Today we’d like to introduce you to Jennifer Carelock
Hi Jennifer, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I graduated from Auburn University with an Apparel Merchandising degree. After interning with an Atlanta magazine I had hopes the internship would led to a position with a fashion magazine in NYC. I began my first professional start in retail management at Buckle in their management trainee program. At the end of the program trainees are given the opportunity to go managed a store where available. I married an active duty military man and we moved every three years. It’s hard to have a career when you are moving every three years. I had various jobs from retail, banking, call center representative, jewelry sales, and insurance sales. Once I began to have kids I started selling their outgrown clothes and shoes and shopping second hand for their clothing. Eventually I was selling my unwanted clothing and making good extra money. My hobby turned very lucrative for me. And for the past two to three years I was reselling items online on various marketplace platforms. In 2023 came another military move and another decision about income for me. I was growing out of space to continue to sell out of my home. I came across Celery’s Instagram post about being up for sell. My husband encouraged me to go for it. And here we are today.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road. Moving every three years has made it hard to have a stable career. I bounced from job to job and tried remote careers such as insurance sales and an independent jewelry seller. There were many obstacles in the buying process of Celery and many times I wanted to give up. But my husband helped me stay the course till the end.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I have always been a fashionista. In high school I was creative with my clothing styles. I would bleach my jeans to create a certain look. What set me apart from all the others was that I was ahead of the curve. I would start a trend or was ahead of a trend and moved on the next while the rest were just getting hipped to the old trend.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
The secondhand industry has grown drastically over the past few years. According to ThredUp, the secondhand apparel market is set to reach $350 billion by 2028 which is 3x times faster than the retail market. I think people are moving away from fast fashion and its impact on the environment. And seeing the value in circular fashion and the ability to buy quality pieces for less secondhand.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://celeryconsignment.com/
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/celeryconsignment
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61566147337477
