Meet Vanessa and Janette Flores

Today we’d like to introduce you to Vanessa and Janette Flores.

Hi Vanessa and Janette, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
We’re twin sisters that share the love of fashion & thrifting. Growing up in the valley, one of our fondest memories was going to the San Fernando swapmeet where our mama hustled selling her yummy flan while shopping secondhand for our family to get by. When we were in high school we took the opportunity to take extracurricular activities that included photography & fashion-sewing club mixed with our after-school thrifting with friends, that all sparked our passion. Since then, we worked retail jobs, ran all over the city going to “buy sell trade” concept shops, & even worked corporate. Soon enough, we started seeing extra money roll in from simply having fun thrifting all over & reselling but for a low profit. Once we left FIDM & Art Insitute, we hustled our way doing flea market pop-ups since we grew tirelessly working minimum wage jobs while realizing we could get full profit instead of partial.

During our growth, while working every weekend networking with our clientele, we took a turn in getting our first showroom. A small 600 sq ft in the middle of echo park Blvd surrounded by a residential area. That was the start of a new chapter that led to event planning & working with stylists. Eventually parting with that location once the lease ended we’d kept doing markets where we met an architect that was looking for roommates for a new renovation project that helped us get to where we are today. We’re currently operating a showroom in the Arts District in a dreamy loft where we take shop appointments. We offer a unique shopping experience, rental services to fashion stylists, showcase small local vendors / artists in events & photoshoot sessions.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Over the years our passion turned into a career has become a Tik Tok trend to some. Flea market scene has changed in the past few years, even though there’s been a growth in the industry, certain people get into it because it’s trendy but don’t realize how difficult traveling with a pop-up shop really is. I always say packing for a market is very much like playing Tetris. Along with all the labor that goes into it, sometimes fleas are also inconsistent with walking traffic so it’s always risky & comes in waves. The inconsistency often makes people steer away from reselling because they depend on the money if they’re freelance. It’s not like a paycheck to payment like most expect.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Vanessa studied graphic design & photography while Janette went to fashion school of design & merchandising (FIDM). Since we are fraternal twins, I believe the way we work is very Yin-yang. We each have our strengths & weaknesses while each balancing the work we put in. We’re proud of pushing ourselves to reimagine what our career can consist of, including a fashion show we put on with over 100+ guests that took place in our showroom just recently. We executed something we never dreamed of because of all the amazing creatives we’ve met during our careers. What sets us apart from others is that working with clothing is basically in our roots. Our family in Guanajuato, Mexico has been working markets (tianguis) while also producing their own clothing for over a decade.

Any big plans?
Our future plans definitely include giving back to the less fortunate when in comes to clothing. To some being fashionable is essential while others have a hard time being able to afford clothing in general. With our accessibility to so much clothing, we want to make a difference & take part in more donation drives or charitable events that can help transform our community. Eventually, we want to open our very own Co-op where we have a safe space of our fellow creatives whose vision we believe in. A space unlike anything in LA that we hope to expand into in the near future.

Contact Info:

• Website: VanjaneLA.co
• Instagram: Vanjane.LA