Pre-Loved Podcast with Emily Stochl

Today we're chatting with Gabriella and Janelle — the co-founders of Isle of Monday, the first on-demand rental platform for women's luxury vintage archival clothing. Gabriella is the sourcing powerhouse behind the brand, while Janelle leads marketing and growth — and I'm so excited for you to hear how two friends turned a shared love of vintage into a platform that's redefining how women access designer archival fashion.
Gabriella's path to vintage started young — she's been collecting and reselling, all while working as a model from age 16, which put her in close contact with stylists and sparked her obsession with archival pieces. Janelle came at vintage from a different angle entirely, falling in love with vintage furniture and interior design. The two met at a pop-up at Canal Street Market, where Janelle spotted Gabriella's collection and the rest was history!
After running future pop-ups together and getting certain requests from their customers over and over, they saw the gap rental could fill. They officially became business partners in January 2024, building out a rental platform with bespoke logistics, cleaning, and a proprietary pricing model built specifically for one-of-one archival pieces.
Isle of Monday launched into beta on December 1st of 2025 and officially opened to the public on May 18th — and the growth since has been staggering, from under 2,000 followers pre-launch to nearly 50,000 today, with pieces recently worn by Keke Palmer, Doechii, and Ashley Graham, among others.
On today's episode, we get into all of it — their now-famous Roberto Cavalli dress that went viral on TikTok before they'd even launched, what it's really like fundraising as two female founders in the still-misunderstood fashion tech industry, and why they believe archival vintage is becoming an investment-grade asset class in its own right.
Let's dive right in!
DISCUSSED IN THE EPISODE:
[4:38] Gabriella's path to vintage started young — she's been collecting and reselling, all while working as a model from age 16
[6:13] Janelle came to vintage from a love for vintage furniture and interior design.
[12:02] They met at a vintage pop-up and became fast friends and collaborators. 
[14:26] Why they decided to innovate in rental instead of resale. 
[19:46] Building a proprietary pricing tool for archival, one-of-one vintage rentals 
[22:50] How they think about sourcing "rentable" pieces as opposed to resale inventory. 
[34:16] Fundraising as two female founders in the fashion tech industry
[39:40] Archival vintage becoming an investment-grade asset class in its own right.
[41:34] Gabriella and Janelle's own personal vintage collections and style 
EPISODE MENTIONS: 
Isle of Monday
@isleofmonday
Janelle's 2003 Roberto Cavalli gown 
Ashanti in Roberto Cavalli S/S 2003 at the American Music Awards 
Doechii wearing Isle of Monday
Keke Palmer wearing Isle of Monday
The Bluemarine dress from Uptown Girls 
Sabrina Carpenter S/S 2003 Ralph Lauren dress
Blummier
Gone Archive
3 Sisters
Seacret Vintage
LET'S CONNECT: 
📸Instagram: @emilymstochl
🐦Threads: @emilymstochl
🎥TikTok: @emilymstochl
📧 Substack: https://prelovedpod.substack.com/ 
🎧Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/prelovedpod 
SPECIAL THANKS: 
A special thanks goes out to my Patron Insiders – your support makes Pre-Loved Podcast possible!
Patty Weber
Kathy Brand
Lisa of Queenie & Pearl
Lydia Welp
Michael A.
Megan Morris
Jennifer
Alana Rivero
Jerrica Yasumura
Amanda Hale

Pre-Loved is back with the second installment of the Resale Report, our monthly segment dedicated to the business of vintage and secondhand — made specifically for the small shop owners, solo sellers, and independent dealers.
Joining me again is Sloane Middleton-Mann, founder of Business of Vintage, the world's only marketing agency specialized for vintage sellers. Sloane brings a rare combination of industry experience and formal business school training — she went back to get her MBA specifically to translate retail and marketing best practices to the one-of-a-kind space of secondhand, and has been helping vintage sellers build smarter businesses ever since.
We start with a debrief on Vintage Store Day, which we covered in our first Resale Report — including the press wins, the local crawls, and the shop owner whose entrepreneurial story landed a full profile in her local paper.
Then we get into the real topic of the day: summer social media strategy. It's flea market and outdoor pop-up season, which means dealers are busier and more exhausted than ever, even as the season hands them some of the richest content of the year. We talk about how to turn that contradiction into your advantage — a repeatable "minimum viable content strategy," what to actually capture at a market without losing your mind, what happens to your account if you go quiet for a real vacation, and how to turn a sourcing trip into a sold-out drop.
Whether you're trying to survive your busiest selling season or just trying to build a more sustainable relationship with your phone, this one's for you.
Let's talk shop!
DISCUSSED IN THE EPISODE:
[01:24] A debrief on Vintage Store Day — what happened when shops used the press and social templates from our Vintage Store Day webinar.
[05:00] Setting the scene for summer: pop-up season is the most content-rich time of year, and also the most exhausting
[06:22] Is the "summer slowdown" a self-fulfilling prophecy? Here's a reframe to consider from Holy Thrift.
[09:06] The "minimum viable content strategy": ditching perfectionism for three repeatable post types
[17:37] What actually happens to your account when you take a real break (it's less scary than you think)
[21:28] How much of yourself to share in personal content
[23:47] A hands-full strategy for capturing content at markets
[28:01] Turning a one-time market shopper into a regular customer
[31:42] The latest content trend Sloane's watching
[34:08] Storyboarding a sourcing trip like a movie — more on this in our Pre-Loved episode with handbag seller Fashionica on her Japan sourcing trip
[37:25] Pre-Loved's second annual Secondhand Sellers Income Survey — and what we'll dig into next time
LET'S CONNECT: 
📸Instagram: @emilymstochl
🐦Threads: @emilymstochl
🎥TikTok: @emilymstochl
📧 Substack: https://prelovedpod.substack.com/ 
🎧Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/prelovedpod

Today we're chatting with Gianna Corvino — the founder of The New York Archive, which has just opened The New York Archive Collective, a brand-new flagship vintage collective in the heart of Chelsea. Gianna is a vintage shoe specialist turned store owner, and I'm so excited for you to hear how she went from playing dress-up in her mom's closet to curating 15 vintage vendors – across the range of the fashion dress up closet – under one roof.
Gianna grew up in New York City, completely enamored with her mother's shoe collection — pink, sparkly heels that felt like the coolest thing in the world to a little girl. That early love of nostalgia, accessories, and on-screen icons from movies like 13 Going on 30 and The Devil Wears Prada eventually became the foundation for The New York Archive, which Gianna started as a portfolio project while applying to fashion school.
Amidst starting the archive, though, her story took a wild turn — after a startup equity deal fell through she felt the push to go all-in on vintage. She landed her first Manhattan Vintage Show spot, started sourcing pieces for celebrity stylists and television shows, and built a devoted online community through sharing radically transparent "building in public" content on social media. 
Just one week ago, Gianna opened the doors to The New York Archive Collective — a brick-and-mortar space she built out with her building's handyman, Angel and with help from his son, almost entirely through DIY, donations, and Facebook Marketplace finds.
On today's episode, we get into all of it — why the vintage shoe niche was a space nobody else was filling, the holy grail hunting and sourcing stories – including for pieces worn on the recent Love Story show about Carolyn Besette Kennedy, and what it's like to watch your wildest dream become a physical space you can actually stand in.
Let's dive right in!
DISCUSSED IN THE EPISODE:
[4:46] Gianna grew up in New York City, completely enamored with her mother's shoe collection.
[10:11] Why she talked herself out of fashion and into business school instead 
[15:43] A DM that changed everything
[18:01] Starting NY Archive as a portfolio project while applying to fashion school.
[23:11] Landing her first Manhattan Vintage Show spot — and nearly selling out her inventory 
[26:14] Working on stylist pulls for  the recent Love Story show about Carolyn Besette Kennedy.
[32:47] Choosing to specialize in vintage shoes when no one else was.
[33:26] Her love of Manolo Blahnik — and wanting to democratize luxury through vintage 
[35:46] "Building in public" by sharing content on social media about her founder journey
[39:17] Making the leap from apartment showroom to brick-and-mortar 
[46:22] Designing The New York Archive Collective on a DIY budget 
[51:52] Her personal vintage collection — the pieces she keeps and why 
[53:57] Holy grail hunting and tracking down signed Manolos 
EPISODE MENTIONS: 
The NY Archive
@thenyarchive
NY Archive on TikTok
Phoebe Gates
Manhattan Vintage Show
Chloe Felopolus
The Millennial Decorator 
Vintage of Saints
LET'S CONNECT: 
📸Instagram: @emilymstochl
🐦Threads: @emilymstochl
🎥TikTok: @emilymstochl
📧 Substack: https://prelovedpod.substack.com/ 
🎧Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/prelovedpod 
SPECIAL THANKS: 
A special thanks goes out to my Patron Insiders – your support makes Pre-Loved Podcast possible!
Patty Weber
Kathy Brand
Lisa of Queenie & Pearl
Lydia Welp
Michael A.
Megan Morris
Jennifer
Alana Rivero
Jerrica Yasumura
Amanda Hale

Today we're chatting with Kathleen Schaaf — the owner of Meow Vintage, located right in the heart of Retro Row in Long Beach, California. Kathleen is a vintage legend, someone who has been doing it for a long time, and doing it her way, and I'm so excited for you to hear her stories from four decades in the business.
Kathleen grew up thrifting with her mom, raiding her aunt's hand-me-downs in elementary school, and haunting the cheap, treasure-packed shops of downtown Long Beach before anyone was calling it a "vintage scene". She opened Meow Vintage in 1986 — nearly forty years ago — and has been a fixture of vintage ever since.
But Kathleen's story goes so much deeper. She's a dead stock hunter — crisscrossing the country before the internet even existed, cold-calling merchants and slipping into back rooms and dusty attics from New Mexico to Massachusetts, building relationships with dealers and shop owners that have now spanned three generations. And along the way, she built a parallel career outfitting film and television — from Roseanne and Seinfeld all the way to Stranger Things.
On today's episode, we get into all of it, plus what forty years in the business has taught her about people, quality, and the difference between loving vintage and just selling it. All that and more!
Let's dive right in!
DISCUSSED IN THE EPISODE:
[5:05] Kathleen grew up thrifting and accumulated a lot of great vintage.
[6:22] The "aha" moment where Kathleen realized she could be a vintage dealer — buying an entire rack of deadstock 60s pointy flats 
[9:51] She quickly became a deadstock hunter, criss-crossing the country looking for "new old" stock.
[13:36] Opening Meow Vintage in 1986 on Retro Row in Long Beach, 
[16:06] Crisscrossing the country before the internet even existed, digging for deadstock.
[20:36] What the vintage landscape looked like when she opened 
[26:52] She built a parallel career outfitting film and television
[36:26] How the vintage industry has changed over the years
[43:41] Reflections on Brimfield — what's changed, what hasn't, and the chaos that's part of it.
EPISODE MENTIONS: 
Meow Vintage
@meowvintagelb
Larry from Hellers Cafe 
Amy Parris
Pickwick Vintage
Rin Tanaka's books
Liz Baca
Shirley Kurata
LET'S CONNECT: 
📸Instagram: @emilymstochl
🐦Threads: @emilymstochl
🎥TikTok: @emilymstochl
📧 Substack: https://prelovedpod.substack.com/ 
🎧Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/prelovedpod 
SPECIAL THANKS: 
A special thanks goes out to my Patron Insiders – your support makes Pre-Loved Podcast possible!
Patty Weber
Kathy Brand
Lisa of Queenie & Pearl
Lydia Welp
Michael A.
Megan Morris
Jennifer
Alana Rivero
Jerrica Yasumura
Amanda Hale

Today we're chatting with Lexis Zenobia , a full-time artist and vintage dealer, the owner of Ladies of the Loon — which is doing something really unique – this is a vintage brand that has taken a truly singular path in the resale world, one paved entirely in vintage mohair.
A little background, Lexis grew up in Wisconsin, and came of age in Milwaukee's vintage scene. She launched a fashion photography business at 18, and spent several years on the road in an RV, selling vintage out of the back and collecting pieces across the American West. 
But it wasn't until she became the steward of a one-of-a-kind vintage mohair collection that everything changed for Lexis. Today, you're going to hear the story of a find beyond her wildest dreams: thousands of vintage and hand-knit mohair pieces, spanning from the 1920s onward, capes, gowns, skirts, sweaters — including a collection of nearly 200 hand-knit Italian cardigans from the 1950s and 60s. This is a collection so significant, it should be shown in a gallery.
On today's episode, we get into all of it: how a sleepless night and a full moon set this whole thing in motion, why Lexi made the bold decision to sell off her entire existing inventory and go all in on mohair, what makes this textile so special to photograph and to wear, and the pieces — that sold in minutes which she still thinks about. All that and more!
Let's dive right in!
DISCUSSED IN THE EPISODE:
[5:16] Early memories of Lexis vintage shopping with her mom, including an antique store in a rural barn.
[7:50] Her career in vintage actually started with fashion photography.
[11:04] She originally became a vintage dealer because she needed to do a big closet cleanout, and it accidentally launched a decade-long career. 
[14:31] How COVID reshaped the business 
[18:16] How she became the steward of a one-of-a-kind vintage mohair collection, spanning from the 1920s onward.
[26:35] Why vintage mohair is a special textile, nicknamed "the diamond fiber"
[29:39] The Italian handknit mohair cardigans 
[31:08] On the decision to wholesale her existing collection and focus singularly on vintage mohair. 
[37:44] Her dream to show the mohair collection in a gallery 
[41:05] How to care for vintage mohair 
[47:18] The two mohair pieces that sold in minutes and that she still thinks about 
[52:46] On her personal style and memorable pieces
EPISODE MENTIONS: 
Ladies of the Loon
Midwest Vintage Flea
SUDESTADA Gallery
"Wool Skirts," an exhibition of one woman's 40-year thrift-store collection, reveals a rich tapestry of clothing manufacturing and feminist history. – The New York Times
The Black Web dress
Bleu Boy Vintage
Thank You Vintage
 
LET'S CONNECT: 
📸Instagram: @emilymstochl
🐦Threads: @emilymstochl
🎥TikTok: @emilymstochl
📧 Substack: https://prelovedpod.substack.com/ 
🎧Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/prelovedpod 
 
SPECIAL THANKS: 
A special thanks goes out to my Patron Insiders – your support makes Pre-Loved Podcast possible!
Patty Weber
Kathy Brand
Lisa of Queenie & Pearl
Lydia Welp
Michael A.
Megan Morris
Jennifer
Alana Rivero
Jerrica Yasumura
Amanda Hale