Daily Inspiration: Meet Elisa Vietri

Today we’d like to introduce you to Elisa Vietri. Them and their team share their story with us below:

Moonstruck Vintage is a passion project for Elisa Vietri founded on her longtime love of collecting unique items with a history. As a child who grew up with second-hand items, a teenager who grew to appreciate an ability to express herself quietly with said items, and an adult who continued to avidly treasure hunt, her collections surpassed what she could contain or give away. After a number of unfulfilled attempts to open a space, the perfect opportunity arose buried in a cozy shop in Cleveland Ohio’s historic Little Italy neighborhood. 

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
From the day I opened my shop I was rewarded with a strong stream of foot traffic from local residents, visitors, and students. Very often these shoppers were tourists and came from all over the country and beyond. But we, like most small businesses, have been impacted by COVID and the changing retail environment. Our foot traffic dried up completely as people stayed home. When the world shut down, we quickly shifted our efforts to selling our vintage goods online. Through the generosity of our loyal customers and a healthy e-commerce marketplace we were able to survive and ultimately thrive over the past 2 years growing our business significantly in 2021. We continue to face challenges, like others, but feel our ability to shift focus and remain frugal through bootstrapping our business, we will continue into the future and thrive. 

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I feel that my brick & mortar shop is a canvas for my creativity. It’s an ever-changing landscape of colors, textures, and unusual trinkets and treasures that come together in a living landscape of fun finds. In addition to running my vintage shop, I am also a photographer. I use that talent for my vintage business in marketing and social media and I also sell some of my print work in my shop. I feel I am most skilled in capturing portraits and fine art landscapes but I don’t restrict myself to those 2 types of photography. 

If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
Hunting for great items for my shop. Buying low and passing on savings to my customers by keeping my prices fair and attainable. Sharing my appreciation for old items that are very often better quality and, by far, more interesting than modern equivalents. Being thoughtful of the environment while having fun. 

Contact Info:

• Email: moonstruckcle@gmail.com
• Website: www.moonstruckcle.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/moonstruckcle/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/moonstruckcle/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ElisaVietri/
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/moonstruck-cle-vintage-cleveland

Image Credits
Elisa Vietri Photography