Eight weeks into the pandemic, and a new clothing company was born. It only took two months for business owners Madeline Kalisz and Isabel Kamin to launch the vintage clothing company of their dreams, Rebalance Vintage. Even during such an unwavering time, with little to no experience in the fashion industry, the owners have established a profitable online and retail selling plan. But wait- it’s easier said than done. With countless challenges, planning, and re-configuring business models, Kalisz and Kamin are finally finding financial success from their company. Being a young creative in the fashion industry, I obviously had to find out who they are and how they did it.
Kalisz and Kamin are both Toronto born and raised and began dating in 2016. The couple found mutual interests in modern design, 80’s music, business, and of course- vintage fashion. They decided to explore their passion for design and creativity this past year when they both graduated during the Pandemic. “The job market was slim to none at the start of Covid and both of us really needed money for rent, as well as a creative outlet to keep us busy” shared Kalisz. From there, the girls started planning how they would make a successful company during a time with so many unanswered questions.
For starters, Kalisz and Kamin stressed the importance of demand. “You have to make sure there is demand for what you are selling. We knew how much people love vintage clothing, so it worked. We have many competitors, but people will still buy from multiple vintage stores” explained Kamin. Once you know there is demand for your product, it is important to figure out who your target market is and how you can tailor your marketing to resonate with them.
Secondly, planning is essential. It is so easy to lose money during such a financially uncertain time, so Kalisz and Kamin focused on starting small. “We started off by sourcing our clothing from searching through our own old clothes and buying cheap stuff off Kijiji. Once we confirmed that there was definite demand for our styles, we got access to exclusive-use clothing warehouses and started buying items in bulk” Kalisz shares. At this point, the girls started shifting the focus from their sourcing, to selling.
Initially Rebalance Vintage sold clothes just through Instagram which made communication easy, and it was absolutely free. Once they started to make more sales, “we invested in a Shopify store. Selling online has low overhead costs. Whereas owning a store front, you have to pay rent every month” stated Kamin. It didn’t stop here though. The owners wanted to find more ways to market and sell their products- but it needed to be low risk and cheap.
This is when the girls got into retail all due to one key selling method- networking. By using networking as an affective tool to gain meaningful relationships, Kalisz and Kamin were able to secure a partnership with the Drake General Store. “A week after we launched our Shopify, we visited the Drake General Store Warehouse in Toronto” says Kalisz. “The President of the Drake General Store, Carlo, overhead us talking about our company and wanted to learn more. Coincidentally, Isabel did an Internship at the Drake Hotel last summer and was able to play on that to help insinuate the conversation. By the end of our talk we had secured Carlo’s business card and had our clothes in store within the next month.”
Landing a retail partnership with such an established retail front is not only impressive, but vital to their financial success. Kalisz and Kamin were able to sell their vintage clothes in a physical, very populated, retail store without having to pay rent for retail space. Knowing that the pandemic is causing many companies to not be able to afford the rent for physical retail space, a partnership is a very profitable way to still sell clothes in a retail store minus the risk.
Now that Rebalance Vintage has established selling channels, what’s next? Well, this is just the start. “We have to run everything from marketing, to product sourcing, to product photography, photo editing, product packaging, accounting, strategizing, learning new software, to making connections and so on. It is difficult to manage everything that gets done” notes Kamin.
In this sense, organization is key towards continuing the growth and success of the company. I learned from Kalisz and Kamin that if you decide to work in a partnership, this is a plus because you can draw on each other’s strengths rather than having to do everything yourself. Kalisz and Kamin use a “divide and conquer strategy”. “Maddie is very good at organization, she pulls from that strength to complete tasks such as packaging, cataloguing items, recording sales, organizing clothes, and uploading to Shopify. I’m good at technology, so I do photo edits, marketing edits, social media, etc. Then we share tasks such as photoshoots and getting clothing from warehouses, laundry, and more” explained Kamin.
With this strategy the girls can get more done in less time, as well as are able to utilize the specific skills they gained from their educations. Kalisz, a creative writing graduate from Ryerson University and with a passion for photography, has significantly helped in producing high-quality photographs and written content for their website and socials. Kamin, a Queen’s Commerce graduate utilized the skills she gained from several marketing courses taken throughout her degree to help build the business side of the company.
So, where does this leave us wannabe entrepreneurs? “Plan, organize, network, and never be afraid to ask for help” is the key to Rebalance Vintage’s success says Kalisz. There are so many people just like you that may offer something that you currently lack. So, what I took away from meeting Kalisz and Kamin is to get out there and don’t be afraid to shoot your shot. The owners of Rebalance Vintage are just another example of who you could become.
Kalisz and Kamin welcome anyone who wishes to learn more about them or their business to send a direct message to their Instagram @Rebalancevintage or through their website, rebalancevintage.com.
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