Meet Sarah Whipple and Stacia Vinar: Owners / Modern Resale

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sarah Whipple and Stacia Vinar and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sarah And Stacia, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
My business partner and I are very different but we both have creative independent spirits. That connection in addition to a healthy dose of “why not us” is what got us going on Modern Resale. Though we spent years watching others run a retail furniture business, in many ways we had no idea what we were getting into. Neither of us had a business background. Stacia was an English Lit major and I was an artist. Selling furniture was supposed to be our day job. What really got us going was seeing a need that we thought we could fill. At the time, high-end resale was not ‘a thing’. The showroom was getting calls all the time asking if they bought furniture back. In many cases there was a story about the pieces being almost new. Since our clients were always asking for deals, we figured, how could we not do this!

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Modern Resale is different in that we have a narrow focus on top brand, designer driven, contemporary modern, furniture, lighting and accessories. We do have some vintage modern pieces that we love because they inform our collection but vintage is not our specialty. Many or most of the items in our collection can still be purchased new today. Our goal is to make many of the worlds most prestigious and cutting edge design pieces affordable to more people. For some that regularly shop the top-brand showrooms, we have created a space where they can simply get an incredible deal on something that they may pay more than double for if they bought brand new. In many ways, we are more like a high end, preowned luxury car dealer than most of the vintage or resale shops out there. We only take items in that are in very good to excellent condition and then we improve them to make them even better. Upholstery is clean and finishes are touched up. Our pieces are designer ready.

Another thing that sets us apart is our hybrid – working warehouse / showroom environment. We started as a online business but we always wanted people to be able to see and experience the furniture if they are in the Los Angeles area. Our warehouse is filled with beautiful things. We do our best to present an environment that is reflective of that beauty but sometimes with all of the comings and going’s and repairs going on, it’s more of a work in progress. We used to apologize for our slightly unruly appearance but our clients love it. Our large space with nice light and bow truss ceiling is filled with beautiful moments but it’s a bit rough around the edges. We like it that way. It gives us some soul.

Right now we arrange viewings by appointment.

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?
Honestly, the last year has had us more focused on zoom calls and dinner at home than going out. That said, we are both nature lovers so a few outdoor locations come to mind. The Huntington Gardens is good for most of a day with incredible grounds and a museum. Hiking in Malibu Canyon and lunch at Malibu Farm Cafe at the end of the pier.
Another Malibu favorite is Cross Creek State Park, otherwise known to local surfers as “third point” where you will see lots of great surfers and find a lovely not too crowded beach.
We are looking forward to the reopening of the Hammer museum
For a more urban experience we would suggest heading downtown LA to the MOCA and other small galleries around Chinatown. Definitely stop at the ROW for some afternoon shopping and lunch at Smorgasburg (of course once we can do that safely again!) Grab some takeout from Din Tai Fung and bring it over to this awesome outdoor cinema, even during the pandemic.
https://streetfoodcinema.com/ Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
We would not be here today without our experience working for Diva Group in the West Hollywood design community. We were privileged to work for owners Philippe Rousselin and Stephanie De Oliveira who trusted us and allowed us to grow in knowledge and responsibility over the years that we were there. They gave us a seat at the table of one of the worlds most lucrative design markets and we had to rise to the occasion. It was there we learned everything from how to create beautiful settings that were thoughtfully composed but not overly fussy or stuffy to excellent customer service. We also learned to work a bit off the cuff in balance with planning and structure. It was a tough and competitive world but we learned a lot!

Website: https://www.modernresale.com/

Instagram: ModernResale_LA

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ModernResaleLA/

Image Credits
Joey Jones Show Gallery Carlos Antonio