters – my family gave us an opportunity at clearing out my aunt’s house all the way in Florida. Every single person who has purchased something for us is important! We wouldn’t be here without our clients and customers.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.kittysknackshack.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kittysknackshack/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kittysknackshack/
