| As told to Darren Dahl
From the April 2011 issue of Inc. magazine

Inc. 5000 Update: Historical Emporium

A company finds success selling 19th-century clothing.

 

Amy MacWilliamson

Alicia Allen of Historical Emporium

Fashion may be cyclical, but who knew that you could get rich selling clothing that dates back 150 years? Alicia Allen and her husband, Chris, co-founders of Historical Emporium, have done just that, by peddling garments from Victorian England and the American Old West. Sales hit $2.4 million in 2009, helping the company capture the No. 1,400 spot on the Inc. 5000.

In 2003, Chris and I were working in Silicon Valley. With two kids at home, I wanted more flexibility. My father-in-law ran a business selling clothing and accessories to Civil War reenactors. We decided to build an e-commerce site to sell those same things.

After a year, we decided to offer more clothing from the Victorian era. That's when things took off.

We tapped a niche market. It's a mix of individuals who want to dress up, as well as theaters, TV and movie studios, and museums. We sell to Disney World and the New York Metropolitan Opera. We do a ton of research and go to a lot of trade shows to find the best items.

We don't spend a lot of time overanalyzing things. We like to make things happen quickly and see what sticks.

The beautiful thing about being a bootstrapped business is that we aren't trying to please anyone other than ourselves. We have structured our company so that we can provide excellent service—and stillhave flexibility.

For more on the Inc. 500|5000, go to www.inc.com/inc5000.