Out With the Old, In With the Used: Q & A With an Instagram Business Owner.
As social media usage has become more and more popular, business owners have used social platforms to their advantage. According to “First Cite Guide”, in the last year 1.79 billion people have made online purchases and 70% of smaller businesses are investing heavily into their digital appearance.
Online shopping is all the rage, and small owned businesses on Instagram have taken off over the past few years.
According to Hootsuite, 50% of Instagram users make online purchases by clicking links through Instagram. One business taking on the social media business specifically is Mosagarms on Instagram.
Ran by Micaiah Atwood, a Northern Colorado resident, he created the Instagram page to sell thrifted pieces that he found and redesigned. With an over the phone interview, Atwood and I discussed why he started his online shop and the impact of his business.
Q: Thank you so much for taking the time to talk with me! I want to start by just asking about what lead you to starting this business on Instagram and your thrifting journey?
A: Yeah of course! I started my thrifting journey in high school when I realized how much cool and name brand things you can find for nearly half of the retail prices. I started to go to a lot of thrifting events and it became a really big hobby of mine. I then was getting a lot of compliments about my outfits from people at school, and my peers were always shocked when I would tell them they’re thrifted! So I made a page on Instagram where I started selling vintage/thrifted clothes, some I would “redesign” in a way with bleach dye or distressing the fabrics. That soon started to take off and I began to resell more high-end vintage items I would find thrifting.
Q: That is really awesome! I love how you turned your love of thrifting into a fun business. How do you know what thrifted items to sell on your page?
A: Well I really love to follow trends and even attempting to start some of my own. So when I thrift, I really look for pieces that are trending since a lot of people follow trends on social media, along with searching for name brand things that I can sell as is or with trending modifications.
Q: When you say trending modifications what do you mean by that?
A: What I mean by that is if I find a piece that I think has a lot of great potential I will try to put a unique twist on it before I put it up for sale. I really like to distress clothes and bleach dye pieces to make them into something special. If I can make pieces unique and cool for people, I feel really accomplished.
Q: That is super awesome! It seems like you definitely have a passion for fashion, so I guess I should ask what does fashion mean to you?
A: Haha for sure! I view fashion as an art, and it is such an authentic way that people can express themselves. It can be super simplistic or super expressive and that’s what makes it so fluid and inclusive!
Q: I totally agree! I think it is so cool that you have created an online community of fellow fashion lovers! Where do you see this business going in the future?
A: Well I actually have been taking a break from my business to focus on some other life related things, but I definitely see myself continuing this brand and making more of a name for myself online. I think smaller businesses like mine are so important and just what people are looking for. I really want to do more collaborations, make more amazing pieces, and build more of a fashion community.
