Little Leader Series: Lyric Kennedy

I am always so amazed and inspired when I hear of kiddos who are becoming young entrepreneurs, who have BHAG goals! If this is your first time reading this series, make sure to check out all of the heart-warming little leader stories here. Today I want to highlight Lyric’s story. Not only does she have her very own vintage business but she started it when she was only 11! This is definitely an entrepreneur to keep your eyes out for. Without further ado, take it away Lyric!

My name is Lyric Kennedy. I am 19 years old, and I have been running my vintage business, Lyric’s Vintage since I was 11 years old. I am known as the young, energetic picker with an old soul. I specialize in buying and selling vintage farmhouse decor, antique collectibles, and vintage smalls. I rescue vintage treasures from estate sales, garage sales, thrift stores, garbage bins and even the side of the road! I clean my finds up and sell them to customers to love again. People get rid of some amazing things and when I can rescue something from eventually ending up in the landfill and help someone see what I see in a vintage piece, it makes me so happy.                                                                                                                                       

My parents say I am a natural salesperson, and that they always knew I would be an entrepreneur. Any chance I got to set up a sales table in front of my house, made me beam with pride. I’d sit there for hours waiting for customers to buy lemonade, crafts, cookies, and any toys that my parents would let me sell. When I started doing what I do now, I remember telling everyone that I had a job – “I am a picker”.

I first caught the vintage bug when I was out riding my bike with some friends, and I spotted a box marked “FREE” sitting on the side of the road. I pulled out some old, framed paintings and brought them home. My friends didn’t understand why I was stopping to look at “trash”. They thought it was weird, which I was kind of used to hearing. It was weird… until they heard that the painting that I dragged out of that free box was an original and it was valued at $1000. Since then, more and more young people are intrigued with what I do. In fact, I have inspired two ten-year-old boys to start their own vintage businesses.

Since then, I have participated in over 40 vintage markets, including The Olde Farmhouse, The Little White House, The Vintage Pasture Sale, Vintage Fair Victoria and many more. Before I could drive, my parents would rent a van to bring all my treasures and help me set up at markets. Once a market was done, we would pack everything up to store in a friend’s garage until the next market.

Things really shifted for Lyric’s Vintage when I graduated high school in 2020. Post-secondary was on hold and vintage markets were all shut down. I couldn’t even go picking because we were all so worried about getting Covid. I was bored out of my mind! Finally, my parents decided to park one car on the street, and they let me set up a little vintage shop in one half of our double car garage. I couldn’t invite people to come to my shop during a Pandemic, so I started creating stories on my Instagram. At the time I had 625 followers. I started doing weekly Live sales and my followers loved being able to shop without having to be there in person. Customers direct messaged to claim an item and I would package their purchases up and put them at the edge of the garage for them to grab. Over time I started to let people come in and look around. I started posting ads on Facebook Marketplace and soon enough, I was scheduling private shopping times for new customers daily. Now Lyric’s Vintage has close to 3500 Instagram followers.   

My dream has always been to open my own vintage shop in a place where people can just come in any time to shop. In November of 2021 a long-time family friend offered to sublet the top floor of their hair salon to me, so I opened Lyric’s Vintage full time. It was a huge success and I loved heading to work every day to meet new customers and sell my vintage treasures. Sadly, only two-months in I was asked to pack everything up after the owner of the building found out that I was selling second-hand goods. Apparently, a no-no in that building. Our family friend even wrote a long letter to the owners and invited them to come visit to see what my shop looked like, but they never responded.

Currently, I am back at home and set up again in my parent’s garage in South Surrey. I am still hunting for another space to sub-lease. For now, you can find me on Instagram @lyricsvintage where you can send me a direct message to make an appointment to shop in person or just follow along and let me know if you see anything that catches your eye!

Lyric