have Mercy

Owners 

▲▲▲ Karen Anderson & Jenny Velte ▲▲▲

at their beautiful vintage shop

▲▲▲ Mercy Now ▲▲▲

in Oakland

::Karen::

Who's style do you most admire or have been inspired by? 

So many… Iris Apfel, Natalie Joos, Ines de la Fressange, I’m at a loss. I admire so many women, mostly women with bold or quirky visions

What were you like when you were a kid?

 Very tall, very skinny and very shy. I liked quilt making and embroidery. 

How did you come to open a vintage shop? 

My mom is definitely my inspiration. She dragged me from thrift store to antique shops to anywhere she could to uncover treasures. It went from those early experiences to buying vintage for myself, finding vintage I could resell to off set my vintage habit, to eventually opening my own shop.

What is your spirit animal? 

Elephant

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::Jenny::

Who's style do you most admire or have been inspired by?

 Karen Anderson's. I have this distinct memory of seeing her walk across the street, years ago, when she owned Dolled Up. I had never met her, but shopped her store often. She was wearing this 70's colorful geometrical printed dress and some kind of crazy leggings and boots. I just caught a glimpse of her but I remember craning my neck as I drove by to watch her. It was more than her clothes, it was the way she moved, almost floated with this ease and confidence, and utter comfort in her skin. I wanted to be her. Since that day I have looked to her for inspiration and ideas. She is so brave and free. She makes you want to take chances.

What were you like when you were a kid?

 Extremely tall for my age so I was kind of shy. Spent a lot of time in my room writing and reading and playing make believe. I grew up in the suburbs at the foot of Mt. Diablo so for a kid it was pretty ideal. Lots of places to ride your bike, run around. My parents bought me a horse to combat my tendency to isolate and it was the best thing that ever happened to me. I got really into horses and spent days after school riding Cochise in the hills. Really saved my self esteem.

How did you come to open a vintage shop?

 I had been selling to Karen at Dolled Up for a few years and she called me up one day and said she wanted to sell the shop and thought I'd be a good candidate. I had just been fired from my job managing another shop. (long story there...) I was freaked out and didn't think I could do it alone. So I asked her if she wanted to become partners and move her shop somewhere where people could really see how amazing it is. (It was in a neighborhood where there was no foot traffic.) She said yes, we found our spot on Piedmont and wham, it happened. It was so fast. We didn't even really know each other. It just seemed meant to be

What's your spirit animal?

Horse, without a doubt

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Mercy Vintage