Klomp Clothes

Wellington

Second-hand, preloved or thrift? ‘I just call it thrifting,’ Tehilah says. ‘I’ve always loved second-hand anything, really.’ Two years ago, when she realised she had too many clothes but still wanted to look for great pieces, the Wellington-based wedding photographer and mother of three managed to merge her full-time gig with her hobby. She hasn’t looked back, especially since lockdown has seen the wedding industry suffer major losses.

‘I’m still a photographer. I hope the situation in the industry will change, but now that I’ve really got into Klomp in the past year, I just love it so much. I’d like it to be my main business.

‘There’s such a need for thrifting. On the one hand it’s a trend – there are thousands of profiles on Instagram. But it’s also so good for the environment. We need to keep recycling instead of buying new all the time. There’s already so much everywhere.’

Tehilah stocks women’s wear, but has sourced the odd men’s items too.

She’s also in love with the trend of upcycling or reworking pieces to bring new life to them, with embroidery and iron-ons being her favourite embellishing techniques. ‘I’ve always jazzed up my own clothes, usually with really cool badges found at thrift stores. Sometimes I also roll up the sleeves and stitch them because they look cooler when they’re rolled up. I feel they sell well if you add something.’

Instagram is the platform of choice for Tehilah. In the beginning she’d post items just for her friends who followed her. She’s since moved on to sponsored posts and makes full use of the app for her sales and marketing. ‘It’s easier on Instagram. I haven’t done Facebook or anything else. I’ve considered a website, but I just feel it’s already working so well on Instagram.’