Exploring Life & Business with Maddy Clements of Junk Gold

Today we’d like to introduce you to Maddy Clements.

Hi Maddy, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My obsession with personal style and fashion started as soon as I could dress. As a kid, I was a tomboy; I had a pixie cut, loved sports, and only had boyfriends. Even so, I insisted on wearing my silver velvet dress with my sneakers. As a more reserved kid, clothing is how I expressed myself when words failed me.

When I was 11 years old, I started making jewelry. I was always a super fidgety, active kid who needed outlets for my energy. I played soccer and basketball, and when I got home, I crafted. I loved working with my hands – a trait that clearly has not gone away since I now spend my day’s sewing and pattern-making.

Michael’s was my absolute favorite store, and when my mom would take me I would beg for more clay, more beads, and other crafting supplies. My mom (smartly) would use our Michael’s trips as a reward after doctor’s appointments (I was deathly afraid of shots) and would let me pick out 1 item I wanted each time. I picked out a jewelry kit and started gluing and stringing and creating. I didn’t have my ears pierced, but I made earrings and necklaces and bracelets. The next thing I knew, I had my mom drive me to the local boutique up the street to see if they wanted to sell my creations. Thus began my long history of having a side hustle.

As a high schooler, I started “investing” the change from the money my parents gave me to go to the movies or ice cream with friends in thrifted clothing. When I graduated, I won the “best dressed” senior superlative. After college, I started working in Fashion Merchandising. My first job taught me a lot, but it mainly taught me that I wanted to be in a more creative role and someday work for myself.

When work wasn’t fulfilling me, I started a new brand where I got to share my love of thrifting and make some money on the side. This brand, Junk Gold, was born in 2018. I worked super hard on my first launch but only sold a few pieces. I worked on and off on Junk Gold for the next two years but didn’t experience much success.

Then came the pandemic, and I buckled down and worked on Junk Gold every single day, no matter the number of sales I was making. I started making Tik Tok videos, which would only get a handful of views. Even though I felt like I was creating a void, my hard work and consistency paid off when I had 2 Tik Tok’s go viral, getting over one million views. With my new audience, my brand began to grow and I was now selling out in a few minutes. Now that I look back, it seems so clear to me that I was destined to start my own business. I’ve always had that entrepreneurial spirit, that desire to create something.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Running my own business while pursuing my second degree in fashion design has not been easy. In order to keep things afloat, I have to stay very organized and on top of my time management.

After my first Tik Tok went viral, I went from having one bundle order a week to 20/30 bundle orders. There was definitely a lot of stress at first, but once I figured out a system, I was able to handle the demand. I realized I needed to create order print-outs to bring with me to the thrift store to keep track of each bundle. Once I got my system down, things got easier and less stressful.

I welcome the growing pains of Junk Gold because I know that I am only having them because my business is succeeding. After controlling every aspect of this business, it’s hard to give up the reigns. I am now at the exciting yet scary point where I need to grow Junk Gold and start delegating aspects of the business to others.

We’ve been impressed with Junk Gold, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Junk Gold is a clothing brand dedicated to making gold out of “junk.” We offer curated second-hand clothing and personalized “thrift bundles” at an affordable price. Our mission is to encourage the expression of personal style while giving old clothes new lives. We focus on finding one-of-a-kind, good quality, pre-loved clothing and are dedicated to listing items at a reasonable price.

We are well known for our thrift bundles, which consist of curated thrift clothing and thoughtfully styled outfits. We create each personalized thrift bundle based on our customer’s style, preferences, and measurements. Each thrift bundle is carefully tailored to each customer, which creates a highly personalized experience; it’s basically like having a personal shopper – without the price tag. Thrift bundles are great for those who want to shop sustainably but don’t have time to dig through thrift stores to find the perfect outfit.

With tons and tons of clothing going to landfills every minute, thrifting and purchasing second-hand clothing are great ways to extend the life cycle of a garment. For those who want to stay away from fast fashion but don’t have the money for expensive sustainable brands, buying second-hand is a great option. We pride ourselves on being an ethical, sustainable, and size-inclusive brand.

Can you share something surprising about yourself?
Even though I am creative, my least favorite part of running my business is doing social media (especially Instagram). I would much rather be styling, sewing, or thrifting. I’m very excited to eventually hire someone else to take over the Junk Gold socials. It may surprise people that I actually got my BA in English and am just now almost done with my degree in fashion design.

Pricing:

• Single Outfit Thrift Bundle – $48
• Three Outfit Thrift Bundle – $138
• Capsule Wardrobe Bundle – $258
• Men’s Bundle – $95

Contact Info:

• Email: shopjunkgold@gmail.com
• Website: shopjunkgold.com
• Instagram: @junk_gold
• Other: maddyclements.com (my fashion design portfolio)