Interview with Jill from Lune Vintage!

This is Oh So Lovely's first interview, and we are excited to announce that it is with 

fellow Winnipegger, blogger, boutique and trailer owner, and lover of all things vintage...

Jill Munro of Lune Vintage!

Can you give us a little background history on how you came to start Lune and how it’s changed over the years?

Sure, and thank you for asking us to do an interview for Oh So Lovely!

Lune started as a cottage kind of business. My family owns a farm just outside of Lockport, MB. Nobody lived there anymore, and there was a cute pink one room summer cottage full of mice and old grain. We cleaned it up, and I ran my first shop out of it, with signs on the highway directing a few people my way. There was no electricity, and it was only a summer fun kind of thing, but it turned out really cute.

After that, I started renting space in antique malls like Village Antique Mall in Winnipeg’s Osborne village and then the Old House Revival Company for a few years on the top floor. It was a great experience, and a good way of learning about the vintage/antique industry. I learned from other experienced dealers where to look for rarer items, the best places to shop, and auctions to go to. I also discovered a lot about pricing my stock to both suit book value, current trend appeal and our local market. 

In 2009 I rented a tiny stand alone retail space in South Osborne, where I did a big renovation, and worked the spring and summer there under Lune Vintage. This was an excellent learning experience for me, and I stretched my wings wider than ever before.

The following Spring of 2010, I purchased our mobile shop for Lune which runs out of a 1976 Boler Trailer. We worked a couple festivals and had a fantastic time connecting with the local scene and getting our name out there.

In December of 2010 Lune signed the lease on our permanent location at 567 Broadway Avenue and are looking forward to a bright future for Lune Vintage. We’ll also be out again this summer in our mobile shop too. I hope I’ll always love what I do. If I don’t - I won’t do it :-D

You’ve recently opened a new store on Broadway! Tell us a little about it, as well as what type of products you sell. What’s your favorite item for sale at the moment?

The new Lune on Broadway is really all about bohemian 1970’s style. It’s a lot earthier than our last shop, which was more colorful and inspired by earlier eras. I’m concentrating very specifically on the types of vintage fashion items that I personally love - so although it makes it harder to curate the collection - I am immensely proud of every piece we have in shop.

We are in the midst of renovating our trailer, Olive. What can you tell us about your trailer, and your plans for “Eggie” for this summer?

I can say, it’s lots of fun!! The hardest part is finding a place to park - but that’s all part of the adventure. It sure beats a tent - which I’ve done in the past - and it LITERALLY blows (and leaks, and falls over). We hope to be at the fringe festival this year, and take some little road trips around to festivals in the Province. I can’t wait to see your Olive!You’re such a busy lady! How do you balance everything? You run 3 stores - online, mobile and a new shop in Winnipeg. You also have a successful blog, a part time job, you are a mother, a wife, and the cherry on top? You’re pregnant! How do you find enough hours in the day to manage everything?

It sounds kind of crazy - but all these things happened over time, so I gradually made room and adjusted my schedule to fit it all. There’s a lot of overlapping! All I tell myself is that when I’m feeling stressed, it’s time to take a step back from something. Family always comes first. Also, I know if I’m not having fun anymore - I’ll stop. So far, I’m still loving it more every day!

What do you look for when you go thrifting?

I pay a lot of attention to current trends in fashion, so that changes with the season. Sometimes I’m ahead of the curve, sometimes it seems like everyone else is on board and finding that specific item is IMPOSSIBLE. Right now, I’m looking for vintage bolo’s for example - which isn’t too hard to find but I expect will be come summer when the trend really heats up.

Tell us a little bit about your Indie Business e-course and what people can expect?

Indie Business is an online workshop I’ve developed with my friend and business partner Leigh-Ann of Freckled Nest. It’s a personal course on what you can really expect when starting up a creative small business. It’s a bit of a myth buster, reality check, and also very motivational. Each year we invite a successful indie business woman to join as a featured teacher. Their input is invaluable to the course, and makes each new workshop fresh and full of new tips and content. I love teaching it - and am very excited for Indie Business 3.0 - on sale February 1st! - plug plug :-D

Do you have any fun and exciting goals for the next year? Where do you see yourself and Lune in 5 years?

I have an expansive accessory line (bags, jewelery and accessories) for Love Lune that I’m working on. Ideally, I would love for Lune Vintage to be full of our own house line of wear-ables, alongside a carefully selected vintage collection and some work from my creative friends - locally and worldwide.

I also see the Lune Blog growing and evolving over the next 5 years to include a stronger online presence for our fashion line. I’d love to see Love Lune on a favorite celebrity, or in Nylon Magazine one day.


Love, Jill and Lune