The Making of Vintage Fox

Madison Hurst
Oct 23, 2019
2 min read

If you were on the look out for the cutest vintage shop in Adelaide, well, you've found it!

Vintage Fox are a small local company located in the heart of Port Adelaide, who support other local businesses with their wide array of handmade goodies. Vintage Fox also specialise in retro clothing pieces, funky furniture and statement jewellery that I am sure you will agree are difficult to resist!

Earlier this month, I was lucky enough to meet with the creator and owner of Vintage Fox, Bronwyn Cooling, who kindly showed me around her store and talked with me about how her store came to be the success it is today. Bronwyn gave me an insight into her world as a local business owner, and told me why she was so passionate about vintage in the way that she is!

To enjoy this interview, you can either read the transcript placed below, or enjoy this audio visual interview, here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7hHUe_b-mk

Interview Transcript with Bronwyn Cooling

Q: What kind of items do you sell at Vintage Fox, and where do you source from? A: I specialise in vintage and retro, but I do have a little bit of recycled as well. I will generally bring stock in on a Thursday, and I just source that throughout the week from whatever recycled shops I might go to. With jewellery and things, I do source online and overseas for some items that complement my range. And then I have handmade products in here as well from local designers and Adelaide makers.

Q: What do you believe are the main benefits of buying vintage?

A: I think there is so many benefits. Because I have been buying and selling for such a long time, what led me into it was the fact that I could just choose my own style in a group of girls all going out at the same time. We lost our individualism. So for me, it was really about finding myself, and my style and what I wanted to wear, rather than picking colours and styles off of the same rack as everybody else.

Q: What steps did you have to take to become the successful vintage business owner you are today?

A: I was quite creative, and I used to make hair accessories and jewellery and things, and in doing that, I started to just work casually with my friends and in the local businesses. I then consigned to a vintage store who have sadly closed now. And then, I guess markets were a big thing. So when the Gilles Street markets came about, I was quite a regular there, and to see how well my products were selling was really eye opening.

Q: Where would you like to see Vintage Fox in the next five years? A: I would like to see Vintage Fox with a very successful storefront, and also a successful online presence. One of my goals is definitely to have a really, really good website, so that people can have that convenience if they can't make it in store.