Meet Bridget Connelly and Liza McGowan of After Hours Vintage

We had the good fortune of connecting with Bridget Connelly & Liza McGowan and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Bridget / Liza, how do you think about risk?
Bridget – I’m a risk taker. The way I see it is it is not taking the risk and staying complacent is riskier than taking a chance. If the risky decision turns out to be a nightmare you gain a hilarious story to tell at dinner parties. I have a lot of hilarious stories. Quitting my near decade long job at Delta Airlines LAX was probably the biggest “career” risk of my life. I had to give up first class flights to France. When you fly (standby), you’d risk getting stuck. The risk of potentially not getting a seat on the plane was what made it fun. I flew on a confirmed ticket a couple weeks ago and I was uncomfortable with the comfort of getting a seat. It was a terribly unfulfilling, boring flight. When you fly standby even if you get the last seat in the back by the lav you’re elated because you made it by the skin of your teeth. That said, a couple months ago I was struggling pretty hard with the downsides of being the free-wheeling, risk-taking small business owner that I am and in a moment of weakness I re-applied at Delta. There was a question on the generic pre-qualifying quiz they give prospective candidates that had to do with how one deals with authority. I remembered how I dealt with authority back then and realized I’d better make this business work.

Liza – I’ve always viewed risks as practical or necessary, and don’t think anything special can be achieved without them. I knew I needed to move to LA for my career, so without thinking twice (or perhaps even once), I packed my life up into my little Chevy Cobalt and moved out to LA with no job and no place to live. Interesting things can come from diving into something, getting in over your head, and having to figure things out as you go. I would rather invest my time and money in a project or a business that I believe in creatively, than worry about trying to appeal to the largest audience or make the most money. That led me to befriending Bridget, and going along with her hair-brained scheme to open a vintage boutique.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more? Tell us about our business- what sets you apart from others?
We’re a vintage boutique and design studio located in the Fashion District of DTLA. We currently have a collection of barware and furniture that could have been pulled from the set of “Casino” and racks of clothes that the cast of “Soapdish” may have worn. We’re drawn to the opulent glassware, ashtrays, and ice buckets made anytime from Prohibition Era to the 80’s Deco Revival – back when people took partying seriously. And no one forced you to drink champagne from thermoset plastics. It’s our mission to spread the good word about drinking out of glass; 22k gold embossed Valencia Culver glass, to be specific.

We’ve designed our showroom to feel like a decadent speakeasy. We’re both influenced by the dramatic arts, and though we try to avoid trendy buzzwords like “storytelling” with respect to design, we think in terms of set design and how a piece might fit into a character’s personal collection. We also believe every space should have an element of humor – like the gargoyles on Notre Dame Cathedral.

What are you most proud of/ excited about?
Maybe it’s our Midwestern roots, but we’re not capable of feeling “proud of ourselves.” We’re currently looking forward to being part of the next Il Mercato Market presented by Il Cafe and Happening DTLA, which will be every third Saturday of the month.

How did you get where you are today business-wise? Was it easy? How did you overcome the challenges?
We don’t think we’re at the stage where we can look back and reflect about how we got to where we are today, but we’re happy that we’ve stuck with it. The only part that’s easy is the buying part. Selling is a little more complicated. Our primary coping strategy is to escape to places like Dear John’s and Sam First to fantasize about how someday we’ll be able to afford whatever we’re ordering. Hippocrates couldn’t have invented a better cure than the combination of two Hendrick’s martinis and Oysters Rockefeller.

What are lessons you’ve learned along the way?
Never do business with anyone who eats Pollo Loco for breakfast.

What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?
We want everyone to know that we are available for staging and design work! We have a lot to bring to the table when it comes to staging for commercial buildings in particular. Nothing irks us more than walking into the lobby of a DTLA apartment building that’s out of our own price range, yet has furniture that looks like it fell off of a Wayfair truck.

We’re very dialed into the estate sale world and the vintage marketplaces in LA, so if there’s something a client is looking for, we can source it. Our showroom and collection are also available for studio and prop rentals.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Bridget is incapable of making or sticking to an itinerary, and Liza is in the indecisive phase of her menstrual cycle so here is a list of our favorite places – we’ll leave it up to you.

Restaurants (not in order):
Dear John’s
Taverna Tony
Dan Tana’s
Musso and Franks
Taix
Maccheroni Republic
Garcon de Cafe
L’Appart
Maury’s Bagels
Sightglass
Tartine
Cafe Brazil

To Do:
Cinespia – picnic and movie
The Baked Potato – jazz and baked potatoes
Sam First Jazz Club – jazz and Japanese whiskey
The Egyptian, Aero, or Los Feliz 3 Theaters (American Cinematheque Programming) – film w/ Q&A
Lucky Cat Labs Art Gallery / DTLA Art Night – First Thursday of every month
Cicada Lounge – swing dancing
The Electric Moon Revue – Local LA Musician performances to support the Electric Moon Foundation
The Ahmanson (Center Theater Group) – plays/musicals

Shopping:
Hive and Hanger (Burbank)
Tears of Venus (West Hollywood)
Angel City Estate Sales (4513 E Cesar E Chavez Ave)
Quirk
LA Syndicate
Gentlemen’s Breakfast

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
We’d like to give a shoutout to our friend Sam Shin, who runs A to Z Estate Sales. We befriended him in our early days of shopping estates and he’s always looked out for us. He recently visited us at an estate we were running and bestowed upon us a couple of vintage taxidermied fox shawls complete with heads and feet. Bridget’s Pomeranian, Gidget, loves to cuddle up with one that looks like it could be her twin. A glimpse into her future perhaps…

Website: https://afterhoursvintagela.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afterhoursvintagela/

Other: Peerspace: https://www.peerspace.com/pages/listings/66e6257971bcfe6b6dff8e1e?utm_source=copy_link&utm_campaign=listing_sharing

Image Credits
Daniel Marsh (@dan_yill)