Stockist Spotlight - Wandering Merchants
Here at Wanderer Magazine, we like to work with independent stores in the community to stock our magazine. So in celebration of this collaboration, we thought it would only be fair to return the favour and give these beautiful people a shoutout on our new segment dubbed Stockist Spotlight. We wanna give our readers further insight into the wonderful work they do and show them off a little. So, to start us off, our pick this week is a Wandering Merchants - our favourite little vintage store in the Gong.
WANDERER: What is your business, and what services do you provide?
WANDERERING MERCHANTS: Howdy, we're James and Lavinia and we run Wandering Merchants. Though we're a vintage store by name, it only makes up a part of what we do! We also provide styling services for the Wollongong music scene, starting off with Pacific Ave back in 2017, we've gone on to work with some epic local bands like Dribs, Sam Allen, Tin Knees, Slinky and a stack more! There are so many good bands in the Gong and we're truly lucky to be able to work with them so often. We offer the same service to basically anybody who wants to do something creative, so the number of photographers, models, artists, designers, cinematographers etc that we've been able to work with is a real privilege - Though we may only be lending out some clothes, props, or letting people use our space, the artistic works of our creative scene play an important part in our local culture and we're more than happy to play a small part, and we do it all for free because, without the burden of money, art (IMO) is more honest. We also run an NFP called Car Hole Productions - basically stocking and selling band merch, (so they have a physical place to sell when they're not touring), and fundraising at gigs etc..to help pay for tours, recording, more merch etc. It's not much, but every little bit helps for the young broke muso!
Most important of all, I think, is the space we create in the shop, we basically offer up a place where you can hang out without being judged, we never pressure anyone to buy anything (which I think is refreshing), heck we don't even have a budget! so you can come in and chill and basically just talk with someone who will listen, it sounds pretty simple (and it is), society can be a major drag and loads of people don't really have many close friends to talk it out with. So I feel like as a business, we're probably one of the worst on paper because we put the community first, we're not fussed about making stacks of money, we do heaps free of charge and a lot of people just don't get it, but what's money compared to art? what's making 'budget' over having an honest conversation with someone?, what's a bunch of followers on Instagram compared to a customer that comes in one day by chance and ends up being a friend? That's what drives us, the people and it's repaid 10 fold with a true sense of community. But shit, I definitely failed business studies haha.
How did you guys get started?
It started with a love of shopping at antique stores, op shops and markets that were passed down from both our parents. After years of shopping for ourselves, we realised we were pretty good at it and could probably do it for a job, so after a while, we quit our jobs and just went for it! We were lucky to get a little space with an apartment out the back. We were just winging it, playing it slow and steady, just happy to be working for ourselves. The key was just to take the risk and go for it, it's been almost seven years since and we're still pretty much just winging it, to be honest.
Why did you get into the industry you are in today?
We weren't thinking about "why'' when we first started; it’s just who we are and what we do. We figured if you plan a business around yourself and your passions, you can't stuff it up if you're honest to yourself and others. Because of that, it still doesn't feel like work; we’re pretty much just hanging out listening to records and talking shit. We just happen to be doing it in our shop.
Where did the name Wandering Merchants come from?
Initially, I had 'Wollongong Merchants' in mind, so I drew up the logo, then thought the word Wollongong might limit us a bit if we were to expand elsewhere one day, so we changed to 'Wandering Merchants' & the logo being a 'W' and 'M' didn't have to be changed and it fits our model better too, we literally wander around wherever we go and buy and sell things we're interested in.
How is your business different from other vintage stores?
It seems to me that most vintage stores I see just deal in clothes, buy them in bulk from wholesalers and have stacks of the same thing on the racks. That to me seems like another arm of fast fashion. We handpick everything ourselves, and not only clothes but records, cameras, books, art band merch and heaps more. There's so much more than just the fashion aspect and it's all connected - Fashion, art, music, all tools of expression that can literally change the world when harnessed properly.
What are some of the styles and brands your store sells?
We honestly don't focus on brands or styles very much. We buy what we think is good and trust our instinct. Anything pre 90's that we dig, we'll get it regardless of whether it's on-trend or not. In my opinion, if you're chasing the trends, there's plenty of places you can shop. We’re here for people doing their own thing, looking for something different.
Feel free to add any important information you’d like included about your store!
If you're a creative of any kind and would like to work together, if you've got a business venture in mind and want someone to bounce ideas off, if you're feeling helpless in this capitalist drag and wish to discuss its inevitable demise and what we can do going forward then get in touch! we'll always be here for our customers and friends to have a chat or lend a hand, just send us a message or pop in.
Find Wanderering Merchants here on instagram, or in their store located at 9 Victoria St, Wollongong NSW 2500
PRODUCED BY: ADAM MANSFIELD
