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All Sarah Small wanted was to sell the yellow couch she used for her wedding.
But one vintage sale on Instagram led to the next. In February 2020, Small opened, “Wicker Goddess,” a store at 16th Street and McDowell Road in Phoenix.
Three years after launching an Instagram account to sell vintage goods, Small appeared on “Good Morning America” on Thursday, Jan. 13.
Small appeared in a segment of the show paid for by GoDaddy, a Tempe-based company that provides web hosting and other tools for approximately 20 million businesses. Small, who was compensated for the appearance, has used that company’s services since she launched her store.
“I feel extremely honored to share our story on ‘Good Morning America,'” Small said. “I want to be something that people can look at and say, ‘yes, if she can do it, so can I.’ My hope is that they explore what their real passions are because life is short. I hope it inspires people to jump.”
What is Wicker Goddess?
Located at 16th Street and McDowell, Wicker Goddess sells vintage clothes, accessories and home goods, Small says.
A rainbow mural greets guests as they enter the small (just over 400-square feet) shop to find vintage vases, furniture, home goods, jewelry, dried florals, crystals and hand drawn greetings cards and prints created by Small. She also sells local goods made by local vendors and artists.
The store name was inspired by her husband, Joey Adelman, after seeing her collect wicker items across the Valley.
“He always told me, ‘you’re such a wicker loving goddess,'” Small said, laughing. “I immediately knew that’s what it needed to be called.”
How planning her wedding grew into a business
Small grew up in Phoenix. After graduating from Arizona State University, where she studied sustainability, Small worked in retail, the non-profit industry and sale and event planning.
But when she got engaged, Small said she began to see her future differently.
“I had a job that was really draining me at that time and I felt like I was losing myself in it so I quit my job while planning this wedding,” Small said.
She began full-time work on what Small calls the “most dreamy bohemian wedding to ever exist.”
She and her now husband collected 150 vintage goblets of all colors. They also found that yellow sofa, potted plants in vintage wicker pots and lined their aisle with vintage rugs.
After the wedding, Small began selling the used pieces on websites like Offerup, and later on, Instagram. The first item that sold — the yellow, paisley patterned couch —sold for double the amount they had initially paid. The more vintage pieces sold, the more Small envisioned a full-time store. She began thrifting across the country.
By December 2019, Small signed a lease for a space at 16th Street and McDowell Road. The shop opened on Feb. 5, 2020.
“The Instagram blew up,” Small said. “I had built a community. I always wanted to have some sort of physical space that could really express this experience of Wicker Goddess so they could get this picture of one place. But I didn’t know it would happen so quickly.”
The future of Small’s business
For now, Small will continue operating her new business. She’ll host a first birthday party for the shop on Feb. 12. The shop will continue selling local goods and supporting local artists and hosting markets and pop-ups in the Valley.
“We want to build this small business community up in Phoenix,” Small said. “It’s super important to us and we are just learning. We are along for the ride.”
Details: Wicker Goddess, 1710 N. 16th St, Phoenix. 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday and Friday. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. 480-999-6048, https://wickergoddess.com/home
Reach the reporter at [email protected]. Follow her on Instagram @sofia.krusmark
https://www.azcentral.com/story/entertainment/life/2022/01/14/phoenix-vintage-shop-wicker-goddess/9197122002/
