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Who: The Last HurrahVintage
What: clothing designer
Written by: Cassie Dowse

By: Cassie Dowse

Last Hurrah Vintage
http://www.thelasthurrah.etsy.com

For many people, emptying your closet and sending off the clothes that you've lost that loving feeling for serves as a way to free up some room for new items. But two local vintage clothing shoppers have some love left over for those old rags, and are spreading their love into a business venture.

The Last Hurrah Vintage is run by sister team Sarah and Cassandra Schiemann of Hamilton. Since childhood, the two have had a passion for vintage clothing and antiques. Drawing inspiration from their own personal styles and over-filled closets, they decided this past May to make their dreams into a reality.

"Starting our own online shop seemed to be something that would each give us what we were looking for," said Cassandra Schiemann. "Sarah has more of a creative blood and was looking for an outlet for her creativity, whereas I always knew I wanted to start my own business," she explained.

Sarah and Cassandra are perhaps best described as thrift store junkies. The two frequently travel as far as Ottawa to uncover their most prized finds and are particularly fond of small ma and pa thrift shops.

"We've been known to spend entire Saturdays, from dusk till dawn, scouring every thrift store and rummage sale we can find," said Cassandra. "It's an exhilarating experience for us and many times we've filled the car to the roof with our finds," she said.

The Last Hurrah usually keeps all pieces in their original retro glory, with minor alterations added when necessary. "We come across great pieces that look better shortened or taken in and we do all of our own alterations," said Cassandra. "

Now, The Last Hurrah is expanding by taking old items and making them into something more modern. "We'll cut up the entire garment and reconstruct it," said Cassandra. "We try to use as much of the original as possible, such as buttons and zippers, and if it's not used it's always saved for other projects," she said.

The vintage look has been springing up in malls around North America so Sarah and Cassandra take these trends into consideration when selecting their pieces.

"Today, we believe the "vintage look" is more popular than vintage itself," explains Cassandra. "You can go into any store in the mall and find something that looks straight out of the 60's, 70's and 80's. Mass produced clothing in these stores are just replicating vintage styles," she said.

However, there is something that Cassandra and Sarah believe is special about buying real vintage clothing, and it has everything to do with being more gentle on the environment. "We are both passionate about being eco-friendly," said Cassandra.  Buying vintage allows us to enjoy fashion while not contributing to new clothing being produced. We value our reputation as being in the vintage market as well as being eco-friendly," said Cassandra.

Sarah and Cassandra are currently taking small business and sewing classes to become more familiar with their craft and to expand their eductation.

"Our ultimate goal is to open up our own vintage shop in Hamilton," said Cassandra. "We are just focusing on taking baby steps, enjoying the learning process, and watching our little seed grow. Since we started in May, the Last Hurrah has grown so much," she said.

 

 

 

 

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