Sue Hodell and Shauna Diliberto met in August of last year. Now, just seven months later, they’re working to open an upscale thrift store called Vintage Love in downtown Syracuse.

Vintage Love is a rising hub for purchasing authentic vintage clothing, accessories and homeware. After spending a few months as a pop-up store, Hodell and Diliberto are transforming Vintage Love into a full-time store set to open May 12.

The two women love all things vintage. Before they met, Hodell, a self-described “wild child,” made her living working at Beer Belly Deli & Pub.

But Hodell always loved “to treasure hunt and find things,” which eventually turned into refurbishing vintage pieces of furniture in her spare time. After posting pictures of her creations on Facebook, her friends started offering her money for her pieces. It was then Hodell realized she could actually make money off her hobby.

Hodell created Driftwood & Glitter, an online venture where her customers could view images of her cleaned-up and freshly-painted creations on Facebook. All items are listed with an asking price, and Hodell encourages customers to text or call her for purchase.

“I don’t care where it is, I’ll snag it,” Hodell said of finding the furniture itself.

She added that the pieces usually come from estate sales, variety stores and thrift stores.

Hodell met Diliberto, naturally, at the Armory Square’s bi-monthly City Market. This flea market was inspired by the Funky Flea, an event that has since folded. They were introduced through a mutual friend, and Diliberto said she loved Hodell’s style and aesthetic.

Hodell added that they had only had a few conversations together prior to becoming partners and building a business for themselves.

Hodell runs the homeware side of the store. Instead of offering exclusively refurbished vintage furniture, she has focused more on finding vintage pieces and cleaning them up rather than adding a personal touch. She said this change is because Driftwood & Glitter’s exclusively homemade business model would be way too difficult to maintain with the rising interest in her creations.

Alongside the homeware, Diliberto has organized Maeflowers Vintage, the clothing section of the store. Like Hodell’s homeware, Diliberto said Maeflowers Vintage clothing “is hand-picked and curated from traveling, from estate sales to house sales, everything is one-of a kind.”

She added that occasional alterations in the clothing might be made to modernize pieces that are a little too bohemian for 21st century standards, but those tend to be simple adjustments or repairs.

The two are renting ground level floor space from Troy Evans in a building on the corner of Warren and Jefferson streets. Evans was approached by the Downtown Committee of Syracuse, who told him about the two women needing retail space. The parties connected, and Evans agreed to lease the bottom floor of the Warren Street building to them for three months.

During this time, Hodell and Diliberto organized a pop-up, or test-run of the business to determine whether or not it was practical enough to profit. It was open throughout November and December, and after a successful run, Evans, Hodell and Diliberto signed a one-year lease for the same space.

As far as Vintage Love is concerned, Evans said he admires Hodell and Diliberto for their ambition and passion.

When the storefront opens next month, Vintage Love will be offering Local Love, a line of locally made crafts and gifts. As Diliberto described it, the collection of T-shirts, tote bags, candles and art prints are designed to show a sense of Syracuse pride “without hitting people over the head with it.”

They are sourcing the material from three central New York businesses: Custom Logo USA, a silk-screening and embroidery business based in Baldwinsville; Bowtie Candles of Syracuse; and Sarah Knight, a printmaker based in Rochester.

With the grand opening fast approaching, Hodell and Diliberto have had to strap down and prepare things ready for the doors to open.

But however serious the business may get, Hodell still maintains her wild child nature.

Said Hodell: “I’m kind of winging it, (just) treasure hunting and running around.”

Published on April 13, 2016 at 8:51 pm

Contact: cmrussel@syr.edu | @caseymrussell