Meet Marcella Lopez | Owner & Founder of Thrift-ish Nonprofit

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

Hi Marcella, can you talk to us a bit about the social impact of your business?
Thrift-ish is a group of women helping women through second hand fashion. Thrift-ish is a new mobile social service that provides clothing to those in need. We take in donated clothing from our community members and service those most in need. We essentially create mini pop up shops where we bring clothing, accessories & hygiene. Our ultimate goal is to obtain a van or box truck to serve as a mobile boutique to better assist those in need. With our service we allow these individuals the opportunity & freedom to choose their clothing. We assist with clothing styles and sizes for our clients and this creates such a conversation starter and a way for us to connect with one another. The vibrancy of the conversations and the new relationship it builds, time after time is everlasting. Our goal is to meet those where they are most comfortable and we believe the right to clothing should not be a burden.

What should our readers know about your business?
Thrift-ish is a nonprofit based in Austin, Texas serving those locally who have/are experiencing homelessness. What makes us different is we go to our clients. We pop up in streets and underpasses. We bring the essentials to the comfort of our clients. We want to eliminate as many barriers possible to make clothing access easier. We also curate clothing styles for those requesting items. Those clients are ones who sign up requesting for these services. We are most excited well anticipating a vehicle donation to make transportation a lot easier and accessible to those in need.

My faith & everything else finally aligned to start the business. I already knew my experience gave me all the tools I needed. I learned in order for things to flourish they have to be organic. In other words they have to be sent from God. I believe Jesus served those around him and believe we should serve others. We all have a purpose and that comes from God and our journey towards him.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
There are so many places in ATX. I am a nature person so I definitely will start with some of our top views – Mt.Bonnell, 360 Bridge, Zilker, Kayaking, and some trails.

We could hit our downtown area 6th street (day or night). The bars are the night life! There’s also SoCo, Rainey Street, and The Domain. All these areas have shopping and dinning (so many to name).

Before Covid, there were always live music playing. If you don’t know Austin is called ‘The Live Music Capital of the World’ because it has more music venues per person than anywhere else in the United States. So you can always find some live music in Austin. We also hold ACL and SXSW.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I want to thank God first and most importantly! I have seen the light and have found the power and healing within him. I thank him for the purpose he has called me to be.

Wow! there are so many people who have played a big impact on this journey. I’ll start with my parents for always supporting my goals and dreams and even my kids dreams. A big thank you to my parents for showing me what hard work and perserverance is. I am a daughter of an immigrant and seeing the other side of life has always given me a different perspective on life.

I thank my kids for supporting their momma. Their words of encouragement and smiles that make the world stand still for a moment. Their warm hugs and thank you’s that melt my heart and for helping momma with her goals.

A shout out to my high school Criminal Justice Teacher Mr. Ortiz for starting my career path for college & always seeing my potential. Next I’d like to shout out my family, colleagues, friends and coworkers who I have special memories with.

A big THANK YOU to my girlfriend Brianna for always supporting me. Thank you for praying for me and my family. Thank you for listening to my random, countless, ideas, dreams, visions and random conversations. Thank you for always being a listening ear and finding ways to help those around you.

Thank you for always supporting and believing in me!

Website: Thrift-ish.org

Instagram: Thrift.ish.nonprofit

Facebook: Thrift-ish

Youtube: Thrift-ish