S9 Ep33 CALL ME THE BREEZE: Tara Rowe - on building a vintage wedding dress business from a haunted 1870s mansion in rural South Australia.
Pre-Loved Podcast with Emily Stochl
Release Date: 10/27/2025
Pre-Loved Podcast with Emily Stochl
Today, we’re chatting with Cathy Moscardini, Depop’s Head of Sustainability. Listeners of this show, you of course know Depope – it’s one of the most culturally influential resale platforms in the world. Founded in 2011 with a mission to make fashion circular, the community-powered marketplace has grown to 56 million registered users, with over 136 million items given a second life through its platform. Part vintage marketplace, part social community, as well as being a launchpad for many young entrepreneurs, Depop has helped reshape what it means to shop, sell, and style...
info_outlinePre-Loved Podcast with Emily Stochl
Today, we're sitting down with two of the many people behind one of New York City's most beloved thrift institutions — Housing Works. Housing Works is a mission-based organization born from the AIDS crisis, fighting for inclusive care, social justice, and an end to homelessness and the AIDS epidemic. Their thrift shops — nine locations across New York City, plus a bookstore café and online ecommerce shop — aren't just places to find incredible secondhand treasures. They're also the engine that funds life-saving services for New Yorkers, rooted in the belief that housing is healthcare....
info_outlinePre-Loved Podcast with Emily Stochl
Today, we’re chatting with Dana Andrews — the creator and maker behind Sunworn Vintage, an upcycled clothing and accessory brand, built on the art of reuse and reimagination. Dana grew up on the Central Coast of California in Santa Maria where she fell in love with fashion early, raiding her older sisters' closets and getting voted best dressed in high school. She learned to sew in a clothing and fashion elective she took all four years of high school, and she loved it so much she'd stay in the classroom through lunch just to keep working. Always creative with a couple of side hustles,...
info_outlinePre-Loved Podcast with Emily Stochl
Today, we’re chatting with Margy McCarthy, a 29-year-old who did something most of us only dream about — she walked away from a corporate career to take over her grandmother's 57-year-old resale business, Elite Repeat. Grandma, Betty started Elite Repeat in 1969 in the Chicago suburbs as a consignment business. For over 50 years, she ran her shop with no website, no social media – just word of mouth, a gift for connection, and an eye for craftsmanship and quality in vintage pieces. All these years later, the regulars who came in with their moms are now coming in with their daughters. Our...
info_outlinePre-Loved Podcast with Emily Stochl
Today, we’re chatting with Monica and Scotti, a mother-daughter team behind CS80 Vintage who are rediscovering the 80s in a way neither of them expected. Monica, who once worked in sporting goods and later built a career in photography and organizing – helping people deal with large-scale hoards and inventories, stumbled into a massive vintage collection during the pandemic. When the original owner, Franz, passed after years of illness, the inventory — tucked into basements, an attic, gazebos, and storage pods — just sat. Nobody knew what to do with it. Her daughter, Scotti, now...
info_outlinePre-Loved Podcast with Emily Stochl
On today's show, we're chatting with Sue Poole, the founder of At Source Vintage. Sue's love for fashion started young – she remembers many bold fashion moments from her teens – wearing a turquoise pencil skirt with rainbow leggings, buying her first designer piece, shopping the charity shops in London. In 2020, Sue made a decision that changed everything: she stopped buying new clothes completely. What started as participating in Oxfam's Secondhand September challenge – where she committed to only wearing the secondhand pieces already in her wardrobe – turned into a permanent...
info_outlinePre-Loved Podcast with Emily Stochl
On today's show, we're chatting with Hannah Englehart, a vintage dealer in Minneapolis at Olio Vintage, and the creator and designer of a new upcycled clothing line, Soft Jaws, which she just launched. Hannah's journey into vintage started with thrifting with her grandma in Ohio, and hunting for treasures in Amish country antique stores. After working at Plato's Closet as a teen, and selling vintage on Depop part-time for three years while grinding through corporate jobs, Hannah took a leap– she saved up six months of living expenses and moved to Minneapolis to sell vintage full-time. Within...
info_outlinePre-Loved Podcast with Emily Stochl
On today's show, we're chatting with Tacee Webb, the original founder of Red Light Vintage in Seattle – a store she first opened in her early 20s in 1996 and is now buying back from its current owners 30 years later! Full circle story! Red Light has been a Seattle institution since the grunge era, known for its eclectic mix of vintage finds from the 1930s through the 1990s, its vibrant community spirit, and oh yes – its legendary naked shopping sprees. In this episode, Tacee takes us on a journey that starts on a tiny island near the Canadian border, where she grew up surrounded by her...
info_outlinePre-Loved Podcast with Emily Stochl
On today's show, we're chatting with Karyn Dethrow, owner of Dethrose Vintage in Chicago. Dethrose Vintage specializes in ultra-rare pieces, and Karyn takes pride in restoring every find – from the 1910s through the 1990s – to as close to its original state as possible, so it's ready to be worn and loved again as soon as it arrives at your door. In this episode, Karyn shares her journey into vintage, which started with her vintage dealer sister introducing her to the Bins in Southern Illinois, where she found some of her first 1940s pieces. She shares why vintage from the 1930s became her...
info_outlinePre-Loved Podcast with Emily Stochl
On today's show, we're chatting with Renée Morin, Chief Sustainability Officer at eBay. eBay has been in the resale game since 1995 – long before 'recommerce' was even a term. Today, as Chief Sustainability Officer, Renée leads eBay's environmental programs and sustainability strategy. In this episode, Renée shares her journey from being the kid who petitioned her school to stop using styrofoam plates to leading sustainability efforts at one of the world's largest recommerce platforms. She shares how her time in the Peace Corps brought environmental concerns into sharp focus, and how she...
info_outlineOn today's show, we're chatting with Tara, of Call Me the Breeze – where she’s best known for curating and restoring vintage wedding dresses. Tara lives in rural South Australia on an off-the-grid farm with no neighbors for miles.
Last year, Tara made a huge pivot – closing her decade-old multi-brand brick-and-mortar shop to lean into her love for vintage and antique fashion. It all started when she acquired a massive collection, which included suitcases of antique bridal and lingerie, the works. Now Tara operates an online vintage studio business out of a haunted (!!) heritage mansion from the 1870s, shooting her finds in the wedding chapel.
In this episode, Tara shares about the viral TikTok video that got 13 million views and put her vintage bridal business on the map, how she sources vintage in rural areas (where collections sit untapped for decades!), and how she manifested her current career back in high school with a business project.
It’s a really fun one – let’s dive right in!
DISCUSSED IN THE EPISODE:
- [7:19] Tara sourced some of her earliest pieces for styling jobs from eBay.
- [9:00] She manifested her current resale career back in high school with a business class project.
- [10:04] Moving to a small, rural town in South Australia.
- [11:30] She opened a multi-brand brick-and-mortar shop, which she ran for 10 years.
- [15:57] After a massive collection acquisition, Tara rented a room in a heritage mansion from the 1870s, and dove right into starting the vintage business.
- [19:45] How living remotely gives her access to untapped collections from rural areas where people have space to store things for decades.
- [24:00] How vintage bridal became a focus for Call Me the Breeze.
- [24:56] The viral video (13 million views!) showing her friend's wedding dress restoration process.
- [29:34] Her social media strategy
- [32:58] How to clean and restore vintage wedding dresses
- [35:25] Popular styles in vintage bridal in 2025.
- [41:34] Her most memorable finds, including two Issey Miyake apron dresses for $12 each.
EPISODE MENTIONS:
- Call Me the Breeze
- @callmethebreeze on IG
- @callmethebreeze on TikTok
- Viral wedding dress restoration
- Lucy Williams
- Issey Miyake found at a thrift store
- 80s dress that inspired Tom Ford for Gucci?
- Romance Was Born
- Collette Dinnigan
- Catherine Rayner
- Sarah O'Hare
- Love Well Sourced
LET’S CONNECT:
- 📸Instagram: @emilymstochl
- 🐦Threads: @emilymstochl
- 🎥TikTok: @emilymstochl
- 📧 Substack: https://prelovedpod.substack.com/
- 🎧Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/prelovedpod
SPECIAL THANKS:
A special thanks goes out to my Patron Insiders – your support makes Pre-Loved Podcast possible!
- Patty Weber
- Kathy Brand
- Lisa of Queenie & Pearl
- KT
- Lydia Welp
- Michael A.
- Megan Morris
- Jennifer
- Alana Rivero
- Jerrica Yasumura