Meet Nancy Jamar | Vintage Design Resource

We had the good fortune of connecting with Nancy Jamar and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Nancy, what is the most important factor behind your success?
Providing creators with the rare, unusual and unique. Most of that is based in vintage, although we are creating more and more of our own products.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
This has been a long journey, and I am proud to say I have been working at this for over 15 years. I wasn’t sure what to expect in terms of longevity, as it seemed a rather oddball thing to do as a career, but it did grow into something quite real and substantive. Our business is unique in that we focus on vintage…everything from components for jewelry designers, ribbon and trims for clothing and millinery, to mixed media supplies like paper. For makers, it has become more and more important to incorporate unusual and unique elements into their work. As chains like Michael’s and Hobby Lobby have devolved into an endless churn of goods from overseas, people are turning to vintage for the quality and distinctive look. There have been challenges. Making it through the great recession was the first one I weathered. It felt good to come out on the other side of that, and I learned some important lessons from it. Following a natural tendency to “pull back” from spending during that time, I did manage to stay afloat, but at the cost of not keeping my clientele motivated to create, and nourished artistically. I never forgot that, and have since then always put my sourcing and curating at the forefront of the business. Our customers look at our offering not so much as what it is, but what it can be, so the more choices we have, the better. Another important facet of our business is supporting other women in business. Though roughly half our business is wholesale to designers, we are just as likely to extend a “maker’s discount” to women just starting out, or for those who come in repeatedly, a “frequent offender” discount. More and more women are starting small businesses, micro businesses, dabbling in making and e-commerce, and sometimes they can use a hand. I often send women out the door with the reassurance that, “When one succeeds, we all succeed.”

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Well, I’ve lived in Fullerton most of my life, so I’m a bit of a booster! I love our old downtown, which is populated with excellent restaurants, fun little shops, and so on, including a museum that features a permanent exhibit dedicated to Leo Fender, who built the first Stratocaster guitar here in 1954. There’s lots of interesting architecture, including streamline modern and Spanish Colonial Revival. Just two blocks away is our train station, a revival structure, and a great way to get to Fullerton and start walking about. The building where our brick and mortar store is located is also a wonderful old Colonial Revival structure, and was originally the California Hotel. There’s a lovely central courtyard with fountain where you can lunch or dine, surrounded by the scent of plumerias. There’s a microbrewery or two in town, a cultural center and gallery located in another Colonial Revival gem on eight acres, and a beautiful arboretum on the grounds of the university. Right now in this time of Coronavirus, the city has closed the street in front of my shop so the restaurants on Wilshire can serve outdoors, and it has been a nice change after things being so quiet to see the street populated with people again, dining under umbrellas and trees, little strings of lights, and half barrels filled with colorful flowers. New street signs encourage people to “Walk on Wilshire,” and I am glad to see our city helping out local businesses.

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?
Definitely my family, and most of all, my mother and daughter.

Website: https://www.etsy.com/shop/vintagedesignsource
Instagram: @gildingvintage
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gildingthelilyvintage/
Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/gilding-the-lily-fullerton