Adriene Passannante is a bit like a modern day treasurer hunter. She goes to estate sales, hunts online and looks other places she won’t reveal for objects to fill her store Lotus Vintage.
“I was always into vintage,” Passannante recalls. “As a yoga teacher my afternoons were often free and I’d look on eBay and see people selling vintage. They had styled models and I thought I could do it.”
At first it was a way for Passannante to make a little extra money. She began selling online nine years ago with eBay and later Esty.
“Online is a lot of work, you have to style the models, measure everything, photograph everything, mail everything,” Passannante said.
She still maintains her Esty store but about two years ago she opened a physical store.
“It was really about finding the passion to do it full-time,” Passannante said.
The store in Huntington allows Passannante to share her passion for vintage clothing and educate people on vintage.
Everything in Lotus Vintage is 25 years old or older and Passannante makes sure everything is washed and repaired before it goes on display. People who come to Lotus Vintage will find different items than online, but if they see something at her online store they can pick it up from the Huntington store. And after two years, she said she starting to see a lot of familiar faces with repeat customers coming to the shop that sells mostly women’s clothing and accessories.
“I love looking for things for the shop and turning people on to vintage.” Passannante said.
No day is ever the same for Passannante, who said she never knows exactly what is going to walk through the door. Sometimes she’s out hunting for a really special piece and other days she’s concentrating on the mannequins.
“The more visual mannequins the quicker items sell,” Passannante said.
And she’s always shopping, even when she’s not at store and spending time at the beach, traveling or teaching yoga she said she’s always has an eye out for something old but new for her boutique.
Pulse Insider is featuring small business owners from a different Long Island neighborhood once a week—and we’d love to know about your favorite small business. Tells us about your town’s best small businesses and we might feature them in an upcoming story.