A major thrift market has emerged in the heart of Lawrence, acquiring the attention of community members, and one of its founders happens to roam our very hallways.
Senior Opal Morris, along with her business partner Molly Nagle, has taken her passion for fashion and recycling clothes to the community. Now, in downtown Lawrence, the girls hold a thrift market, featuring over 30 vendors from Topeka, Wichita, and Kansas City.
Morris and Nagle began their journey with the launch of their booth, ‘Twintage,’ about a year and a half ago. Their initial idea stemmed from Morris’ middle school wardrobe.
“Coming from middle school, I thrifted a lot of my own clothes,” Morris said. “I had lots of cool items that I didn’t ever have the chance to wear, it was just kind of building up in my closet.”
Then, they sought an opportunity at a Kansas City thrift market held in the East Lawrence arts district, giving the girls their first exposure as vendors. This sparked the inspiration to launch their very own pop-up booth, ‘Twilight.’ A year after their successful debut at Cider Gallery on 810 Pennsylvania Street, they began hosting pop-up markets all over Lawrence, drawing in thrift lovers.
Junior Gabriella Johnson attends 810 Thrift markets frequently, and expressed an appreciation for their diversity.
“I enjoy going because I see more women’s clothing than I usually see at the other thrift markets, so It’s easier to shop at. At the other ones it’s only guys selling their baggy clothes,” Johnson said. “Other thrift markets just don’t have as good a variety as 810 Thrift.”
810 Thrift Market has become a hub for local individuals to network, collaborate, and showcase their niche. Morris works to build a diverse and inclusive community, partnering with local businesses, musicians, and even food trucks from Lawrence and Kansas City for the market.
“We really focus on uplifting other creative people that are in the community,” Morris added. “It’s a lot of us trying to find unique vendors.”
While balancing academics with running a business can be overwhelming for some, Morris wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I would say it’s a lot of my downtime when I finish assignments, hopping on Instagram and DMing a bunch of vendors and trying to communicate,” Morris said. “The balance sometimes is a little overwhelming. But in the end, it all works out, and being able to keep up my school life, it’s really fun for me.”
Morris handles much of the promotional media, drawing from her passion for photography and graphic design for their social media page. She aspires to continue pursuing these interests beyond high school.
“It was a big thing for me to be able to make money doing something that I like,” Morris said. “In the future, I’d love to do more editorial marketing photography.”
Running such a large project requires teamwork. For promotional videos, Senior Naomi Sui Pang collaborates with Morris and Nagle, adding their very own spark to the mix.
Sui Pang said she finds the experience to be rewarding.
“I think it’s so unique to do something like this, especially for a small business owned by two teenage girls,” Sui Pang said. “It’s female-run too, so it’s empowering.”
However, establishing its market wasn’t without challenges, the business faced hardships in establishing its name in a predominantly male sphere.
“I think
“Starting out, it was really hard to be taken seriously. A lot of the vendors are 20-year-olds. Also being girls, before us, there wasn’t a lot of representation within the community,” Morris said. “So being able to promote that and prove this isn’t just a little hobby for us was probably the hardest hurdle to get over.”
The market has also seen friendly competition among other vendors in the area.
“The Hawk Vintage, I think it’s called, he started before us, super cool. We don’t want to be competition, we have opportunities because we run it through a gallery that both our parents work at so it set us up to be in a really good position to grow,” Morris said. “It’s all about the vendors, we want vendors to make money, and Lawrence is definitely big enough.”
Looking ahead, Opal is excited about the future. She enjoys being part of a business that brings people together and creates opportunities for others.
“It’s really comforting to know that people enjoy it. People from all walks of life, like a lot of KU students and people that I don’t even know from LHS and Free State,” Morris said. “It’s really nice to know that people find joy and interest in it.”
