Meet Heidi Ferguson: Vintage Shop Owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Heidi Ferguson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Heidi, what role has risk played in your life or career?
I think risk taking has played a crucial role throughout my life. I have always been the different one in social settings and in school. I tend to just go for things that appeal to me as opposed to really thinking it through. To me taking risks is exciting and throughout life it has lead me to many different possibilities that I do not think would have happened if I was over analytical and afraid of doing something different. It definitely played a role in opening my business and in turn recently expanding my business. That was super risky during Covid, but we rolled the dice and went for it.

What should our readers know about your business?
Stitches and Rust is curated vintage and handmade boutique specializing in affordable items and one of a kind upcycled handmade clothing. We have recently relocated to a larger more expansive space and added some wonderful new vignettes as well as a ton of new merchandise. The journey was a long one. Owning a small business and going through a pandemic was one of the hardest things we have ever encountered, but thankfully our loyal customers helped us get through the worst of it. We were able to pivot our business to sell exclusively online during the shutdown and thankfully that got us through. We realized during this time that we were missing out on a crucial aspect of our shop, so the silver lining was the opportunity to expand on our website and online platform to undress our numbers. Had Covid not happened this would have been undervalued and overlooked.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If I had a friend visiting I would take them to the more historic parts of my area (Downtown Lake Worth) and some of my favorite restaurants. I’m a huge dive bar fan and know the best ones in the area. Harry’s Banana Farm and Frenchies to start. There is an amazing hole in the wall Guatemalan restaurant that I frequent called La Perla. so it’s a must do. Kayaking and drift fishing are my go to’s as well as a ride up A1A in my vintage Cadillac to hit some waterfront happy hour spots like the Old Key Lime house or Two George’s. The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Shoutout to my partner and daughter in this business Cassina. At 14 she has surpassed me in sourcing the best vintage and really helping me in the day to day operations at our store. Her selflessness and dedication to making our shop successful means so much to me because she wants to be there and I love sharing my life passion with her by my side.

Website: www.stitchesandrustvintage.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stitchesandrust/
Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/stitchesandrust

Image Credits
Shawn D. Moss