Hidden Gems: Meet Alice Fracchiolla of Calico Antiques & Vintage

Today we’d like to introduce you to Alice Fracchiolla.

Hi Alice, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
In a way, I feel like Calico has been in the works my whole life. I started collecting little antiques and vintage items as a really young kid. Every summer, my family took a motorhome trip, the one thing I always wanted to do was stop at the local antique and/or junk shop. I was never that interested in particularly high-end or valuable items but rather in the little things that caught my eye and made me feel some sort of connection to a bygone era…or things that I didn’t want to see go in the trash, they still had a lot to give!

As I grew up, I became more and more interested in history and specifically women’s and cultural history and ended up studying it at UCLA. My collecting continued as I worked in a few small historic home museums. But when you’ve been collecting odds and ends for 10 or 15 years, you end up having too much stuff. As I started giving away my antique and vintage finds as gifts, I realized that pretty much everyone also enjoyed having items around their homes that had stories or histories behind them. Then, I took the plunge and started Calico.

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?
I’m lucky because my business is something that you can more or less take at your own pace. There aren’t so many barriers to entry like I didn’t need a crazy amount of startup capital.

But because it’s been such a long road, there have been some inevitable bumps. The biggest one was really just committing to go all in and start Calico. I felt that I wanted to start something like it long before I did. There’s always self-doubt and fear. But eventually, the desire to do something outweighs the fear.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Calico is an online store with a curated collection of vintage and antique home goods. Most of the collection is mid-century, 1930s-1960s, although it is certainly not limited to that. I have a special place in my heart for 1930/40s California pottery, so I try to always offer a selection of pieces from potteries like Bauer, Brock, Block, Catalina and/or Metlox. I just love their use of color.

There are two major things that I appreciate about vintage goods. The first is their stories. That’s why I spend so much time writing about when/where a specific item is from. I like to give as much information about a piece as I can. When you know an item’s story, it gives it a whole other presence in your home.

The second is the fact that they already exist. Buying previously loved items diverts waste from landfills, saves precious resources, and avoids the byproduct of all production, pollution. Reusing is a key element of more conscious consumption.

Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
I have also been working on a written interview series that explores the concept of heirloom objects. I’m very excited about that!

Contact Info:

• Website: calicocalifornia.com
• Instagram: calico_antiquesandvintage