Member Interview & Giveaway: LillysLuckyPenny

LILLYSLUCKYPENNY on ETSY

VKC: Tell us a bit about yourself and your shop.

LillysLuckyPenny: We are two sisters who have fairly recently become moms together. Our little girls, Lilly and Penny, were the inspiration for our shop so it was a no-brainer that our Etsy shop would carry their names. Our store is a mixed bag of fun stuff we find on our thrifting and garage sale trips. We are drawn to Fisher Price and other toys we played with when we were kids. We were really excited when we found a collection of Care Bear and Cabbage Patch books because, for a minute, it brought us right back to our childhood. We hope our shop items can do that for others as well.

VKC: Why are you drawn to vintage?

LillysLuckyPenny: For as long as I've been thrift store shopping I have been hunting for great vintage deals. I know where every vintage clothes section is in my local thrift stores. I just love finding an old, worn soft and faded button down shirt from the 60's or 70's.

VKC: Where do you find your treasures?

LillysLuckyPenny: Most of our items are scored at thrift stores. Garage sale season is winding down here in Minneapolis, so we won't be able to scour those as much now. And garage sales are always a gamble, and there's so much more driving involved. Thrift stores are great because they're like one great big garage sale.

VKC: What is your favorite item in your shop or that you have sold and why?

LillysLuckyPenny: My favorite item is the Fisher Price Activity Center because it reminds me of my younger siblings. My girl, Penny, is playing with it now until it sells! My sister has two favorite items - our Cabbage Patch figurine and the Poky The Little Puppy book. The Christmas we got Cabbage Patch dolls was a big one and we had a ton of Little Golden Books around our house.

The best thing we've sold thus far, and it was the first item we sold when the shop opened, was the Fisher Price rocking horse. My sister was so stoked when she found it, and she got it for a great price. Her Lilly wasn't interested in it at all, so in the store it went!

VKC: How do you juggle your business and your personal life/motherhood?

LillysLuckyPenny: My sister has been doing most of the behind-the-scenes work. Her Lilly is almost a year and a half, while my Penny is going on 7 months. Penny still isn't crawling so she requires a lot more of my attention - all of my attention really. We have all the store inventory and photo equipment at my sister's house. Penny and I make trips out to her house to try and get stuff done together, but either my sister or I end up running after the girls and not a whole lot gets done. My sister also goes to school full-time and works out of her home, so for her to keep getting up inventory every day makes her a superstar! I know some nights she is up way past bedtime logging and photographing new inventory. I keep our books and am more of the face of the shop, which is easy and fun for me.

Our Etsy store isn't going to buy us a new vacation home anytime soon. But we both have so much fun shopping and just love to be able to bring these fabulous vintage pieces to others who may not have the time to hunt for themselves.

VKC: What giveaway or discount would you like to offer our readers?

LillysLuckyPenny: We will be giving away one of our great children's books! You can never have enough books around the house. Let us know the age and gender and any special interests of the child, and we will pick out a book for them.

Thank you!

Penny's Mom

Thanks so much, LillysLuckyPenny!

If you'd like to enter to win a children's book from LillysLuckyPenny, please leave a comment below.

There are a few other ways to enter - please leave a separate comment for each.

1. Favorite LillysLuckyPenny on etsy!

2. Tell us which item is your favorite at LillysLuckyPenny!

3. Tweet about this giveaway!

4. Blog about this giveaway! (Please include a link.)

This giveaway will be open until Wednesday, November 16, and a winner will be selected randomly.