“Thank God for all the people who save things and thank God for all the people who don’t,” said Lana Mercer, owner and operator of the Mercer Boutique, a resale shop on East Evans.

Mercer relies on these people to run her business of selling second hand clothing. And during 12 years of business she has not only seen the clothing styles change but she has also begun to see the business change. The one thing that has remained the same is the interaction with people and their things.

A father of a friend of Mercer’s owned a barbershop in a small Midwestern town where she and her friends would hang out during the weekend. They would hear people in the town talking, hanging out and socializing.

After the friend’s first time in the store she said that the feeling was exactly like the barbershop. It was a place people could meet other people and feel comfortable. That is exactly the type of atmosphere Mercer wants in her shop. Every single person gets greeted like it is his or her home.

“It doesn’t matter if it is an elderly lady who buys one thing, or ten things, everyone is treated with respect and a quick and sincere greeting,” said Mercer. She has a long history of working with people and their clothes.

“Its not that I am opposed to the retail world, it just wasn’t for me,” she said. “I really just love the hunt of finding stuff.”

Before starting her own business she had worked in vintage stores for 20 years. Her business was a natural next step. It began 12 years ago with a friend in her home and was run like a consignment shop.

There would be racks of people’s clothes and she would have parties where 30 to 40 people would come in and shop. It was almost like a swap, but the people who were selling and the people who were buying were separate. Soon there was a space for rent on 6 Avenue and it was a natural progression, she said.

“I had just gotten married and I needed to make money at this. It could not just be a hobby,” said Mercer. She tapped into all her retail connections in order to fill the racks.

“I was buying everything and anything to fill the racks,” said Mercer.

It started out as a consignment store but within a year of opening it had switched to a retail style store.

“People like it better, because they get cash when they come in, instead of waiting for their money,” said Mercer.

A few years later she had added the second location on Evans. However, she closed the 6 Avenue location about four years ago because the neighborhood had started to change. In order to maintain the stores she relied on a few of her natural skills.

“I have always had good taste even if it wasn’t something that I would wear myself,” she said. “This business is about the difference of style and taste.”

Being in Vogue is not one of her requirements when buying clothes from people. She likes thing with class.

“I love vintage things,” she said. Actually she does not like trendy vintage from the sixties and seventies.

“These were things that I once wore. It makes me feel old,” said Mercer. Even though what is vintage has changed, the business of second hand store has only grown in recent years.

“Shopping this way is in vogue now,” said Mercer. “It used to be that this was a Bohemian or hippie way to shop but now everyone is doing it. Everyone wants to find that deal.”

It has become a lot more acceptable and fashionable to shop this way. It has really widened the customer base. Despite the fact that people are even more label- minded.

Mercer remembers an instance when a mother and daughter came in and the daughter was disgusted by the idea of second hand shopping. That is, until Mercer started pulling out brands that she (the daughter) knew, loved, and coveted. Before Mercer knew it, the young girl was trying on clothes. Her mother was willing to buy her clothes that day and she ended up with more that she would have had had she gone to a retail store.

Though she does see the business changing, vintage things are harder to get. People are starting to keep things or they are just falling apart, no matter how good the fabrics were then they are fifty or more years old said Mercer.

“That stuff represents a lifestyle. People would buy bags they would only wear with certain shoes and coats to go with different outfits. People are not shopping like that anymore,” said Mercer.Even though the stores are filled with newer items and the inventory is changing Mercer thinks the business will be around for many more years.