TREASURE TROVE
I turned my thrifting side hustle into dream job – I know the best days of the week to bag bargains
Jean even sold her house to pursue the dream
A LIFELONG fashion fan has revealed how she turned her side hustle into her dream job after selling her corporate company.
Jean Robinson told how working in property and housing was "immensely stressful" and how when the Covid-19 pandemic hit she decided it was time to make a change - and go full-time with her thrifty hobby.
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The business woman began selling clothes online during the pandemic, which prompted the idea for her pre-loved Dublin designer store and website Moot.ie.
She told The Irish Sun: "Over Covid, I started selling clothes online and I had made up my mind to sell my company and my portfolio on.
"I'm an interior designer, I trained in interior design and I always had a huge love of clothes. I know I have a good eye for colour, and because I've been in property for so long I have a good eye with photography as well.
"I realised that when I was putting up the ads that they were going quite well. I was thinking 'it's so easy and the job that I do is so stressful, there has to be an easier way to make a living'. The seed was born."
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Jean's plan was to sell clothes from a container at the front of her house, but a stroke of luck saw a retail property attached to a house become vacant just doors down from where she was living.
The owners would only sell the retail space and the house together so Jean decided it was time to take a real leap of faith.
She explained: "I just said to my husband, we have to sell our house. He very kindly agreed to sell our house. I sold my business and we sold the house and we moved in a year last February."
Jean opened the doors to her store to the public back on February 15 after operating on a small scale online prior to the opening.
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She said: "It was a slow process because all of the stuff that I had in the shop was mine. So, I had to go through rails upon rails deciding what was going to go in the shop.
"For me, this is my passion and it's a hobby. I had a lot of help from good friends and here I am eight weeks open fully. I have a lot of stuff.
"So it's a pre-loved designer clothes and accessories clothes shop. I am a consignment store as well I take in stuff but I've only just recently started to take stuff in because I'm stocked."
GIVING BACK
With a surplus of stock, Jean has now decided to give back and have an open day to raise money in aid of Laura Lynn Irish Children's Hospice.
The charity provides palliative and supportive care services for children with life limiting conditions and their families in Ireland.
The event takes place this Saturday April 27 at the store located on Enniskerry Road, Kilternan, Co Dublin from 12pm until 3pm.
Jean explained: "It's an aid of Laura Lynn, a fabulous charity so it's a wonderful thing to be part of. They're just an incredible charity with the work that they do.
"So I'm going to have three rails a €10, €20 and €30 rail. It's going to be all high street and I'm going to have drinks and grazing trays.
"I have two influencers that are on Instagram, Joanne Mooney and Vintage Irish Kat. So, they're just coming up to lend a hand as well. I hope it'll be a great day."
TOP TIPS
And the expert thrifter shared her top tips for those looking to get into thrifting but don't know where to start, or for those just looking to find hidden gems.
She advised: "After a bank holiday weekend, you'll always get a good thrift because people are at home, they're clearing at the wardrobe. The Tuesday or the Wednesday of the following week, you will get stuff.
"For me, you've got to have an eye for a fabric. I can see from a distance if something is good, and then if I go over close I won't have to look at the label, I just have to feel it. I think that's just something that becomes ingrained."
She also advised consistency is key when searching for pieces admitting she could thrift four or five times a week and only find a few high quality pieces.
Jean's store is open from Tuesday through to Sunday at the eircode D18Y229 and you can follow her on Instagram here.
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