Meet Bonnie Harris of Lexington Vintage in Athens

Today we’d like to introduce you to Bonnie Harris.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
After raising two children while moving around with my husband’s job, seven times in five years, we finally landed permanently near Athens, GA. I settled in as a middle school teacher, primarily teaching sixth-graders in language arts and social studies. The classroom was an outlet for my creativity, and I was passionate about the learning experience kids had in my classroom.

In 2010, I was awarded the District Teacher of the Year award, and I was both hugely honored and humbled; however, as the years passed, I realized more and more emphasis was being placed on test scores, and there was less room for creativity and excellence. Teaching is too important a responsibility to not be fully engaged in the process, and I felt I had lost a little bit of myself to the system. I decided it was time for change.

In 2014, I left my job to pursue a position with an educational company. However, during some of the initial interactions with the company’s owner, he posed this question to me: If you could do anything you wanted on this big blue planet, what would it be? It was that pivotal question that led me to the answer. CREATE. I knew then I wanted to follow a different dream.

I am an artist at heart, and I have always loved finding discarded, mistreated, or forgotten items and turning them into something functional or beautiful or both. I have many creative family members and friends, friends in the art world, friends who love vintage and salvage, and friends who can see past what something IS for the value of what it CAN BE. What if I could harness the passion of a few of these people and also give them an outlet to pursue their own love of creating as well?

That’s how Lexington Vintage: Reclaimed. Restored. Repurposed. was born. My husband and I owned a small building on the East Side of Athens, on Lexington Road. He offered it to me as a place to set up my “art thing” as he liked to call it. Upon seeing the interior of the building, I was skeptical, but after a lot of hard work & finding the right contractor to help me, we were able to turn it into one of the most unique vintage & artistic shopping experiences in town. Artists, collectors, antiques dealers, creators, and vintage scavengers can rent a space to merchandise and pedal their wares while I handle all of the marketing and sales.

I opened in November, 2014 with only nine vendors, most of whom I had contacted myself and asked to come on board with me. By January of 2015, nearly all of my 65 spaces were full. Those spaces remain full, and we have added many new people to the mix.

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?
Even the smoothest of roads has a few imperfections.

First, the building that would house my shop was a mess. We spent many hours ripping out old carpet, ceilings, replacing light fixtures, etc. I had zero experience in architecture or construction, but I found a contractor who was also a creative genius. Together we were able to map out a plan for booth spaces, lighting, entrances & exits, and make determinations about construction materials. It was important to me to stay true to our mantra of using reclaimed items, so my walls are constructed of pallet wood. My bathroom floors are made from grocery bags, and my counter tops are made from old maps. Directional signs are old ceiling fan blades.

Additionally, I had no idea how to even set up a business, much less run one. I did research, Q & A, and small business planning with both the Secretary of State and my local county business officials. I set up my own LLC and secured all of the necessary licenses and permits. Since I would be renting booth spaces to local artisans, I began thinking through how I would properly account for selling other people’s merchandise. I am a largely right-brained person, so I spent many painful hours with my accountant, paying her to show me how to set up an accurate yet efficient accounting program. I personally inventory every single item that leaves my shop.

And oh yeah, I didn’t have any money to start the business, a major inconvenience. I ended up at my local bank and took out a small business loan of $25K. That was probably the most unnerving thing I had to do. What if I couldn’t pay it back in a timely manner? What if I couldn’t pay it back at all? It’s a risk I had to be willing to take to get things started. I decided that I would not allow fear of failure to hinder me.

Probably the most unique hurdle I encountered was when my store mascot was stolen from the side of the road.

I had commissioned local custom fabrication artists to create a 10-foot, 200-lb metal rooster to be place outside my shop to help with visibility from the busy highway. As I drove into work one Saturday, I noticed he was gone. Thieves had taken him in the middle of the night.

Rocket the Rooster quickly became an Athens landmark when he was stolen. Not only did the story receive much local news coverage, but also state, national and even international attention. TV news broadcasts and radio interviews took our story as far as Hawaii and Italy. With this attention, a Facebook campaign reward for its return, and the help of some local citizens and police investigators, we eventually got him back. He now sits proudly atop his 15-foot perch, welded securely to his platform. This was an expensive endeavor, however, as we had to pay for his return transport, repairs, the reward, and to have him properly secured. In the end, the reward of the attention outweighed the hassle of the theft. Widespread news coverage brought a lot of new traffic into our shop.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Lexington Vintage – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Reclaimed-Restored-Repurposed is an eclectic multi-vendor marketplace featuring the work and merchandise of over 65 local artists, collectors, and vintage/antiques vendors.

Lovers of all things funky can find anything from fun local art such as watercolors and oil paintings to antiques to vintage furniture and collectibles. We even have a mini vintage record store where music junkies shop for vinyl and stereo equipment. A back porch full of architectural salvage houses items from Egypt, Turkey, Germany, The Netherlands, and India. We also carry a full line of specialty paints and offer painting classes. We certainly aren’t your run of the mill antiques mall or art gallery. You really have to come see us to appreciate everything we have to offer. Custom signage, locally made jewelry, hand painted furniture, and a full line of local designer’s Genevieve Gail hats are just a few more of the different items that await you upon arrival.

We are most proud of the high quality of each of our vendors & how we have come together to create a pleasant shopping experience for lovers of all things unusual. Don’t let the exterior of our location fool you. Something magical is waiting for you inside. It’s a vintage paradise.

So, what’s next? Any big plans?
Bigger isn’t always better, so while we desire to expand our customer base, we appreciate the smaller, warmer feeling our premises has. Our plan is to continue to seek out the vendors with the most uncommon goods and unique sense of style to add to the mix.

We also hope to add some new faces to our team, as we search for two more creative fun-loving employees who have a passion for the biz.

Contact Info:

• Address: Lexington Vintage: Reclaimed. Restored. Repurposed.
  1743 Lexington Road
  Athens GA 30605
  Hours Tues-Fri 9:30-5:30
  Saturday 10-5
• Website: http://lexingtonvintageathens.com/
• Phone: 706.227.6867
• Email: lexingtonvintagellc@gmail.com
• Instagram: @lexingtonvintage
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lexingtonvintageathens/
• Twitter: @LexingtonV
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/lexington-vintage-athens-2
• Other: https://es.pinterest.com/lexingtonvintag/pins/