Today we’d like to introduce you to Julie Octaviano.
Hi Julie, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My fiance and I made the move from a one bedroom apartment in Brooklyn to a two-story home in New Jersey and I was trying to find affordable yet good quality furniture to fill the space with. I ended up going down a rabbit hole of vintage furniture accounts on Instagram and was amazed by the quality and uniqueness of the pieces I was coming across. And to top it all of, they cost either the same or less as furniture from big box stores such as CB2 and West Elm. I became fascinated with the idea of furnishing our new home with vintage after figuring out it was higher quality, more affordable, ethical (technically recycled pieces), and rare/unique pieces (not mass manufactured).
About two months later, during the height of the pandemic, my fiance’s father had one of his tenants abandon his warehouse in NJ and left behind a ton of old personal belongings. We were helping my future father-in-law clear out the place and get it ready for a new occupant when I came across these stunning pieces from the 70’s and 80’s. I knew the minute I uncovered them that I was looking at a treasure trove! I photographed them on my iPhone and listed them on Facebook Marketplace and they all sold within a week at market rate. My fiance then suggested I create an Instagram and start collecting more vintage from around the area to resell, and the rest was history!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
There were definitely some learning curves along the way. I started to realized that it is vital to have certain policies in place, like our final sale rule, or else people will try to take advantage of certain situations. It’s also an up and coming market, people are used to big box stores in which everything comes brand new and gets delivered by a certain date. Vintage pieces almost always have some sign of wear (even if minor) from over the years, and that’s not something people are used to or expect when they go the vintage route.
There were also a lot of lessons learned when we added in a delivery vendor to the mix. We now only offer local curbside delivery and recommend insured vendors who are able to deliver longer distances beyond Miami-Dade and Broward County.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Evocative Goods?
Evocative Goods was established in 2020 by partners Julie Octaviano and Ryan Imbriale. After purchasing our first home together in 2019, we wanted to curate a space with mindful design, refined textures, and a unique collection of top-quality pieces whose beauty stood the test of time.
During this process, we became inspired by all that we were encountering and felt increasingly encouraged to collect the pieces that we felt were too beautiful to be lost. Those pieces are what you see today.
We are on a mission to help bring beauty and pride to your home by providing a well-curated collection of vintage furniture and home goods to those who will appreciate it as much as we do.
We source pieces from a variety of eras and styles, and our offerings have expanded to include local delivery, nationwide shipment coordination, personal sourcing services, furniture rentals, interest-fee payment plans, and a trade program that includes a discount for all design professionals.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
My fiancé, Ryan Imbriale, is the backbone of the business. He handles all of the logistics including pick ups, deliveries and staging the pieces for our photoshoots.
Contact Info:
- Email: hello@evocativegoods.com
- Website: www.evocativegoods.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/evocativegoods/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EvocativeGoods/
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@evocativegoods
Image Credits
Nick Suarez took my headshots (@nicksuarezphoto on IG)
