We are almost at the end of Secondhand September. How has everyone been doing? Personally, I haven’t really shopped for myself at all this month. No secondhand and no new (except 1 pair of Indigenous made earrings that are raising money for the IRSS in honour of orange shirt day). It’s really been a lack of time, plus the weather being hot still, as well as the fact that I don’t currently need anything, so I haven’t shopped.
Fashion is only one of the places where we keep an eye on trends and fly from one aesthetic to another. Home decor is another spot. I used to like to “change things up” with a quick trip to Winners/Home Sense to grab some trendy, of the moment, home decor pieces. It has been many years since I’ve done this. I found those pieces weren’t necessarily my style, there were things I had been told were trendy and made me feel like I was a part of the “in crowd”. When I first started blogging, there was a lot of home style pressure to have a perfect home with the perfect decor. Honestly, it all kinda looked the same. Crisp, white everything, marble, a big farmhouse table, the kinda minimalist, and of course always immaculate. As beautiful as it was, this never felt like me. So I ditched that way of thinking and leaned into my own personal home style. Our home is now full of vintage family items, plants I don’t know the names of but love, pictures of our family and the kids art, and some lovely secondhand treasures we’ve found over the years. Oh, and it’s never really all the tidy. Lol! With all of this in mind, I thought I’d take the opportunity of Secondhand September, to get us thinking about how we can adopt secondhand into our homes. One of my absolute favourite online (Instagram) shops to source things for my home as well as buy gifts from, is Fergie’s Home Goods. Please read on to get to know a bit more about Kelsey, the owner of the shop.
Before we get into the questions, can you please introduce yourself and tell us what you do?
I’m Kelsey, born and raised in the Fraser Valley, now I’m raising three daughters and a growing a small business here. I’m an avid secondhand shopper, for my business and our home. My online shop is curated collection of vintage home goods and dried floral decor. I hunt thrift stores, flea markets, and garage sales wherever my travels take me.
- How did you get into selling curated vintage home decor? It was something I really enjoyed doing personally, I was always in the thrifts stores collecting pieces for my home, and flipping the odd piece here and there. In early 2019 I decided to take a leap and start Fergie’s Home Goods. I started with a five dollar item I purchased and slowly built my business to what it is now.
- What tips do you have for people looking to add vintage pieces into their existing decor? For me, I personally love pieces with a story, I love doing the research. When people ask about something in my home it’s much more satisfying to share the history than tell them I picked it up at a big box store or something. Pick pieces that make you smile! Your home should be a reflection of you, not just what’s on trend this season, invest in timeless pieces.
- What is your favourite thing you have ever thrifted? Either for yourself or for the shop. This is a tough one, I’ve had the opportunity to share so many amazing vintage pieces, I think one of my favourites would have a oil portrait from the 1800s I have been holding onto. It was quite the rush to pull back the paper backing to reveal the dark heavy canvas and perfectly imperfect hardware.
If you’d like to shop Kelsey’s shop, you can find all her lovely wares available for sale on her Instagram page. Find her at @fergieshomegoods .
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