The saying goes, “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”
If you change the age and gender, the saying certainly rings true for pint-sized ‘pickers’ Lyric Kennedy, 12, and Alyssa Martin, 11.
The best friends – who both attend Rosemary Heights Elementary – have a passion for vintage that never goes out of style.
And they’ve taken that passion to the next level.
The duo recently attended the Vintage and Revamped Furniture Market at the Young Entrepreneur table on Nov. 29 and 30, where they showcased some of their second-hand treasures for fellow vintage fans to purchase. And they’re already looking to the summer for another show in June.
Each has a history of reclaiming second-hand items often discarded or overlooked by their original owners.
For Lyric, that first began when her mother and father would bring her along to garage sales.
“I’ve been going since I was four,” Lyric said. “I love going to garage sales. Probably my favourite part of it is to go into the ‘free’ box. I’m always looking for scraps for my jewelry and other vintage things.”
The budding entrepreneur – who also takes unique pieces she discovers and creates necklaces to sell – recently found the Holy Grail of free items at a garage sale: a beautiful painting.
An avid fan of the reality television show Storage Wars, she knew there may be more to the painting.
“On Storage Wars, they would look behind the painting and find money, well, I looked behind the painting and didn’t find anything, but we brought it home anyways,” she said.
After noticing the name of painter Rick Bond on the back, Lyric called him to inquire about the work of art.
“He said, ‘that’s my original painting, and it’s worth $1,000,’” Lyric said. “I was really excited and really happy that I found it.”
Lyric and her mom, Tammy, plan to properly frame the painting and are inquiring about hanging it at the White Rock Gallery.
For Alyssa, a love of vintage was handed down by her mother, Kendra, who owns Shop Blue Lime in South Surrey.
“It’s pretty exciting because most other kids don’t look for vintage stuff. They look for new clothes and stuff,” she said.
After learning more about each other’s love of vintage finds, the two girls decided to partner up to go to garage sales and find hidden treasures.
“I got to see why my mom loved it so much,” Alyssa said about picking.
Then, after meeting Joanna Salley, the owner of South Delta shop Cottage Kisses, Lyric realized they could turn their passion into a business by asking Salley what she wanted for the shop and finding the items at garage sales.
“I’ve done a couple of sales and sold a couple of things to her,” Lyric said, adding that she and Alyssa were invited to attend the Deja Vu Vintage Market in Ladner next summer.
Now, the girls have their own brands – Lyric’s Modern Vintage and Lyssa’s Fabulous Finds.
While Tammy notes it’s great that the girls are doing something they love, she says the early experience of running a business is something both her and Alyssa’s mom are ecstatic about.
“We’re both business owners, ourselves,” said Tammy, who is one-half of design team Kennedy Anderson.
“And we’re letting them do this themselves.
“Lyric has to take her own money to buy these things and what profit she makes, she puts back into the account. I’m trying to teach her that aspect of the business.”
The girls are also honing their business acumen with Alyssa’s mom, who is an accountant.
“These are things I never knew when I was 12,” Tammy said. “(Kendra) is teaching them pricing, inventory… They’re into pre-teen dances, Katy Perry, shopping, but they still love going to garage sales.
“They’re old souls in pint-sized bodies.”