Scrolling through the Instagram feed of Sofia's Brocante is like coming home to me. I remember almost all the things from my grandmother's or from the brocanterie that my parents brought from France for years. Special teapots, strange powder boxes, rosaries, prayer cards and cut glasses. You are amazed.
When I spoke to owner Sofia, she was literally running out of time dealing with sales via her Instagram account. She started a year or so ago and now this way of selling was bursting at the seams. It was clearly high time for a professional webshop that would take care of things for her with matching branding .
Who is Sofia?
At Sofia's Brocante you will find unique and authentic vintage items, ranging from boxes and lighting to accessories and decoration. Whether you are looking for a beautiful antique candlestick for your living room or a special piece of porcelain for your collection, you have come to the right place at Sofia Angelique's webshop. She browses the best addresses and markets in France for you to put the nicest pieces for sale on her webshop (and live too, by the way).
Result
We at SYSO really enjoy setting up a brand from scratch, so setting up Sofia's Brocante was a wonderful project . A lot of sales were already being made online via Instagram, but as more and more sales increased, it became too much and, above all, the logistics were extremely inconvenient. Time for a good webshop and nice matching branding . This is how we transformed Sofia's Brocante into a true love brand .
You don't have to look far for the 'story' with this brand, every product has a story in this shop and the origin often speaks for itself. How do you put all those curiosities together into one beautiful whole? We did this by keeping it calm, showing the region of origin and, above all, expressing Sofia's individuality.
The webshop is now really her place where you can find not only her treasures, but also Sofia herself in the blog posts she writes about her finds, for example. The logo is therefore like a kind of antique sign or stamp. Something you could easily see among all the stuff. The fleur de lis is typically French, but also definitely a favorite symbol of Sofia. And so the whole picture fits, from the lavender color to the symbolic fleur de lis and the webshop full of fun stories and curiosities.
Golden ticket
Sofia went for a Golden ticket . This means that she is a SYSO VIP and can use all our SYSO tools and that we will soon start with 1-on-1 business coaching to develop her marketing plan.
We asked Sofia from Sofia's Brocante a few questions
When and why did you start your business?
In July 2020, in the middle of the Corona time. The question was how aviation would fare in those turbulent times and I decided to set up something that is my passion and with which I could generate an income.
What do you think is the best product (category) from the range?
First of all, I like crazy humorous things (see also Miscellaneous ) such as weather houses, Bambi's, kitsch, for example one of those Italian and/or French frames, Baroque frames. These are items with a wink. Always had a soft spot for gold mirrors, including crested mirrors, but actually all kinds of mirrors.
I also love vintage tableware , which is why it can be found in abundance in the webshop. Glassware, crystal glasses, old shop storage jars,
apothecary jars, shells, gemstones, jewelry. Items with birds and flowers. I also like color and cheerfulness. Coziness is also important to me, so in winter I often have many candlesticks . In short: I love the inspiration of old, worn things. It's better to ask what don't you like?
What made you decide to hire SYSO?
The professionalism and the beautiful websites they have created, an eye for marketing strategy.
What are you most happy with when it comes to the new webshop?
The user-friendliness and professional appearance. It really tells my story, it is who I am.
May we know what the future plans are?
Growing with Sofia's Brocante by applying content marketing. A whole new world is currently opening up for me as I move from a sales feed on Instagram to an advanced website. I still see a lot of growth opportunities there.
Would you recommend SYSO?
Of course. I've learned a lot in recent weeks, and I feel like I'm only at the beginning.
Thank you Sofia!
Everything was new to you and yet you took a leap of faith. Thank you for this, we have really been able to create a brand for you that suits you. Your webshop is a place that I can now click through endlessly. Your eye for the nicest things and detail is so nice and I am happy that we have been able to create an 'online home' for it. You have learned a lot, but you also take it with both hands, so I am sure that your shop will run like crazy! Good luck and have fun with your wonderful business.
Happlify, your happy shopping guide
Such a beautiful shop should of course not be missing from the best happy shopping guide in the Netherlands and Belgium: Happlify! And so Sofia's Brocante also got a nice spot.
Happlify is a fast-growing, high-quality shopping guide for women (30+ years) who are looking for a fresh and familiar place where they can get acquainted with fun, special and safe web shops. On the blog they will find inspiring articles about lifestyle, positivity, fun outings and recipes. Do you also want to become visible to a larger audience? More information can be found here: Happlify collaborate and advertise.
