Rising Stars: Meet Maddi Rosalen of Kansas City

Today we’d like to introduce you to Maddi Rosalen.

Hi Maddi, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’ve always enjoyed thrifting. I know it’s cliché to say “I did this before it was cool” but I really did! I’ve been combing thrift stores since before I could even drive myself to one. I remember going to goodwills with my mom during the day when I was a kid and just thinking “wow, this entire place is like a treasure hunt”. When I got my own car in high school, I spent every weekend in the thrift store looking for something cool. I was always kind of known for dressing differently in high school, and I had a group of friends who almost liked to compete to see who could wear the coolest weirdest outfit. Our favorite phrase back then was “this is hideous, but kind of sick right?” At the end of high school I kind of had this idea that maybe I could thrift FOR other people, so for a while I made style bundles. Some for my friends, and some for strangers on the internet. They were a pretty good success for me! But I went through some things personally after that including a teen pregnancy and then subsequently losing that baby to stillbirth and I kind of dropped everything for a while. I was just starting college and it was the start of the pandemic and life just felt too hard. So to be completely honest, for a long time I did nothing. My parents supported me and helped me get through my grief and depression and then a few years went by and I was married to my high school sweetheart and starting my own life. I was honestly so bored sitting at home, so I started making a lot of art. My favorite vintage store (Ecologie in Kennesaw) was doing a market so I applied and my friend and I had a booth together. I consider that really the start of my business as I know it today. It was a mixture of my own art and curated vintage clothing, and it was the first time I got to see people in person enjoying my art and skill in curating vintage. At this point I’d been selling on depop and making art for years but never really as a serious business. That market kind of gave me the push I needed to be like, okay. This is what I want to do. I had dropped out of college and was perfectly content to be a stay at home wife (we were also trying to get pregnant with little success so this was a great distraction for me). Then, in 2023 my husband got an offer for a promotion, but it required a move to Kansas City Missouri. Long story short, we moved in may of 2024, I immediately found out I was pregnant, which was terrifying, and then everything was on hold again. I was so sick throughout my pregnancy and didn’t have the energy for anything. We were desperately searching for a house and trying to plan for a baby and those things took priority. Around a year after our little girl was born and I was back to really feeling like myself, I decided to start making art again as a creative outlet and to help me feel even more like myself. That creativity brought me back to thrifting and my current depop shop was born. Now I’m creating as often as I can (not as often as I’d like now that my baby is a toddler haha) and I’m thrifting and curating vintage clothes every weekend.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Oh definitely not. My fertility struggles, depression, and two pregnancies definitely made the road long and difficult. But I wouldn’t change any of it for the world! My almost 2 year old daughter is the light of my life, and without all the struggles behind me I know she wouldn’t be here. She’s also a lot of my inspiration behind my business and my goals. Without the tough times I went through postpartum I never would’ve been inspired to get back into my creative space.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
At the moment, I’m a vintage curator first. Unfortunately with a toddler I don’t have nearly as much time to make art as I’d like, but I’m still an artist too. Right now I kind of have a weird obsession with lamps, and it’s all I’ve been painting. I paint as often as I can, but far more often I’m scouring marketplace and thrift stores for cool old things. Im proud of myself for staying me, and creating when I can even when life as a mom can be all encompassing. I think it’s so important for parents and primary caretakers especially to hold onto something that’s just theirs. I think being a mom sets me apart and honestly even gives me an advantage sometimes. My time is infinitely more valuable now that I have less of it.

Who else deserves credit in your story?
My family is my biggest support team. My parents of course, my siblings, but especially my husband and my daughter. My husband is truly the light of my life, and has gotten me through every hurdle I’ve had to go through in the last 8 years. I truly don’t think I would be alive if it weren’t for him. He’s always been supportive of my dreams and goals, and he has sacrificed so much for me to be able to do what I’m doing. He works harder than anybody I know, and he truly cares for what he does, both at work and as a father and husband. I wouldn’t be doing any of this without him!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.depop.com/madfoolvintage/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/madfoolvintage
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@madfoolvintage?_r=1&_t=ZT-99OzEJnDac2