Meet Ryan Frankel & Evelyn Lopez We are partners in life and in business

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ryan frankel & Evelyn lopez and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ryan & Evelyn, how does your business help the community?
Our social impact is a cleaner planet.

Well, for starters, the environmental impact is the most important. We only sell secondhand clothing. And when people shop secondhand we reduce carbon emissions, save lots of resources, water, and energy, and reduce clothes that end up in landfills. As much as we want to encourage people to stop shopping at fast fashion brands, they need an alternative space to shop. Most people don’t feel comfortable going to the goodwill or salvation army. Which is where we come in, we are one alternative; we offer a space where people can feel comfortable shopping in a curated selection of only secondhand clothing and accessories. We are selling trendy vintage styles and retro styles.

Clothing made in the 70s through the early 00s were made with fewer synthetic fabrics and better quality. Quality clothing translates into durability and a longer life span of the clothes. However, we notice that clothing is produced today as if it’s disposable. They are not, synthetic fabrics and clothing are not biodegradable.

We are so grateful for each sale we receive, as we know that each purchase of any of our secondhand garments directly diverts a sale at some fast fashion store.

You don’t need to be an environmentalist or climate activist to make a difference in our environment. It can be as simple as making a few changes to where you are spending your money. As we hold the power with each dollar, we choose to spend.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
We offer a large selection for everyone and their budget. For example, you can buy a shirt for as little as $3.5 or a rare vintage premium tee for $85. We find that most vintage stores only cater to customers with large budgets. We have something for everyone’s budget. I think we are most proud of the community coming together and the space we have curated for them. All our customers have been incredible, and we owe our success to them. They have single handly invited all of our customers to come to check us out. They regularly come to shop and hang out.

As this is a new retail venture for us, we are learning and having to adjust quickly. I think that has been the biggest lesson in learning to pivot quickly. We are not afraid of trying new ideas and seeing if they work. And we are also not afraid to change things that are not working. And we know inspiration can come from anyone or anything. We create an environment where our employees can contribute their ideas as well.

The most important message we want to get out there is to encourage as many people to shop secondhand; whether it is with our brand or not, this is one thing you can do to contribute to a cleaner planet.

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.
The best way to see our city of Miami is on the water, I would recommend renting a little boat and catching the sunset of the Miami skyline. Then we would head over to KYU for a nice Asian BBq dinner. Finally, we would hang out at our pool and take it easy at our house. We love quality time with our family and friends, a nice local beer in the comfort of our home, and great music provided by our in-house DJ (RYAN)

We love to explore south Florida on our jet skis, and personally think you see the best of what Florida has to offer on the water. We love jet skiing in key largo, which is only 1.5 hours away. We get to jetski through the mangroves and pull up on some private islands and, when we are lucky, see pods of dolphins.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I think a special Shout out goes to Ryan’s family for starting him in this industry. His grandpa started after WW2 selling used army uniforms from his basement, which turned into a business for him selling used suits for men. Once his father got older, he started his own business of selling used Levi’s and eventually other styles of used clothing. And once Ryan was older, he began helping his father out for a few years, where he decided in 2020 to start his own website selling vintage styles online, Where we started in the garage of our home and now have two warehouse spaces.

Website: thriftvintageoutlet.com

Instagram: @thriftvintageoutlet

Facebook: Thrift Vintage Fashion

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/thrift-vintage-outlet-hialeah-2?uid=iqbH1cm8Y2DEHbzEVaT84Q&utm_campaign=www_business_share_popup&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=(direct)

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoPHu1zK6u8h8R4POrQq4nQ/featured

Image Credits
These are photos we took