Today we’d like to introduce you to Virginia Chamlee.
Hi Virginia, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I grew up going to antique stores almost every day since my grandmother (who raised me) started her furniture and home decor store out of our home first and later out of a booth at an antique mall. I would go to school, dance, and then head to the antique mall, where she met with her clients. When I was bored, I wandered the aisles and read magazines (I was obsessed with in style even when I was 10). I started seeing some of the same names from the pages of those magazines — Lagerfeld and Dior- and I realized that luxury design doesn’t have to be unattainable. It can even be affordable so long as you do a little digging. Over the last decade, I began selling my vintage finds and original art, which grew into this fantastic side business. I am a professional writer (I currently write full-time for People magazine), so I’ve always wanted to compose a book. But it wasn’t until a few years ago that I had the idea to write one about thrifting. I share my finds on Instagram and always get DMs from people asking for tips or tricks on determining the maker of something or whether something is original or a reproduction. It felt like there was an appetite for this information, so I decided to pitch it to publishing houses and ultimately found a great fit. Now, you can buy Big Thrift Energy at Target, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Books-A-Million, and everywhere!
Alright, let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what challenges have you had to overcome?
Pursuing your passions is never easy (monetizing anything tends to suck at least a little of the fun out of it), and starting a small business comes with so many challenges. For instance, the pandemic was a challenge because there was so much confusion and insecurity it brought about for so many people. The biggest struggles, for me, have been the feeling of imposter syndrome I’ve had to overcome to market myself — both as a first-time author, as well as an artist and an expert in my field.
Let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
As an artist, I’m known for text-based works, which makes sense because I am a professional writer. I am proud that the works I’ve created are very singularly “mine.” You can see a piece of Virginia Chamlee’s art and know I made it. I love bringing words to life with color and playing with tongue-in-cheek phrases or double entendres.
How do you define success?
I define success as reaching a point where you can focus on refining one thing and get joy out of honing that. Success is having fewer regrets and being really happy with where you are.
Contact Info:
- Website: virginiachamleeart.com
- Instagram: @vchamlee
Image Credits
Cole LoCurto, Agnes Lopez
