Nickel City Gritty: Julia Hardick
One of the things that I love about Buffalo is that we have such a thriving creative scene. I know so many creative individuals who own their own businesses and it’s so cool to see them thriving and living out their dreams.
Julia Hardick is one of those people. She owns the business Vintage Chameleon. Don’t you just love that name? She started her business in high school, selling denim shorts out of her locker, and soon after her business took off. Now this bohemian free spirit sells everything from shirts with her own design to repurposed flannels and even plants (her newest venture!)
I met Julia at her house in the Southtowns and got a chance to explore her gorgeous handmade greenhouse and play with her adorable fur baby dogs. I loved getting a chance to know her better and talk about all things fashion, plants, and future plans for Vintage Chameleon.
Listen to her playlist while you read all about her!
This is Nickel City Gritty, and this is Julia Hardick of Vintage Chameleon.
Tell me how you started Vintage Chameleon.
When I was a sophomore in high school, Tumblr was super in, and I would stay up all hours of the night coding my Tumblr, and there was a lot of fashion on there. There was this company called Runway Dreams and they had crazy expensive denim shorts, they were literally thrifted denim shorts with studs on them and they were selling them for like $350 to celebrities. I thought they were the coolest things ever but there was no way that I could afford that so I went to the thrift store, bought some jeans and got some studs off of Etsy and just made my own pairs. All of my friends thought it was the coolest thing ever and asked me to make them some. At one point I had my locker full of books and the locker next to me was full of denim shorts and jean jackets. I always tell people that I was selling denim shorts on the black market at school! *laughs* So I didn’t really charge people at first, but both my parents own their own businesses and they told me that this is a business and encouraged me to make a website and it kind of just happened from there! I started with clothing and I mainly did denim shorts and those were all that I sold for about five years because they were super popular, but then I noticed the trend kind of dwindling down and I realized that if I wanted to keep this business I would have to keep up with the times. I started making tee shirts and I would draw my own designs and do tanks and stuff, and about three years ago I started making my flannel shirts and those have been super big ever since. Last fall I started to get into plants more so I’ve been selling them and doing plant classes and making beer can planters.
How would you describe your personal style?
Eclectic? I’ve toned down my personal style a lot since high school and college. I used to dress like a crazy person! I would wear orange tie dye leggings with a zebra shirt and polka dot boots. I did win best dressed, though, so people liked it! I’m definitely bohemian. I know that’s such like a cliche thing to say, but that’s just how I feel. Feathers and fringe and all that stuff.
What fictional place would you most like to visit?
For some reason what comes to mind is the Lorax. I love all of the crazy puffy flowers and all that stuff! Everyone’s happy and it’s colorful and it’s crazy. I feel like that would be super cool.
What topic could you spend hours talking about?
Plants. Literally plants. There was this tee shirt online that said “Introverted but will discuss plants” and I’m not introverted, but I love it because when I sell plants at festivals I talk to random strangers for like a half hour just about a plant. It’s such a new passion of mine and I could talk about it for hours. I’ve learned a lot about plants from online forums. It’s also a lot of trial and error for me.
What is your spirit animal?
Oohhh I don’t know…I want to say a lizard because I just love lizards and they are kind of crazy.
Well, chameleon is in your business name!
I actually had a pet chameleon! I don’t know why, I just love lizards so much. And everybody tells me that Pepper (her dog) is literally me in dog form, too, so I guess we’re each other’s spirit animals.
When do you feel the most confident?
Hmmm that’s a tough one. I really like to dress up, so I’d probably say that it’s when I’m a little more dressed up and in a pair of heels, because I don’t really wear heels that often. Also, when I’m in a really good outfit, or when I’m having a really good hair day, or when I’m wearing red lipstick. Even if I’m not wearing any other makeup, red lipstick just makes me feel like a boss.
What is something that you thought you would grow out of but you didn’t?
Feathers. Hair feathers. I’ve had them in since high school. To this day people tell me, “Oh I remember when those were cool.” and I’m like, “Hey, they’re still cool!” And now I get so many compliments on them, so they’re still cool. They’re a non-permanent way to make my hair different.
What is one of your favorite smells?
Coconut. Coconut for life. And a different smell that’s not like an actual smell would be old books. I don’t even read that much but I think I get it from my mom because when I was little and we’d go book shopping, she would have to smell the book. I’d be like, “Mom, why are you smelling it?” And now I definitely get it.
What’s on your playlist? What do you like to listen to?
My brother always tells me that I like music where people are talking, so I kind of listen to indie electronic music. But right now I’m loving Mumford & Sons, they are a really good summer band. My dream is to see The Lumineers live. I love alt-J. I really like a lot of different music.
What is your biggest fear?
Failing at being a business owner. You always see businesses that pop up that are open for like a year and then they close, and I just never want to fail, I guess for the sake of letting myself and others down. From the outside world when people look at your business, they think that you are always thriving, because you don’t show when you aren’t thriving, and that’s another big reason why I’m hesitant to start a brick and mortar because I don’t want it to fail. I mean, nobody wants to fail, but that’s definitely my biggest fear.
Where do you look for inspiration?
Definitely the internet- Pinterest, Instagram. But also I always find inspiration in nature. If I’m ever feeling low or having a mental block I just go for a hike or to my favorite green house or I’ll even go to the thrift store. I find a lot of inspirational things at thrift stores that are super different and make me think how I’ll incorporate it into my business. There’s definitely not one specific place.
What are some of your favorite bars or restaurants in Buffalo?
The Grange is my go-to for sure. Lloyd tacos are amazing. I also really like Ballyhoo. I recently went vegetarian and they have this really good sausage link, but it’s vegetables, and I never thought that I’d like it but I’m obsessed with it. So good. And their jam drinks are amazing. It’s super chill. I could probably give you a giant list of places but those three are probably my favorite.
How would you describe your perfect sandwich?
Grilled cheese. Thick white bread smothered in butter with provolone, mayo and garlic. Pickle on the side. Classic.
The last question that I always ask is what do you want to be when you grow up?
A million things. I always ask people if they could have one hidden talent what would it be, and I feel like I’d love to be a professional hip hop dancer. I’m really not good at dancing and I think that I am but I’m not. Like a dancer or singer would be super cool, but it’s not realistic. More realistic would be, I always have this vision of me dressed up in heels at the head of a conference table with all of my employees at the weekly meeting. That’s like my dream. And it will happen someday.