Welcome to the Church of Vintage
Meet the vintage dealer selling clothes out of a 19th century chapel.
The internet can be a wonderful place, and though I have a myriad of gripes with Instagram, it has proven to be a very special hub for building community with other vintage sellers around the world. It feels good to find fellow humans who also cherishes all that is sun faded, moth chewed, and disintegrating. Jade of Celene Shop is one of those sellers who’s linked to a kindred cord.
I first discovered her shop when I was fed a reel that read “Feeling lost? You’ve been guided to church… the Church of Vintage”. The video proceeded to showcase a monthly vintage clothing popup that she hosts in a 19th century church near her home. Well damn! It’s the kind of idea so great, you’re mad you didn’t think of it yourself.
This DIY creative spirit is something I deeply admire, and when I look at the pieces Jade has sourced, along with those she has created out of garments many would discard without a passing thought, I feel a great sense of inspiration and energy to tend to Passage Keeper. Anyway, let’s hear what she has to say!
Jade: My name is Jade Celene Weston (she/her). The name for my shop comes from my middle name. I’m 22 years old, and I was born and raised in Seattle, Washington. I now live in Bellingham, WA, close to the Canadian border, with my girlfriend Nina, two of our close friends, and our two cats, Ziggy and Martha Stewart. I collect vintage keys, safety pins, scrap fabric, old photos, cards, vintage baby tees, ribbon, thread, bobbins, buttons, zippers and other sewing notions. I use a Bernina 830 record sewing machine, made in the 1970s.
What inspired you to start selling vintage?
Jade: I’ve been thrifting all my clothes for as long as I can remember. My dad is an avid thrifter, for both financial and environmental purposes, and brought me to the local Value Village and Goodwill stores since before I could walk. As time went on my style evolved and I grew out of some of the clothes I’d found thrifting over the years. I remember starting a pile in my room of pieces that I felt were too precious to donate back to the thrift, but I knew I wouldn’t be wearing.
I began posting listings on Depop when I was 15, in 2018. I started selling stuff pretty quickly, some would call this era (and even earlier) the golden age of Depop. At this point I was still mainly only thrifting for my own closet, and selling my old clothes. Occasionally I would find pieces that I knew I could sell and didn’t want to keep for myself, so I’d put them straight onto Depop.
In 2020 I started picking more seriously, going thrifting to find inventory, and of course finding clothes for myself along the way.
I was first inspired to host a yard sale when I saw videos posted by Tea Maisel on TikTok, where she advertised curated clothing yard sales happening on her lawn in California. Yard sales are a fairly low stakes, low commitment way to have a pop up shop! I was daunted by the idea of spreading the word, wondering if people would really show up… I hung flyers around town, and posted online, and it worked!
My commitment to working in the vintage world grew after my first yard sale was a success, and it has continued expanding ever since. This distinction of selling clothes in real life to people is such an important part of this job to me.
I have such a passion for unearthing treasures and making sure they’re appreciated. I am so incredibly lucky that I found what I love doing at a young age and it can feasibly be a job for me.
I think Church of Vintage might be one of the coolest pop-up ideas happening today, can you tell us a little about the church's history and how this became your venue of choice?
Jade: I’m so honored that you think so! The history of the church that houses the church of vintage is so so interesting! Church goers and neighbors built the church in 1889 for a congregation of around 20 members, costing them $3000. By 1911 they’d grown to over 200 members, and built themselves a larger church on an empty lot just one block away. The original church building was sold to a Lutheran congregation for $2,500.
Many years passed and by the 70s, the building was home to a martial arts school, and obtained the name it’s lovingly called today, the Karate Church. In this era, the school added wooden letters on the side of the church that today spell “Karate Bellingham Academy of Elf Defense”.
More recently the Bellingham Alternative Library moved in, and until 2019 their “cooperative lending library and community arts center” resided in the Karate Church. The alternative library “specializes in independent media, art books, and alternative cultures,” and they’re currently looking for a permanent spot to house the library according to their website.
Today, the church is a venue and performance space hosting a wide range of events, with an emphasis on DIY music shows. Many of the shows are punk, although all genres of music are welcome at the church. The juxtaposition of a punk show in an old church building is a beautiful sight to behold. Other events have included; comedy shows, yoga classes, a queer prom, drag shows, open mic nights, art markets including the Earth Goods Market, and so much more! Every other weekend is Craft Church, a free community arts and crafts day.
In December of 2022 I hosted my first vintage market at the church. In the year leading up to that my friends and I had sold our old unworn clothes and my thrifted inventory at occasional pop up yard sales outside of my house. The yard sales were well loved by people in the area and we’d sometimes have hundreds of people coming through to shop our selections. At the time I was taking classes at Western, and my outdoor yard sales were limited by my class schedule, and the cold weather up here in Bellingham.
The Karate Church is right in my neighborhood, and once I realized I could rent it by the day, it became the perfect indoor venue to switch to. One thing that makes it an incredible venue is the beautiful historic building that it is. I am so blessed to be able to spend time there, and make the space my own for one day each month. Another strength is that the Karate Church is unmistakable, it’s widely known around town. No confusion, or need for extra directions, almost everyone knows what and where it is.
The name Church of Vintage just came so naturally once the market moved into the church. The markets are always on Sundays, allowing us to describe our pop-up as Sunday church service at the Church of Vintage. It's a holy experience where we pray to the thrift gods.
A church of vintage flyer isn't complete without a fashionable “girly” (as we call them) drawn by my good friend Cora. Some are straight from her sketchbook, and others I commission, finding reference photos for the outfit, and collaboratively picking each detail and color. She is such a talented artist! It’s a fun process, and the characters on the flyers are endeared by many who see them around town.
What is sourcing and selling vintage like in Bellingham?
Jade: I love selling vintage in Bellingham! The Western Washington University campus brings many thrifty, fashionable young people to the area. It brings me a lot of joy selling at in person events and uniting people with second hand pieces that make them feel beautiful, or excited to get dressed and go out in the world representing themselves how they want to.
I sell clothing for any genders and all sizes! I get a lot of good feedback about having a plus size section at all markets I do. Plus size vintage is hard to come by and not always labelled.
It’s been amazing to see the vintage market scene grow in Bellingham since I’ve lived here. My good friend Elijah started up the Wonderz Market in February of 2023, and it has expanded and blossomed over the past two years. It’s been an honor to vend at Wonderz amongst other talented vintage sellers, and artists of all kinds, including body mod artists- the event has pop up tattoos, piercings and tooth gems!
I don’t do much sourcing in Bellingham, the thrift stores are pretty pricey, and pretty picked over by the many thrifty, fashionable young people in the area. I tend to travel outside of the area to source. I also have always loved a thrifting road trip, definitely the most fun way to find inventory if you have good company!
Indulge us, what's your craziest picking story…
Jade: Certainly the craziest would be finding a pair of 1937 buckle-back Levi’s in nearly deadstock condition. I was on a road trip, picking with my friend. One morning driving around in a rural area, we came across an old church building that looked out of use. Parts of the building were scorched by fire, and the door swung right open when we pressed on it. Just inside, perfectly laid out on the floor were the jeans. We were dumbfounded, and couldn’t tell at first whether they were replicas, or the real deal. We checked all the details and made sure. They were safety pinned onto a wire hanger and we each kept one of the rusted safety pins. I love trinkets, keepsakes, and good luck charms.
We held onto the jeans for quite a long time, unsure of the right way to sell them. I finally posted photos of the jeans onto my instagram about 6 months later, and received a lot of interest in them. I got a message from someone in California, telling me about their experience selling another pair of buckle-backs, and offering to put me in contact with the buyer. After talking with the buyer we came to an agreement, and a few months later one of their employees flew from Japan to Seattle, and met up with Alyssa and I. He paid us in cash and took the jeans with him back to Tokyo! An all around exhilarating experience.
What is your philosophy on fashion?
Jade: My philosophy on fashion centers around secondhand clothing! There’s practically no need for new textiles to be created, enough clothing already exists. Everyone should be shopping second hand for everything!! Textile waste should be managed and sorted more effectively, so thoughtfully designed new pieces can be crafted out of recycled fabrics.
Mending has a huge role in my philosophy on fashion. The lifetime of clothing can be extended drastically when repairs are made. Our clothing can and should last us a long time.
Some pickers I know don't bother picking up flawed items, as they don’t have the time to spend repairing them. But there are so many damaged items at the thrift store; busted seams, missing buttons, rips in the wrong places. If no one purchases it at the thrift store the next stop for much of this clothing is landfills. I do a lot of small mends on clothing in my inventory, making more pieces worth picking up and saving.
From up-cycled cashmere hand warmers to appliquéing baby clothes on adult tees, I feel so inspired when looking at your creations, what inspires you when making them?
Jade: Thank you! That is so kind of you. I am inspired by seeing new purpose in discarded items! I find so much adorable vintage baby clothing while sourcing, and most of it I haven’t sold. It can make great scrap fabric for mending, and other projects. There aren’t many babies or kids in my immediate circle, so I don’t feel too bad taking fits from the babies.
Some of the baby tees are show stoppingly cute like Snoopy on a safety pin :,) so I had no choice but to stitch it onto a larger children’s tee that actually does fit me hahah.
Another great reason to sew a baby size shirt onto a bigger shirt is to cover big holes. I found this 60s champion striped tee shredded by rat chewing, and the tiny striped shirt was a great fit over top of the rips. Don’t get me wrong, I love my clothing distressed but the shredded holes didn’t hang right before.
Another material I use consistently is 100% cashmere sweaters. I sew hand warmers from thrifted cashmere sweaters. I find so many while sourcing, and I’m always appalled by how many expensive cashmere sweaters are donated.
I was first inspired to make fingerless gloves during the winter of 2020, when I was mainly seeing friends outdoors and socially distanced. I was taking a lot of extra steps to stay warm outside, and realized that fingerless gloves are super nice, being able to use your phone, and zip a zipper without taking off your gloves. Having your fingertips free gives your hand the mobility to do more things while outside. That December I gave each of my friends and family members a pair of cashmere fingerless gloves as a holiday present. Those were the first iterations of the hand warmers that I still make today.
The inspiration to use cashmere sweaters came from my friend Trudy, who makes beautiful quilts out of thrifted cashmere sweaters. She helped jumpstart my operation, giving me a big bag of cashmere sweaters she’d collected that were less desirable colors for her quilts, but perfectly fitting for hand warmers. To this day she looks out for me at the thrift store, finding and gifting me extra special printed cashmere (stripes, animal prints, argyles and florals) that make the cutest gloves.
First, I cut apart the thrifted cashmere sweaters, and lay them flat. I lay out my pattern piece and cut out as many as I can fit from each part of the sweater. I enjoy thoughtfully incorporating the original details from the sweaters, like buttons, pockets and sweater hems. On some pairs I sew shapes and patches cut from the scraps of other cashmere sweaters. Then I sew up each hand warmer and zig-zag stitch around the top and bottom.
I’m incredibly inspired by the textile art stitched together and created by my girlfriend Nina. My most prized possession is this clothesline style tee shirt that she made for me. We cut the tiny clothes out of antique children’s dresses I’ve thrifted over the years. She hand sewed them all on, hanging on the clothesline that wraps around the worn thin 80s Oregon Jazz Society l tee that I found in a free pile. It’s the perfect shirt.
Nina also stitched me my very own signature blouse. :,,) I thrifted an 80s white blouse, hemmed it, and many of my closest friends and family members signed it themselves with a pen and selected their thread color. Nina stitched over each of their signatures, making it a very special shirt.
Your IG feed features some truly mouth watering pieces, what have been some of your all time favs finds?
Jade: One of my all time favorite finds is a 1940s/50s Cumberland fishing jacket. Amazing cropped baggy fit with long sleeves. It's the perfect shade of greenish brown, the lining is super soft, and it's covered in bells and whistles; all sorts of zippers, pockets, grommets, snaps and gussets. I wear it all the time and it’s staying with me. Possibly my favorite Goodwill bins find ever.
Another all time best find is this pair of 1930s wide leg denim side zip jeans. Found these picking out in Eastern Washington in 2023. They have hand sewn buttonholes and hidden selvedge, and lots of mends that I’ve done and some I still need to strengthen and reinforce. My favorite pair of pants ever.
Another top favorite find came from when I spoke with my Mom’s cousin at a family reunion, telling her about what I do for work. She told me she had closets full of her fathers old coats and sweaters, offering me the opportunity to come clear them out for her. My great uncle Bill had great taste, showcased here in his three beautiful Filson jackets. I was lucky enough to unearth and appreciate these jackets. The oldest one of the three, is also the smallest (best fitting for me), and it's super worn in (bottom right in the photo). It's an absolute closet staple for me. I love the color, and the many pockets (nearly all Bill’s jackets came with his old tissues in the pockets, haha).
Quickly sharing another two favorite GW finds that I’ve worn over and over. First being this 90s/2000s Klimt “the kiss” all over printed tank top. Secondly, I drool over this 90s lip service dress.
What’s on the Celene Shop vision board?
Jade: Everything on Molli, @strangedesires_ instagram feed. All the really old photos and paper goods I’ve collected.
Keep up with Celene Shop!
Photos courtesy of Jade’s archive.
So inspiring! ❤️