Out with the New, in with the Old

Vintage! Ironically as old as vintage clothes may-be, today they are a huge phenomenon as sustainable fashion becomes the latest "it" trend. I was lucky enough to be able to chat with Ayuba the owner of Tola Vintage located in Temple Bar, Dublin. The biggest perk which Ayuba pointed out to me was the story behind the clothing you have purchased. When buying that ’70s styled Nike jumper or pants, why not ask yourself, ‘who might have had this before you? Was this piece a gift or was it possibly even stolen?’ My favourite question Ayuba likes to ask is “Has someone robbed a bank in this?” and thus leading to the person upgrading from Nike to Versace. 

Ayuba’s story inspired me as he always wanted to be an entrepreneur, saying, “I’ve always wanted to have my own store”, and this is exactly what he has achieved. Starting small, as everyone must do, himself and his girlfriend began selling their own clothes online. This further developed into them purchasing clothes they liked and selling them for a profit. 

The inspiration for the start-up of the store in Temple Bar came when they happily found out they had a ‘leanbh beag’ on the way! This is also in fact where the name Tola Vintage comes from, Tola being Ayuba and Aoife’s son's name “Having Tola gave us a focal point”. The prominent three cherry logo of Tola Vintage represent the three as a family “The middle one is me, the other one is for Tola and the other one is for Aoife”. The logo is yet to be updated with the beautiful newest addition of Yara.

When setting up a business marketing is so important and of course, the main goal is to get as popular and well known as possible. Tola Vintage mastered their marketing through Instagram with a following of 40.4k today. Through the use of different locations and unusual visuals, Tola Vintage tells a story with many of their Instagram posts much like the possible story that might be behind the clothes itself! Having been one of the first vintage stores in Dublin, their brand and what they want to represent has attracted people such as Ariana Grande and Hayley Williams into the store.

The store itself has been open for five years now. Tola Vintage wanted to give back to their loyal customers and did so by opening another store in Temple Bar called Tola Vintage Kilo Shop. Providing everything from Levi’s denim jackets to Lacoste hoodies and sweaters, Tola Vintage Kilo Shop has everything you need to look hawt whilst saving our hawt planet at the same time! 

WARNING! The minimum spend in Tola Vintage Kilo Shop is 10 which I discovered by purchasing a shirt worth 4 and (sarcastic tone) ‘unfortunately’ had to pick up one or two more things which turned into five or six and spending 26 above the minimum spend

Of course, I had to ask what was Ayuba’s key to success and he began to tell me how you “need to take everything step by step. Living in such a fast-paced city, life can get bizarre at times but by concentrating on one thing at a time, building your way up and never over-crowding yourself with work” is how to successfully attract loyal customers and keep the business humble.