Meet Michelle ! The woman behind Mesh Vintage - a true and authentic love note to vintage wear.
Bio
Meet Michelle! Michelle was born and raised in Wilmington, DE. Michelle has been collecting clothing for the past 30 years. Her job at 14 was at Goodwill and since then she’s never looked back. Though Michelle has had many different careers from corporate sales, to an independent record store manager, and everything in between, vintage has always been her first love and passion.
Origin Story
For Michelle, it took a medical injury to make her stop and think what she wanted out of her professional life. She was out of work lying on her back for three months. She had been working her corporate job, but now had time to think if that was still the right choice for her. Michelle realized she didn’t want to go back to the high pressure sales world. “I needed to stop talking about wanting to open a vintage clothing shop and just go for it!”
Go for it she did! Michelle chose Philadelphia, specifically East Passyunk Avenue with its high foot traffic and fun and diverse neighborhood as it seemed like the best place for her shop to be successful. It has now been six years since her 2015 opening.
These past six years haven’t always been easy for Michelle. She lost her husband of 20 years a couple of years ago to pancreatic cancer and Covid certainly dealt her a punch as well, “but I’m still standing”. And Philly is pretty grateful for that.
Roses and Thorns
Michelle, like many small business owners is a one woman show. She doesn’t have employees, so she does everything herself. In some ways it’s a blessing for Michelle. But of course that means all the responsibility, all the work, and all the decisions rest on her shoulders.
There’s no one to pick up the slack or to delegate to when there’s a bad day. When you’re self-employed you never have a day off, you’re always thinking about your business. “But I never once have regretted walking away from a successful corporate career to have my own little shop. Having a key to your own business, no matter how big or small still feels pretty damn good.”
1820 E Passyunk Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19148
(267) 930-3321
https://www.facebook.com/meshvintagephilly
@meshvintage
