Owner of Cockloft Vintage finds home On Broadway for vintage goods, clothing store

With fall events almost over, the On Broadway District is looking forward to its busiest holiday schedule ever. And Tina Kelly, owner of Cockloft Vintage, is excited to be part of it.

Less than a year ago, when Kelly was planning to open a vintage shop, she knew that she wanted to be in an area that complimented the concept. The On Broadway District checked all the boxes.

“I wanted to be in an older location and pictured an old storefront with big windows and brick walls," she said. "I also wanted to be in a place that drew foot traffic. When I met with the marketing director for On Broadway and other business owners, everyone was very supportive. I love that they have multiple events throughout the year, and I’m on the corner where the farmers market starts.”

Finding the space capped off a frenzied couple of months. Kelly had spent her career in the mental health industry with a focus on the needs of others. She had decided it was time to take a break and do something for herself. To that end, she did a self-assessment.

“I went through a check list,” she said. “What did I enjoy doing? What are my passions? I live in an older house and thought about my love for pieces that are older, what they represent, and the history behind it. I thought other people would enjoy those things, too.”

The next months were spent writing a business plan on pieces of paper as she began to collect vintage items. She scoured online sources to find “great grandma and grandpa” rummage and estate sales and traveled throughout the Midwest whenever it fit into her schedule.

She said there was a continuous conversation running through her head and asking, “How can I make this work?”

It began to come together as she found hundreds of treasures. Each was carefully cleaned and set aside as she collected inventory.

“My family was very forgiving and supportive. For a while, it was overwhelming, I had boxes of things and racks of clothes. I had bins and shelving in the home office and the basement and in an extra room where I completely took the spaces over,” Kelly said.

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Her treasures include vintage clothing from the 1920s and 1930s — products that were of high quality and unlike those made today. She purchased wool skirts (a personal favorite), wool sweaters with wooden buttons, glassware, quilts, lanterns, plant stands, pots, and vintage mugs and cups.

In between trips to buy inventory, with the help of her husband, Alonzo, who also owns a business, she fulfilled the legal requirements and put a plan in place. She planned displays, decided on the location at 163 N. Broadway, and selected a name.

“I wanted a name that people would gravitate toward,” Kelly said. “Cockloft is an old English term that means attic or loft over the roof. My logo has a farmhouse because that’s what vintage reminds me of; when I’d be at my grandma’s farmhouse and we’d dress up and pretend, and wear the clothes that were in the attic.”

When visiting her shop, customers will find that she still loves the clothes she sells and favors vintage fashion. With every piece, there is a story to be told and she often researches the history so that it can be shared. Now open for five months, as people discover the shop, her challenge is obtaining balance.

Quick to point out that as a mother of three, her family comes first, she is now stretched to work in the store four days a week and also find time to go out on buying excursions. Her roles are all-encompassing.

She said, “I am the owner, employee, shipment department, purchaser and cleaner of the goods. I tag the items and merchandise them. I am the bank, the books, and customer service.”

But, as the store has found its place in the district and is quickly taking off, Kelly tries to find time to work on social media and other marketing. Her target market is hard to define.

“I don’t have a specific customer. There are high school students who want to wear the old sweater vest or sweater, middle-aged people who enjoy the quality of the piece, and older people from that generation who want something they can no longer find elsewhere,” she said.

One gentleman brought in his older mother, and they were delighted to find the perfect sweatshirt. As with many pieces like that, Kelly’s weakness is falling in love with the items and having a hard time parting with them. She feels a connection with the goods and the store, and is glad she decided on a bricks and mortar store instead of ecommerce.

She added, “I love the old-school feel of the store; it’s how things used to be.”

The feedback she’s gotten has been very positive and it encourages her on her journey. Although she says she is sometimes bewildered to contemplate how fast she has gotten to this point, it is been incredibly rewarding.

“I love all of it," Kelly said. "If I had known that this was going to be so much fun, I would have started it earlier. I think sometimes it is hard for moms because owning a business sounds so demanding, but I wish I had done it earlier. I wish I’d know that I could be successful at both.”

Customers who want to visit the shop and take advantage of On Broadway events will have plenty of opportunity with a number planned including the Lighting Ceremony on Broadway on Nov. 18, Small Business Saturday on Nov. 26, Christkindlmarkets throughout the season, and Winter Wine & Beer Walks.

Tina Dettman-Bielefeldt is co-owner of DB Commercial Real Estate in Green Bay and past district director for SCORE, Wisconsin.

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Owner of Cockloft Vintage finds home On Broadway for vintage goods, clothing store in Green Bay