Hi! Miss D'Meanor (aka Jo) here! This blog will be a regular thing now (aiming for weekly) so be sure to check back often, but for one of our first blogs I wanted to introduce you to myself and tell you about what has been happening at Dupree's.
Dupree's was formed out of a passion for the era and a little necessity. During the pandemic I was chatting with a friend of mine about selling vintage online as a way to help make ends meet while everything was shut down. Through those discussions we realized that between the 2 of us we had a lot of stuff and joked about having enough to start our own store. I think that conversation happened in April 2020 and by the end of June we had keys to a store!
In April of 2022 we moved from where we started to our current location at 915 Milwaukee Ave and opened Omen in our former location. It was a much needed move for visibility, space and function for us. Within the first month the façade of the building suffered a catastrophic failure and scaffolding went up. This was rough timing for us. We were just getting the word out about our new location and now we had construction equipment blocking any view of us from the street so potential new drive or walk by customers didn't even know we were there let alone open. That lasted until the fall! As soon as the scaffolding came down, foot traffic picked up and we were back in the swing.
At the end of 2022 my business partners and I decided to separate the 2 businesses, with me retaining the ownership of Dupree's Vintage. That brings us to what is in store for Dupree's. We are doing a bit of re-branding. Don't panic! Our inventory won't be changing too much, just our look and what we will be adding to our offerings. Our new mission statement is "Incorporating mid century style into your everyday life by offering a mix of old and new".
I would like to tell you a little about the force behind all these changes. There's me, of course, but there are 4 other fierce women who are helping me through this process. I like to call us The Important 5. Many of you know our Shop Gal Extraordinaire Wendy! Wendy handles our Facebook page, the store layout, window displays, the saga of our mannequins, and loading inventory onto the website. Next up is Kelly. Kelly has been our behind the scenes bookkeeper since the start and will continue in that role with the added responsibility of giving financial advise to our future decisions. Next up is the addition of Jen and April. Jen has been a long time friend who has a massive inventory of clothing she used to sell in pop up format. April is not only my best friend but is the vision behind MollyWear. These ladies are not only providing support and guidance for me, but also really great options in the shop for you! I have many other amazing women who I reach out to regularly for opinions, advice, resources, and assistance as well. I've learned its important to surround yourself with good people. I've definitely done that. Another HUGE component to this transformation is my husband, Mr Felonious (aka Cooper). Without him telling me all the time "I'm so proud of you", I'm pretty sure I would have fallen apart a long time ago. He has vowed to help me where ever he can and if you happen to be in the store when he is, be prepared! He is our very best salesman!
This change will happen in stages. First we will be doing some remodeling and changing up our logo. We want to provide you with a boutique like experience in the shop. With that, the website has been revamped, we instituted a rewards program, and free shipping for online orders over $50. We will also begin to phase out some of our hardlines. We will still carry a selection of hardlines (dishes, barware, household stuff, etc), however, it will be a more carefully curated inventory and include a new in house vendor as well! She will be moving in soon so watch for that announcement!
After that we will begin getting more items from women owned businesses into the shop. Currently we carry Man Oil fragrances, MollyWear hair flowers, 3 Sisters Design Co keychains, WB Designs jewelry and my line of sweater clips, but I plan on sourcing even more women owned offerings.
The next stage is bringing in new offerings which includes reproduction. Hollyville is across the street from us so we won't be offering much in the way of women's reproduction, but I am actively looking for men's reproduction clothing. I've noticed a distinct lack of options of the fellas and think this is a market that needs to be serviced. I'm hoping to offer more than bowling shirts and jeans too! We plan on bringing in reproduction for the home as well. From kitchen towels to furniture and everything in between. This portion will be a slow process since finding the right vendors and purchasing can take some time.
Dupree's will be vending at more events this year and becoming active in the South Milwaukee community. South Milwaukee has been very good to us and we want to return the favor! We will be participating in parades (let me know if you want to join in!), supporting school events and the city’s new project regarding murals throughout the city.
So bottom line, there's lots of fun changes and additions happening and we hope you love them!
Jo