Today we’d like to introduce you to Pixie Windsor.
Pixie, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
opened my vintage shop, miss Pixie’s furnishings & whatnot in august of 1997 with only whatnots and furniture and art from my family storage. the space was 500 square feet and located in DC’s bohemian adams morgan area. business was exciting and i quickly started going to two auctions for merchandise to sell and hitting up a few artists to sell in the shop. i made sure prices were very affordable and all items were in great condition. only open for business thursday thru sunday (so i could go to auction, set up the shop, do bookwork monday thru wednesdays) as i was the only employee. business was brisk and over the years i opened a second space in dupont and hired 2 employees. it was too stressful to do so i went back to one shop but moved to a larger location in adams morgan on 18th street at 1100 square feet. i was given an opportunity to move to a 4000 square feet space in a newly developing area on 14th street NW and moved there march of 2008. business was great, i had 2 delivery employees and 6 sales people. we did over a million in sales and continued to do well for several years. the space became a great place for community events, birthday parties, plays!, holiday markets, a wedding reception, a wedding, and even a couple of memorial services. we had a crafting group, local charity events, local ‘moth’ type events and so much more. it was fantastic and growing more as the area of 14th street became the hot spot in DC. then came increasing rent, quadrupling over the years. we had to pay for many items that had been free with the rent originally, parking, water, taxes and we also saw the rising cost
of merchandise for the shop as second hand merchandise became increasingly popular and harder to procure. gas prices, truck rentals, insurance, wage increases added to all this and while miss pixie’s sales were close to 2 million a year, profits dropped. it was hard for me to consider changes as costs grew…and it was as fun and exciting as ever but i was considering moving to a smaller more manageable space. in 2020 covid hit and i found myself (and my moving guys!) working the shop while it was closed to the public with the use of instagram. this really allow us to stay open til the fall of 2020 when we could allow shoppers in again. costs of EVERYTHING skyrocketed and by 2023, i had to make the decision to move to a smaller more affordable space. in march of 2024, we closed the beloved space on 14th street and moved to 1100 square ft space on columbia road in adams morgan. staff was reduced to 5 employees, all part time and we depended heavily on instagram, selling to folks that had never been in the shop. foot traffic was diminished from what we experienced on 14th street but i was so glad to be back in my old neighborhood and only 5 doors down from my home! by the end of 2o24, i started making plans for retirement as i celebrated my 65th birthday and on halloween of 2025, we closed our doors for good. i still sell art puchased from auction and from my personal collection on instagram, working out of my garage at my new home on the eastern shore of maryland. life now is quiet and MUCH less stressful and i can go out and see the stars at night from my backyard, hear the geese flying, feed the birds and grow flowers in the garden. i sell thru my instagram of mspixiedc and continue to visit DC about twice a month to deliver sold art and visit with my old community and lovely group of friends. i continue to visit the auction houses where i shopped for 28 years and still purchase but in a much smaller capacity…it’s additive and i can’t give up at least looking to see what is available! it was a career of a lifetime and has been one of the greatest joys of my life.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
dealing with employees was difficult. i started out by myself and i have always been a ‘get it done’ kind of person…very rarely relying on others. learning how to guide and nurture others was not my strong suit but i learned ALOT from my staff and customers and i believe they learned from me as well. i learned that i HATE administrative work and quickly hired assistants that kept me up to date with DC regulations, taxes, payroll, licensing and so, so much more! this gave me time to enjoy all the hands on part of the business, traveling to auctions, driving 26 ft trucks, throwing exciting events, being part of the community and making lots of friends and learning something new everyday along the way.
mostly things expanded quickly and i worked non-stop to keep up and keep well staffed until covid…then rising
costs, the inevitable rise in rent when 14th street became gentrified. i did not have the luxury of anything more than a few days off at a time that i definitely had before 2020, nor did i have the income to enjoy the fruits of my labor. hard decisions were made, none regretted. it was a bumpy ride but also a truly delightful time for the most part and i think retiring came at the perfect time.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
i studied art history and studio art in college and really never imagined having such a big operation but rolled with the punches while it grew. i met so many creative and interesting people, we had art shows for local artists but also for staff which were mostly all artists in their own right. i was so happy to support the arts and an alternative kind of business.
miss pixie’s specialized in vintage furnishings, art, lighting, home furnishings, and anything decorative. i loved the opportunity to bring what i found to be of quality and interest to all the folks of the DC metro area as it is an ever evolving area with lots of colleges, new homes and communities, and lots of new people coming to DC all the time. i have always trusted my style sense and was glad that others appreciated it! i also wanted to always keep items reasonable and affordable so that we had lots of new items constantly coming and going and great turnover…i love change and movement and miss pixie’s always had that going on. ‘he who hesitates is lost’ became a big motto at the shop as items sold on instagram in minutes of posting and items in the shop were snatched up quickly every week when new shipments came in.
i also felt it was INCREDIBLY important to be very honest and clear with customers and staff and give the absolute best customer service as possible while taking good care of staff and making it an exciting and interesting environment for everyone involved. integrity is something that is very important to me and something i learned so much about as the years went by! folks just want to enjoy their experience. i loved that i was told that miss pixie’s was ‘therapy’ for my customers and delighted when staff and customers alike brought friends and family to see me and the shop! i feel we set ourselves apart by always keeping up with great customer service and making shopping and spending $$ and decorating fun for everyone involved.
and a not so secret pleasure, i got to buy things i loved and enjoy them, if only for a couple of hours!! and also i did my fair share of ‘cherry picking’ wonderful art and furnishings for my own home!!
Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
i wish i was more familiar with spread sheets and all that boring stuff. i am a fly by the seat of my pants and trusting the universe kind of person and for the most part, it served me well. knowing more about the bottom line and calculating costs, etc. is something i got a grip on but thru trial and error. still there is a lot to be said for not being afraid to just go for it and always to remember that you can recalculate and refocus. i was never afraid of change or trying new things but that can come with great cost sometimes.
advice, learn exactly what the adminstrative headaches, concerns will be, talk to others that have done what you want to do and are doing it well…for the most part those people are happy to share. i have learned SO much from the business owners of DC so always be willing to listen to others, even if it may not be right for you. you can learn what to avoid and what to try and what the cost mentally and financially will be by keeping your eyes and ears open. this business consumed my life for 28 years and i don’t regret it.
ask questions if you don’t know, ask people who you trust and always, always be good to your employees, they are the backbone of it all and unless you want to do it all by yourself, you need to have people around that you trust…that means vendors, staff, and your neighbors and community and so much more!
Pricing:
- i was always flexible about pricing, i saw other dealers loosing out of really fun stuff because they weren’t sure they could meet the formulated profit…i’d say if it looks good and brings people in~there are somethings i’m happy to make 20 % on instead of 50%
Contact Info:
- Website: pixie@misspixies.com mostly informative now that i have retired
- Instagram: mspixiesdc
- Facebook: miss pixies
