Today we’d like to introduce you to Casey Hawkins.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Casey. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I began Copper Rose Vintage out of a love for treasure-hunting + a need to financially contribute towards our son’s medical expenses following his early + emergent birth a few years ago. I first fell in love with finding + filling my home with unique pieces of history, rather than brand-new decor items from a retail store, when I was a broke art student in college. I’ve always loved using the space around me as a creative outlet, and surrounding myself with items that are meaningful, beautiful, and that bring me joy — and on a tight student budget I discovered that “thrifting” items were a really fun way to curate a collection of decor that was a hodgepodge of styles, cultures + eras that I was attracted to. In April of 2016, when I was just 33 weeks pregnant with our second baby, Shepherd, I had to be rushed to the hospital for an emergent delivery, followed by a life-saving surgery hours later. It is truly a miracle that both Shep + I survived, and I don’t take it for granted that he’s now mostly healthy + thriving, but the whole ordeal left us with staggering medical debt + lingering health issues for both of us. When Shep was a couple of months old, I came across an account on Instagram re-selling really neat vintage items that she had found, and soon discovered that this was not a unique set-up at all! I learned there was this entire culture of Instagram feeds featuring eclectically-decorated homes + vintage sellers, and realized this could be how I help our family make ends meet as we try to chip away at all of Shep’s medical debt from his birth, NICU time, and slew of health issues he’s had to deal with ever since. I came up with a name for my shop, created an Instagram account, and just started posting items I had already collected that never found a home in our space, and through the use of hashtags people started following me in anticipation of my growing inventory of found treasures. I’ve been slowly building my audience of shoppers since then, and feel like I’ve developed a really specific aesthetic that resonates with all the people who have supported me, and allowed me to turn this hobby into a small, but dependable, source of income that goes straight towards Shep’s medical expenses each month.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Given the season of life I was in when I first started Copper Rose, just two months postpartum, with a high-needs newborn fresh out of the NICU, recovering from back-to-back surgeries, it has been very difficult to keep up with at times. As much as I love parts of what I do — the collecting + curating, the styling, the photography, the connecting with people I never would have otherwise — it is still a job, and one I don’t have designated time to accomplish, but have to fit into the cracks of my day as I stay at home with two young kiddos and run a photography business as well. Juggling all the things + wearing all the hats has been the biggest struggle. I choose to run my business on Instagram for the ease + connection, but it is a better platform for marketing than it is for actually conducting transactions through, and it’s a pretty ineffective way of allowing people to find what you have for sale. Eventually, I hope to create a website and do more local events, but I am trying to have realistic expectations of myself considering this unique and relatively short season of life my family is in, and feel proud of what I’ve accomplished in my fringe moments alone. My advice for other women starting their own business, or pursuing a passion, would be to give yourself tons of grace. Consider what is worth it to you. If something has to give to make this dream a reality, is it worth it? For me, it IS worth losing sleep, working really hard, and being a bit overwhelmed at times, to help my family tackle this medical debt… but it is NOT worth losing too much time with my kids, especially while they are still so little + dependent, and it is NOT worth working myself into the ground for. I have to set boundaries and use discernment regarding when I push myself harder + when I allow myself to take a step back. I think being open to failure, and always learning + growing from it, is essential to not feel crushed + give-up.
Please tell us more about what you do, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
I collect + sell vintage home decor, art + jewelry. I frequent thrift stores, antique malls, and estate sales to find pieces I believe my followers will love, then photograph + share them on Instagram to make sales. My style is very fluid and I’ve noticed that the types of things I gravitate towards gradually changes over time, but I feel like for the most part people who have been following me for a while know what to expect from my aesthetic. I am probably most proud of what I’ve accomplished while running a home + raising 2 littles. Our progress has been slow, but we’ve made a really big dent in our medical debt through my shop alone. While the types of items I sell are within the same categories as most other vintage sellers, and I am often persuaded by the current trends in eclectic home decor, something that I think sets me apart is my pricing + my customer service. I really try to connect + build relationships with the people who support my shop, and therefore my family. I price my items much lower than many others in “the business” because I want to reach a lot of people with all size budgets, and it’s really fulfilling to match something that caught my eye with its new home where it will bring someone else joy. I also have sales ALL the time, and I often offer discounts for buying many items at once. I like spoiling the shoppers that keep coming back with extra discounts + free items because I am extra-grateful for the people who intentionally make a difference for us.
Looking back on your childhood, what experiences do you feel played an important role in shaping the person you grew up to be?
I am an only child + my parents expected a lot out of me, which I think made me very independent + driven. My dad has always been my biggest fan, and my mom has always pushed me to do better. I think between the two I had a really good balance of encouragement in what I was doing well + motivation to improve where I was lacking. I grew up playing a lot of sports + enrolled in tons of lessons + activities, so I got to try a little bit of everything to discover where I was naturally gifted, and I think that has helped me pursue things I both love + have a knack for. I’ve always been a really hard worker + never-give-up easily.
Contact Info:
- Email: copperrosevintage@gmail.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/copper.rose.vintage
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/copper.rose.vintage
Image Credit:
Casey Hawkins
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