Rochester Business Journal (RBJ) Feature

This is copied from the exact article in the RBJ, which requires a subscription - so that all my readers have viewing access to it!

Two years ago, Sarah Pavia had the idea to make a business out of teaching the Rochester community and beyond to live “thrifty.” An enthusiast of secondhand items, Pavia wanted to spread the word about sustainable fashion and all of the great things that thrift stores have to offer.

People were critical of Pavia’s idea, confronting her with questions like, “What does living thrifty even mean?” and “How can you monetize that?”

Well, she found a way. In fact, she discovered many channels to make a living out of encouraging others to live a secondhand life upon the launch of her business, Second Look Styling, in October 2018.

Pavia says she has always been a huge thrifter, and she began gaining traction on her Instagram account where she blogged about how to dress on a budget with trendy secondhand finds. In 2017, Goodwill asked her to be a brand ambassador for the organization, and a few months later they asked her to join full time. Not only is Pavia a budding entrepreneur, she is also the marketing manager of Goodwill, a position she accepted in March 2018.

Pavia notes that Goodwill is fully aware of her additional gig as owner of Second Look Styling.

In just one year in business, Pavia has racked up her service offerings surrounding her primary goal of helping others live fashionably on a budget using secondhand clothing, accessories and home décor. Pavia says most of her customers are women in their 20s through the 50s and 60s. She notes that she also works with men and children.

Much of Pavia’s services are uniquely customized to her clients’ desires. While she offers specific packages, Pavia frequently finds herself responding to random requests that are lobbed her way.

Second Look Styling offers in-home wardrobe consultations in varying capacities. Pavia rescues clients looking for help putting together new outfits as well as clients who want a few more pieces to add to their closet that Pavia shops for at thrift stores.

“Clients can book me for up to three hours, and with that service I bring in a bottle of champagne and we celebrate because for a lot of people it’s very daunting and overwhelming to look at their closet because they feel like they have nothing to wear,” says Pavia. “I never leave a home without a guarantee of at least 45 new outfit combinations from what’s in your closet. I also take anything my clients don’t want and donate it to their charity of choice with their permission.”

Thrift Box is another service Pavia offers, in which clients fill out a style profile and select how many items and the type of they want in their box. Pavia then shops around at thrift stores to find items that her Thrift Box clients are requesting. Thrift Box can be signed up as a one-time deal or a monthly subscription service.

“I wrap it all up, give them a picture of each item with a style assessment of how they can wear it and style it and I send it to them,” says Pavia. “Thrift Box is like Stitch Fix meets thrifting. My tag line is ‘Living thrifty doesn’t mean living less.’”

Pavia also enjoys hosting speaking engagements, workshops and style parties where she can educate her audiences on the value of living thriftily and incorporating more secondhand goods into their lives. She offers styling for photo shoots and portraits, help with home décor in a package called space styling, and personal shopping trips in which she helps customers navigate thrift stores and learn the art of thrifting.

A large part of Second Look Styling is the boutique, both clothing and home goods, which Pavia operates at her East Irondequoit home. Pavia is conscientious about carrying a wide variety of sizes, including maternity wear. She recently incorporated a consignment element to her business where she will take clients’ secondhand clothing and sell it in her boutique as long as it’s high quality, gently used and on-trend.

“I don’t want to just be another secondhand shop, because we already have a lot of great secondhand shops in Rochester,” says Pavia. Education and cognizance are of chief importance to her in her business. “I really want to bring awareness to the importance of secondhand items. One way I do this is through a weekly blog post for my subscribers. It’s all about conscious living and sustainable fashion.”

Pavia is currently experiencing growing pains in her business as she has seen fast growth over the past year. She says her dream would be to open her own boutique space outside of her house that’s not only a store but an education center.

“I’d have a teaching area where I can educate people on how to upcycle or repurpose, where people can come in and bring a lamp and have it fixed or have fun workshops on how to incorporate second-hand items into your life,” she explains.

Since her home is her main warehouse, Pavia’s customers usually come to her to try on boutique items. She also hosts pop up shops at locations around Rochester, where she holds workshops on topics like showing clients how to upcycle, repurpose or restyle household items that aren’t being used.

Pavia admits that she has her hands in many pots between her service offerings at Second Look Styling and her full-time job at Goodwill, but she enjoys taking on the creative challenge of figuring out how to best maximize her time.

Despite her current roles as marketing manager at a nonprofit and business owner, the master thrifter comes from a background outside of those areas. A native of Herkimer County, Pavia came to Rochester in 2011 for a role at Rochester Institute of Technology.

She has a bachelor’s degree in psychology, and went on to earn two master’s degrees in higher education. Her first master’s was in student affairs counseling, which she received from SUNY Oswego in 2008. The second was in higher education administration, from Syracuse University in 2009.

Now Pavia is all about spreading the word on the importance of living a positive lifestyle, and she does that through her niche of thrifting.

“I want people to realize that thrift store doesn’t necessarily mean grungy or gross,” says Pavia. “I’m showing people that secondhand items can be trendy and hip and cool. It’s not about where you got it; it’s about how you’re wearing it and how you’re styling it.”

Nsheldon@bridgetowermedia.com / (585) 363-7031  Small Business is a biweekly feature focusing on local entrepreneurs.

Thank you to Nicole and the team at the Rochester Business Journal for this feature!