The value of vintage: How Kendall Smith started Today | As Before
It all started with a side table.
Kendall Smith found the ornate Queen Anne-style piece in the garbage room of her Toronto condo in the spring of 2021. She threw it on Facebook Marketplace, and it sold immediately.
“I thought, ‘Hmm. There’s something here,'” she tells Daily Hive.
Fast-forward a year, Smith has become a successful purveyor of vintage furniture, second-hand items, and other up-cycled treasures. Her Instagram shop, “Today | As Before,” has amassed more than 3,100 followers to date.
A one-woman show, Smith runs Today | As Before out of her condo. The small space does limit what she can source—if it doesn’t fit in her Volkswagen Golf, it’s not going in the shop—but that doesn’t stop her from sourcing gorgeous marble pedestals, futuristic glass coffee tables, and unique vintage vessels.
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She peruses several sources to stock her store, including estate sales, thrift stores, and antique markets, as well as online marketplaces like Kijiji and Facebook.
It’s admittedly a lot of work to weed through the junk, especially in conjunction with her 9 to 5 job as a communications specialist. But what keeps her clicking through classifieds and traipsing through markets is the thrill of the hunt.
“It’s a lot of hauling. It’s a lot of lifting. Security guards are definitely wondering what I’m up to. Everyone in my building probably thinks I’m a hoarder,” Smith says with a laugh.
“But I love the hunt. To go look and actually find something spectacular? It’s so rewarding. And that’s the value of the reseller community—we do all the work so you don’t have to.”
The other value of the reseller community is personal. Although they’re often vying for the same pieces, Smith says the community has been nothing but welcoming and supportive.
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Knowing what will sell happens to come naturally to her; it’s ultimately the pieces she loves that her audience gravitates towards, too.
The trade-off, though, is that it can sometimes be hard to let go—a recently sold pencil reed waterfall coffee table is weighing on her mind.
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Although she’s a life-long lover of home decor and interior design, Smith could not have picked a better time to start Today | As Before.
As global supply chains left renovators and redecorators in the lurch, the reseller community stepped in to fill the gap. The more enduring boon, though, is people’s desire for well-made, unique pieces that Smith has only seen grow stronger over the last year.
“We spend so much more time at home now, and people want their homes to be a reflection of who they are. They don’t want something they’d find in 1,000 other houses,” Smith says.
“When you buy a vintage piece, you’re getting something that’s unique. You also know you’re getting good craftsmanship. You’re getting a piece that has lived a whole other life before it got to you. It’s not going to break or go out of style after one season.”
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One year and more than a hundred sales later, Today | As Before has gone from hobby to potential career. With the success she’s seen, Smith is on track to make it her full-time job.
She’s toying with the idea of a pop-up shop and would love to have her own studio. Her DMs are full of home styling requests.
“I love it,” Smith says. “Whatever happens, I’ll never not be doing this.”
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