May 1, 2017

Meet Kerry Vitiello of Dustmuffin in Silver Lake

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kerry Vitiello.

Kerry, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Team Dustmuffin consists of: Me- Kerry Vitiello, my husband James Clark and Diana Jacobs

I met the super talented Diana Jacobs many years ago. I was just a “kid” from Massachusetts looking for a cool PT job when I spotted a magical ad for “Artist Assistant Wanted”. I knew that job was for me. I was surrounded by art and animals all day long. The rest is history. We discovered we enjoyed collaborating. We worked on projects together – worked on a book – rescued animals – organized artists’ boutiques – did some road trips – sorted through owl pellets – and started a jewelry company called DUSTMUFFIN!

We went to trade shows + Farmers Markets selling the DUSTMUFFIN line. Not only did we have success selling the jewelry but everybody wanted our displays (my favorite part!) which consisted of vintage pieces and bakery style fixtures. We loved working on the packaging – Diana churning out handmade stuffed satin muffins to place the delicate pieces of jewelry upon.

The early Dustmuffin customers expressed a ton of interest in our jewelry but also displays, style and taste. We became encouraged to open a brick and mortar store – just as well as we began to develop a severe allergic reaction to Trade Shows. My husband James Clark loved the idea of opening a shop and joined the team! Here we are five years later – looking forward to the next 5!

Has it been a smooth road?
It has not been totally smooth. Even though we had a bit of experience organizing events, making things + finding treasures at Antiques Fairs when you throw yourself into store ownership you discover how much work is involved. You realize that at first you will be working 7 days per week. Not that you don’t enjoy it 89% of the time!

I wrote a business plan and the ease of making a bunch of money on paper does not actually happen that easily! Our struggles at first included over ordering (we had to have EVERY COLOR and EVERY SCENT of a candle line and at like 12 pc. per candle it ended up being 1000 candles and we hardly had any storage). Loss of inventory was a problem. The way our first location was set up, it was super conducive to theft – stolen watches, earrings, necklaces …my purse. I also took my fair share of counterfeit money – we were too trusting just leaving everything out for people to handle unsupervised.

Decor-wise, there was a lack of focus at first. The shop was MUCH more random. We have learned so much and have really improved our impulse shopping tendencies and no more buying vintage items that are too much work for too little return to restore. We realize better how to manage our time.

Oh, and Social Media. When we first started, we didn’t do it – didn’t have time. Finally, a customer of ours had an intervention with us and refused to leave until we signed onto Instagram!

Oh, and we had to move the shop when our first location was bought. That was stressful. In hindsight, so glad it happened!

We’d love to hear more about your business.
We are proud of our unique beautiful shop. We support local artists and provide a special shopping experience for our customers. Our love of art and handmade combines wonderfully with our love of vintage and antique hunting. Dustmuffin is sprinkled with magic.

Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Los Angeles provides so many opportunities for all kinds of businesses. Starting out – you just need to find the right pocket or neighborhood for your particular brand. Look at the surrounding businesses. Think about your demographics. Silver Lake is a PERFECT match for Dustmuffin. If there was a way the city could control rents in a few pockets of Silver Lake to keep small businesses like ours around that would be really COOL!

Contact Info: