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Up Close: Young Entrepreneurs Turn Thrift Store Shopping Into Full-Time Business
Feb 26, 2020, 7:33 PM | Updated: Feb 27, 2020, 10:55 am
PROVO, Utah – A simple hobby of thrift store shopping has turned into a full-time business for a couple of young entrepreneurs in Utah County.
They’ve now opened up their very own unique thrift store with a flash to the past. We are talking about the 1980s and 1990s era.
“It happened on accident,” said Albee Bostrom, one of the owners of Thrift Hood in Provo.
Thrift Store Shopping
About a year ago, Bostrom and his friend Sissy McDade bought several items of vintage clothing from a thrift store and sold them online. They couldn’t believe the interest out there.
“We ended up selling everything, which surprised us,” Bostrom said. “So then we realized, OK, maybe we have something here.”
The two then started selling items out of their basement, and now they’ve opened up a brick-and-mortar store.
Albee Bostrom and Sissy McDade turned their love of thrift store shopping into a business: Thrift Hood in Provo.
“Thrift Hood is a place that you can come and hang out, buy clothes, and just have a good time – and also walk away with some really cool, authentic vintages pieces to add to your wardrobe,” said McDade.
McDade and Bostrom said it’s clothing they love to wear themselves because they grew up in the ’90s.
“I love it because it’s me,” said McDade. “It’s one of the ways that you can express your personality with zero words.”
‘The Underground Feel’
The store is located off the beaten path along a back road most drivers don’t even know exist. It’s near the Provo City Center Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. There is a reason for that.
“We just like the underground feel to it where you have to have to search for it. Our customers love that, and we love that as well,” said Bostrom.
They’ve also turned the front area into a hangout lounge.
Albee Bostrom and Sissy McDade turned their love of thrift store shopping into a business: Thrift Hood in Provo.
“Everyone comes and has a party with us,” said Bostrom.
But it’s not all fun and games. Three to four days a week Bostrom and McDade are driving to thrift shops across the Wasatch Front, scouring through racks and racks of clothing, searching for that perfect find for under $10 that they can turn around and sell for four or five times that.
“It’s a lot of work,” McDade said. “It’s not the easiest thing. Albee and I definitely have had our times where it’s been super hard, where we were like, ‘I don’t think we can do this anymore.’ But it’s been so worth it.”
Utah Jazz Gear From Yesteryear
The two young entrepreneurs are now planning for a big event on Saturday. They are calling it a Jazz Pop Up event. For the past 10 months, they’ve collected hundreds of pieces of vintage Utah Jazz gear that will go on sale.
“It’s going to be the event of the year. It’s going to be crazy,” said Bostrom.
The Utah Jazz Pop Up will be at the Top Shelf Store, 65 W. 100 South, Salt Lake City, on Feb. 29 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Thrift Hood is located at 160 S. 100 West, Provo.
