What does a love of a good bargain and eight years of friendship equal?
A new thrift store in town, of course.
On March 4, Lizanne Tolmie and Ania Mari launched the at the 撸奶社区Town Hub.
Each already with their own businesses in the hub—Tolmie owns and Mari runs —the decision to join together for a new venture was more like “fate.”
“This was actually part of Ania's [building] and she didn't need this space, so she was going to sublease it,” Tolmie told The 撸奶社区.
“And we thought, we both love fashion so much, and we love thrifting, and we love sustainability and we love home decor, so why don't we just come together?
“We talked about it for about a year and it was always just like a dream and like a funny thing, and then we just pulled the trigger, and here we are.”
Makers Flea Trading Post is wedged between both businesses and consists of a mixture of thrifted goods as well as Canadian and locally made artisan products.
“So far, it's really worked out. People are really drawn to it, because I think it's priced well for people, and it's economical and it's sustainable,” Tolmie said.
“And a lot of stuff we have in here is Canadian made, there’s hats made in Paradise Valley, we've got stumps made from a 撸奶社区local, we've got makeup artists from Squamish. So we really try to bring in as many local artists, and now more than ever, Canadian made.”
The beginning of a friendship
The duo met just under a decade ago when Tolmie was in need of some hair sprucing.
“Ania’s been doing my hair for about eight years. I would go get my hair done and we would talk, because, that's what you do with your hairdresser,” she said with a laugh.
After many trips to Vancouver to thrift together, Tolmie said the opportunity to launch a joint thrift store was too good to pass up.
“We know what it's like to be a mom entrepreneur, we both know what it's like to run a business. So we already had that, and we already have leases here. So it felt like everything was just landing exactly how it was supposed to,” she said.
“We couldn't really deny that this was meant to be.”
The thrifting process
So, what exactly do two women, each with their own unique style, look for when stocking up their inventory?
“Our mantra, every time we go into thrift stores, is would we wear it,” Tolmie said.
“It doesn't matter if we think someone else might wear it, if we wouldn't, we don't [buy it]. Luckily, we have a little bit of a different style, so we have been able to reach a wider [audience].”
On any given thrifting experience, Tolmie said the duo can spend easily a few hours looking through second-hand goodies. In fact, on a recent trip to Coquitlam, they spent four hours perusing without uttering a word to each other.
“We drove down, and then we [went our separate ways] and came back together four hours later and showed each other what we got,” Tolmie said.
While they might be quietly focused on the bargain hunt, they aren’t afraid to shout it from the rooftops when a score is found.
‘If you were in this store that day, you would have heard me,” Tolmie said with a laugh.
“I remember one time I picked up these gold cowboy boots and I went, 'Oh, yeah' and then across the store, I can hear Ania [doing the same]. So we really are into it ... it's like a high getting something good.”
How are things priced?
It depends entirely on the piece found.
“It totally depends on the piece; we could get a good score on something and maybe knock it up a bit, but we know what it's like to get a good deal,” Tolmie said.
“So, for most of the things we just double what we paid for it, just for the overhead charges of what this place costs to run.
“We're not really trying to actually make much money off of the items we just want to make enough to keep this place running and keep doing this, because we both have our own businesses already.”
The opening night
On the evening of March 4, after much anticipation, the Makers Flea Trading Post opened to the public.
“We dragged on the opening for about a month and a half just talking about it. We had intended to open Feb 1, but because we pushed it to March 1, there was a lot of hype about it, which was great, but it was totally unintentional,” Tolmie said.
Most of the inventory on the night was from each of their respective closets that was never thrifted to be sold.
“So when I was watching people buy the items ... [I thought] I remember what, where I was when I bought that, and who I was with, and what country or town I was in. It's a cool feeling,” Tolmie said.
The opening night ran from 4 to 8 p.m. and, according to Mari, there was a lineup outside the store before the doors opened.
“We had a fire pit outside, we had appetizers and champagne, and people just rolled in … constantly,” she said.
The store’s inventory will be constantly changing so shoppers can expect new items regularly.
The can be found at 4-1861 Mamquam Road and opens Tuesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
