Fashionable women-owned business expands, reopens in downtown Macon. Take a look
When Abigail Johnson graduated college in 2021 and headed back to Middle Georgia, she had big dreams in mind. She moved in with her parents and began a serving job as a waitress. But, she also started something else — saving for her online clothing business.
“Growing up, I thrift shopped the majority of my closet from the time I was able to drive myself around to do so,” Johnson said. “But I also always had a love for shopping, styling, curating outfits, and showing my authenticity through my choice of clothes.”
In September 2022, Johnson launched her dream business online out of the spare bedroom of her parent’s home and The Vintage Thread was born. The story doesn’t end there. After a successful year online, Johnson moved to Perry and continued to wait tables. She said her mom found a retail space and decided she wanted to go into business with her in brick and mortar setting.
The duo quickly signed the lease and got to work redoing the space. Johnson said they worked all summer renovating the space to be perfect. She said the location opened in September 2023 but after nine months, the mother-daughter team realized they needed to expand.
Johnson said she was actively looking for a new space to move the business and open in downtown Macon.
“I went one morning before going to work at the restaurant and looked at a space but didn’t like it at all. On my way back to the store I passed this location and quickly took down the details of the signage in the window,” she said. “I called our realtor and told her I needed to see this space as soon as possible.”
Johnson said within three weeks, they had signed a lease, announced they were moving, and reopened the store in downtown Macon; all while still working full time at Circa.
Johnson explained that although all of the decisions were impulsive, she felt it was the right decision to be downtown.
“Downtown is steadily growing and has flourished so much. I’ve regrown such a love for downtown Macon and it just keeps getting better,” she said. “The love and encouragement from all of the small businesses down here has been overwhelmingly amazing.”
The Vintage Thread offers a unique selection of timeless and trend forward collections of clothing, according to Johnson who said she has never wanted average or basic for her company.
The store carries retail clothing, a large selection of denim, true vintage items, vintage and retail accessories such as purses, claw clips, bows, jewelry, and more. The Vintage Thread also recently added a custom charm necklace and bracelet bar to mix and max jewelry. Johnson said the addition has been a huge hit so far and has been fun to customize and build them for her customers.
The Vintage Thread is at 504 2nd St. and can be reached at 478-216-5377.
“As a women-owned business and from a mother-daughter ownership standpoint, we want to thank all of our wonderful customers for supporting us through all the changes and challenges we have endured thus far,” Johnson said. “We are excited to be here and excited to grow with you Macon.”
This story was originally published August 7, 2024 at 11:28 AM.