Meet Jackie Swain | Owner of Hazie Sue Vintage

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jackie Swain and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jackie, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I have always been drawn to old things; antiques/vintage: I grew up with parents who would stop at every antique mall they passed. As a family, we would spend hours reading every detail about items, every plaque and reminder about days gone by. Back then, I thought it was just for fun. As I’ve gotten older, I realize these beautiful relics were the things that make up our world and the people in it. They all tell stories. Stories of hardships and victories. On another note, my parents loved a good garage sale and really valued their money. I grew up finding some amazing things that other people were getting rid of or considered trash. I found beauty in those items. It also put the thrill of the hunt in me! Fast forward to when I was turning 32 and about to have my second child. I had been a stay at home mom already for about 5 years. Previously working in the social work field and loving working with people. I knew I wanted to continue to stay home and nurture my children, but I also wanted to be around people and do something creative and fun I had never done before. I also didn’t want to tie myself down to a 9-5 at that moment in life. So, being my own boss was the answer. I had always been drawn to the mobile business concept and the unique opportunity it provided people. It’s an experience for sure. At the time, I was sitting on a huge stash of personal collected vintage pieces of clothing with no end in sight of consuming more….thanks to my love for treasure hunting and thrifting. One day a light bulb went off in my head and I realized I needed to merge all my loves into one…people/community, mobile businesses and vintage clothing! Now, here we are, almost 5 years later still rolling and going!!

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
There are always challenges when starting your own business and launching it out into the world. I was lucky enough to be surrounded by amazing people who truly grasped my vision and were ready to help me in anyway possible. One hurdle I had to jump was being worried that my style of vintage clothing wasn’t going to go over well in East Texas. Vintage in general was still on the rise and making its mark on the next generation, and I just wasn’t sure how it was going to go over. So I took that little bit of fear and made my dreams come true. I have to honestly say that if you are truly passionate and love what you do then people will connect with you and everything will work out. Be you. Be genuine. Have fun.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Oh wow! Well that’s easy. We would go thrifting…everyday! One day we would start off by grabbing an iced coffee at Evergreen Coffee in Longview and then hit up Hopes Closet right down the road. We would then visit Goodwill and the Greggton Antique Mall. We would stop for a yummy healthy lunch at Jacks Natural Foods. Then we would have to grab some ice cream at Wild Honey Creamery. On another day, we would start the day by grabbing coffee downtown at Silver Grizzly, and since we are downtown we will head over to 504 Vintage then on over to Betty’s Antiques. Before we head back on the other side of town for lunch, we would grab some cookies from Edible Art for a snack later on. We would then head to Cafe Barron’s for lunch. The rest of the week would include hitting up Gifts of Grace and Treasures for the thrill of the hunt and then maybe a dinner at Juicy’s. We would also visit my sweet friends at RCB Gardens and pick up some quirky fun plants for the house. On the days we needed to rest and take a break from treasure hunting, we would take some leisurely strolls or bike rides at the Boorman Trail.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My husband! Truly, he is my biggest support, encourager, and the person who literally ran ahead of me when chasing my dreams. He walked along side me during the journey of creating it and still attends almost every event with me. My parents are a huge reason I have a love for vintage. They raised me to love the things that tell a story and taught me what I know about antiques/vintage/ and thrifting.

Instagram: Hazie Sue Vintage