Meet Kristina Palmer of The Salt Air Collective

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristina Palmer.

Hi Palmer, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Hi, I’m a lover of all things vintage and the owner of The Salt Air Collective. I have always had a love for unique vintage finds to decorate my home with. Even back when I was a kid, the first piece of furniture I ever purchased on my own was a big clunky vintage side table that I got from a community garage sale that my best friends’ grandma was putting on. I’m sure it was probably ugly, but to me, at the time, it was the absolute coolest thing ever. My love for finding and refinishing pre-loved furniture played many roles in the different stages in my life, from a fun hobby as a kid to a necessity when I moved out on my own and realized how expensive it was to finish your own home, to becoming an adult with a true love for the style and quality of items from another time. In my early 30’s (now I’m aging myself haha) I was looking for something I could really call my own and thus The Salt Air Collective was born in 2015. The Salt Air Collective has had many versions of itself throughout the years even taking breaks from it from time to time. Even though I wasn’t making a dime of profit, I loved it and treated it like it was a real business (fake it till you make it right?). Fast forward to today, when I am living my dream of having my own business that’s so much more than a hobby.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The short answer no, haha… What’s that saying? “Nothing worth having comes easy” …or something like that. When you start something from scratch there’s no magic wand to just “poof” be successful. It’s a long road of ups and downs, and always looking for new ways to change and grow and continue to move your business forward. The amount of growth I have seen over the last year has been amazing but that has come with a lot of hard work and sacrifice. This is something that is still ongoing. I am always looking for new ways to expand what I am doing in order to help me achieve the goals I have for my business. I have had other vintage sellers compliment me or my perceived success and I always remind them a few things, but most importantly, that social media is fake… meaning, don’t ever compare yourself to someone else’s perceived success online. I love my life and I love my business, but I’m still at the point in my growth where I am very much making sacrifices, penny-pinching, sticking to strict budgets, and living as modest of a lifestyle as possible in order to have the ability to have this business. Growth and success comes with time and don’t ever get frustrated with how quickly or slowly you are growing.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
The Salt Air Collective is a vintage shop with on occasion new and/or handmade products. We specialize in home decor, especially glassware/barware and furniture. We have also recently begun carrying vintage and pre-loved clothing. Our shop is located inside a female-owned collective in Long Beach, California called Goods On Orange. Goods On Orange is filled with an amazing group of (mostly) women-owned businesses with a variety of vintage, handmade, and ethically sourced goods, as well as plants. I am so proud to be a part of this amazing and inclusive group of humans! Additionally, The Salt Air Collective occasionally pops up monthly at the Long Beach Antique Market, which is an amazing opportunity for me to connect with my awesome customers in person (though we are taking a break from this for the summer). To supplement my business, I also do side projects of home styling, painting geometric/abstract murals, and recently we have started offering our display fixtures made to order.

We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
Hmm, that’s a hard one… I think it surprises people that I make all my own store and pop-up fixtures/shelves. I get asked all the time about where I buy them from and even sometimes the more condescending question of “did a boy make these for you?” I always answer these questions nicely but with a little bit of humor: “a girl made these for me” while pointing both my thumbs at myself is my favorite response.

Contact Info:

• Website: saltairstyled.com
• Instagram: @thesaltaircollective / @saltairstyled
• Other: TikTok @thesaltaircollective

Image Credits:
Portrait by Alex Morehouse