Milpitas Woman Hunts for Second-Hand Fashion

Three friends, a love of second-hand fashion was all it took. 

Here are five questions and answers with local business woman Khristina Rodriguez on her business and an upcoming vendor fair, SJ Made, which she will be taking part in.

Milpitas Patch: Tell me what your business is (in a nut shell, how would you pitch it to potential customers?) 

Khristina Rodriguez: Out of Print Vintage is an vintage resale outfit started by three friends who love the thrill of the perfect find more than anything else (except for each other)! Venturing mostly up and down the beautiful West Coast, and occasionally to exotic locales, we visit estate sales, vintage shops, and thrift stores to happily hunt and hopefully discover something new that is really something old. Having collected thousands of pieces of clothing, accessories, housewares, and furniture over the years, we recently decided to release some of our favorites back into the world, hoping that they can find a new home in yours.

Patch: How long have you been in business and what made you want to create it? 

Rodriguez: All of us love art, fashion, and design from many different eras. Longtime collectors of vintage clothing, housewares, and furniture, our closets and rooms brim with feathers and sequins, kitschy aprons, pillbox hats and smart clutches, mid-century teak chairs, 80's cartoons metal lunchboxes, printed shift dresses, etc. Our eyes (and buying appetites)  are bigger than our storage spaces and eventually overwhelmed them, so we started this creative side project, Out of Print Vintage, about a year and half ago to exercise our right brains and exorcise our righteous accumulation of swag. 

Patch: Why did you decide on being part of SJ MADE?

Rodriguez: We support the efforts and exposure of local artists, businesses and creative types. We also love to see what roils in the minds of today's best and brightest, inspiring those around them with the work they do and the genius they share.

Patch: What are some of the challenges of being a small business owner?

Rodriguez: Navigating the ins and outs of managing a small business does seriously cut into our overzealous baking, mutual admiration society meetings and Netflix marathons. Since we haven't quit our day jobs, we must carve out the time to source and price our goods, in addition to the less glamorous aspects of bookkeeping, public relations, and other business logistics. But love of what we do and hard work is a potent combination, and we hope that this weekend, our SJ Made friends will agree when they stop by and see what we've got in store for them.

Patch: Why is it important for the greater community to support small businesses, such as yourself, at events like SJ MADE?

Rodriguez: Everyone should be invested in where they live and celebrate their part in making up a vibrant community. We invite everyone to come out and see what local talents offer and to appreciate the opportunity to live in a city where events like this take place. Enjoy beautiful weather, nibble on a food truck fusion creation, admire unique pieces, meet other design aficionados and acquire a beautiful new idea or work of art that makes you happy!

Website -  http://www.outofprintvintage.com/
Facebook -http://www.facebook.com/pages/OutofPrintVintage
Twitter -    https://twitter.com/#!/OutofPrintVntg
Tumblr -    http://outofprintvintage.tumblr.com/

Out of Print Vintage is joining more than 50 vendors from all around Silicon Valley and six food trucks at SJ MADE. The event takes place April 21, from 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. at 151 W. Santa Clara Street (previously Spiedo Ristorante) and 87 N. San Pedro Street (San Pedro Square Market).

Read about other small business owners attending the event from:

• Menlo Park