15 Jul Uniquely Curated Selection of Vintage Pieces for Lifestyle and Home
Welcome to Hatton’s W.T.W. (Women to Watch) feature.
Meet Rosina Aguiar and Rachel Petruccelli
Founders, Heirloom
Meet Rosina Aguiar and Rachel Petruccelli, the co-founders and owners of Heirloom. In 2021, Hatton featured Rosina and her business, Hit-the-Motherlode. We are excited to highlight Heirloom and the talented, creative, passionate and hard-working businesswomen writing its story.
Please share the story of Heirloom and its evolution.
Rachel: “Opening a store together was a fun vision we visited many times, mostly beachside on our yearly family vacation. Every year the name changed or the location, but the soul was the same. Rosina and I immediately connected on our passion for design, fashion and all things vintage, so this fantasy was never too far off. Last summer we decided it was time and went for it! We were both committed instantly and found what I like to think of as our “creative energy” fountain of youth!”
Rosina: “Heirloom opened, October 2023, as a way to share our love of vintage with the community. We wanted to create a shopping experience full of merriment and meaning, where our customers could find all types of vintage pieces from a 1970’s Pucci Dress to an antique gilded mirror. We curate product by trying to source things we would want to wear, own, and have in our own homes! We seek to source only the best vintage.”
Rachel: “Which is not terribly hard considering we are both passionate shoppers!”
What are your goals for Heirloom and as businesswomen?
Rosina: “Through opening the store I hope to inspire others to step into their dreams whether it’s changing career paths or pursuing a passion… just have the courage to do it and figure it out as you go. My goals are to build a strong community! We love meeting vintage sellers, buyers and connecting with people.”
Rachel: “Rosina and I both have pragmatic growth goals for the business over the next 5 years, but the thing that excites me is what goals does Heirloom have for us?! I thought I was getting on the local train and turns out it was the acela, but we are ready! We also have a small staff of incredible brilliant young ladies at the moment and nothing gives me more joy than sharing my life and retail experience with them.”
How do you differ as co-founders and business partners? What are 3 words you would use to describe yourselves?
Rachel: ” I tend to first see “whats not working” while Rosina tends to see “what is working” – its a pretty great combo because together we see the whole picture. I think we were both surprised at how well we get along. There is so much respect and love in our relationship that even when we get into a strong disagreement, it’s pretty easy to get through. People tell you not to go into business with family or friends, we would tell you the opposite! I would describe myself as artistic, introverted and intuitive.”
Rosina: “Yes, I actually believe we are very similar. We strongly believe in using our gut and intuition to tell our story. Neither of us have robust business educations, but with our love of vintage paired with our determination, we have a finger on the pulse of our consumer. We serve our clients with sharp pricing and we diligently keep up with the demand of new products every week. We never grow tired and we continue to scale, from events to building our e-commerce. I especially love connecting with our community through social media despite how daunting it is to be in front of the camera! I would describe myself as determined, soulful, and optimistic!”
You both make balancing motherhood, business, and life look very easy – what are your secrets?
Rachel: “Our secret is…. its not easy! I think what I love about Rosina the most is that she, like myself, is really competitive. We push each other on the peloton bike everyday, we push each other in our spiritual life, we push each other with our children. We both fail a lot. If you take on a lot you have to be ok with the stuff that isn’t looking great and focus on the big picture. How will you know what you can accomplish if you don’t push yourself past the point of comfortable.”
Rosina: “I believe in giving 100% in everything I do. I work hard and try not to worry about what others are doing or not doing. This keeps me laser focused on my goals for my life which will differ from others. When Rachel and I decided to become business partners, we vowed to protect our relationship. But stress is a fact of life, so we try to support each other personally and in business. If Rachel needs to be with her young kids, that is THE priority and if I am off visiting my college kids or working as a nurse, that becomes MY priority. We treat it more like a marriage …we are both working as hard as we can and therefore, the end product will always work out . We also operate with a”more the merrier” sentiment and love involving our kids and husbands…our families help with special events, doing deliveries, social media, sourcing, selling, wrapping, bringing moral support and taking a great interest in our endeavors- it truly is a family business and we are blessed with great families!”
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