The New Year brought a new State of Emergency to Ontario and province-wide shutdowns of those businesses not deemed essential. As of mid-January, this had not extended to film and television productions and post-production projects. They continue to operate, with stringent safety measures in place.
This has been a boon for Victoria Dinnick. She operates Gadabout Vintage – one of those eclectic places where you can lose yourself for hours. Curios, nostalgia and ephemera cram every corner on two floors. Vintage posters, tons of fabulous vintage clothing and racks of accessories fight for space with amazing textiles and vintage housewares.
Renting props for film and television is a huge part of Victoria’s business. While her physical store cannot admit the general public, individuals representing film and TV can visit by appointment to select items. She recently stocked the set for an entire curio shop!
Film and television aside, keeping top of mind with the general public remains important to Gadabout. Victoria relies on her social media channels and a new online storefront, where customers can place orders for curbside pickup. This is a sharp departure from the first lockdown last spring, when Victoria was forced to shut completely and generate no revenue for three full months.
That crisis prompted Victoria to redevelop her dated website and add for the first time an e-commerce storefront. She turned to DMS and qualified for a Digital Transformation Grant. Equally important, she engaged with her local DMS Digital Service Squad for the practical advice and resources to manage her website and make more effective use of Instagram.
While the online side of her business is still in its infancy, Victoria sees big possibilities.
“It is growing and it does have great potential, and the more I can get product up there, the greater the possibilities will be,” she said. “Social media is keeping our awareness level really up there and giving people a good idea of what is in the store and what they can find.” Despite the disruptions caused by the pandemic, Victoria has kept all of her staff employed. These days, their focus is on getting as much product as possible onto the online store. It’s a time-consuming exercise, given that most of Gadabout’s inventory is one-of-a-kind items. But thanks to DMS, Victoria can now showcase her business to a broader audience than ever before.
Excerpt taken from OBIAA article by Leo Valiquette, see https://obiaa.com/case-studies/online-investment-proving-its-worth-for-torontos-gadabout-vintage/