Meet Stephanie Pernice of SoWa Vintage Market in South End

Today we’d like to introduce you to Stephanie Pernice.

Stephanie, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
My parents are from Italy; my mom a fashionista and my dad, an engineer who also dabbled in architecture. Early on, my teachers noted I had a flair for art and am eye for color. I attribute this to my parents who exposed me to the art, fashion, architecture and history of Italy.

After many years spent selling in the tech industry, and after taking time off to raise my boys, I decided to go back to work doing what I loved: finding beautiful fashion and objects and helping people add style to their homes and for special events.

I came to SoWa as a vendor from The (then) South End Open Market. As the Market grew the organizers noticed I was doing a lot to Market myself within the Market using email marketing and social media to promote my involvement and the Market. A member of GTI/SoWa’s team invited me to create a concurrent Market to SoWa Open Market, we thought up the name SoWa Vintage Market and thus it began. In the early days (2010) we were a seasonal Market. We expanded to year round in 2012. We adore SoWa, its residents and our clients and we love finding cool vintage objects and fashion for people to enjoy. We feel that recycling the past is a small part of preserving our environment and that objects from the past have endured the test of time. It’s a mission and a passion as well as a lifestyle.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
We expanded to a year round Market in 2012. Creating a year-round Market has been tough. Many customers still think The Vintage Market in SoWa is seasonal as are The outdoor markets. It is a challenge that we face every year. But each year, our attendance has grown throughout the winter months and we’re happy Boston has a year round Vintage/antiques shopping venue!

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about SoWa Vintage Market – what should we know?
We specialize in finding a group of vendors to curate a selection of items from the past for customers to enjoy. My personal specialty is fashion. My partner John’s personal specialty is reusing and repurposing vintage and antique materials to be built into thoughtful furnishings. He has perfected his designs and finishes and offers a truly unique item to designers and restaurants and clients. SoWa Vintage Market was awarded a Best of Boston award by Boston Magazine for Best Vintage Clothing 2015. That was like seeing your baby get married!!!!

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Perseverance, discipline, the ability to believe in yourself. Creativity, an eye for style, a willingness to adopt technology and to change as styles, trends and tech evolve and change.

Contact Info:

• Address: SoWa Vintage Market, 450 Harrison Ave, Boston, Ma 02118
  Open Sundays 10-4 and First Friday 5-9 year round. Saturdays 11-4 May-October.
• Website: www.sowavintagemarket.com
• Email: sowavintagemarket@gmail.com

Image Credit:
The House of Findings (girl in orange dress)
Inda Creations/Wish List Vintage/StudioJLD (girl in fur and cream dress)
John Warren Designs (industrial reclaimed table)
Randy Kaufman, designer (whale vignette photo and visual merchandising)
Clark Linehan, Linehan Photography (Photo of Stephanie Pernice)

Getting in touch: BostonVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.