THE LORE

How the hell did we get here?

IT STARTED WITH A HOLY SH*T MOMENT.

Holy Thrift was born in a Knoxville, Tennessee café in 2015, when founder Nada Alkadi was fresh out of college, selling her going-out tops on Facebook Marketplace, and questioning whether a traditional 9-to-5 was really for her.

While working at a digital marketing agency, she began turning her love for vintage into something bigger. She didn't want to just flip clothes on someone else's platform. She wanted to build a brand. The name? That came after an hour of brainstorming with friends and one frustrated outburst: "Holy shit, why is this so hard?"

And just like that, Holy Thrift was born.

FROM BEDROOM BUSINESS TO SOMETHING BIGGER.

What started as one girl thrifting, photographing, and listing clothes quickly developed a life of its own.

After relocating to Oklahoma City, Nada began connecting with local models, artists, and designers. Bedroom photoshoots turned into creative collaborations. Collaborations turned into pop-ups. And pop-ups turned into a community of girls who wanted something different from the traditional vintage shopping experience. But there was one problem: there's only so much inventory one person can source.

In 2019, Holy Thrift entered its next era. Rather than abandon vintage to scale through mass production, Nada invited other independent resellers to join the platform. More sellers meant more inventory, more perspectives, and more opportunities for everyone involved.

Holy Thrift was no longer a one-woman operation. It was becoming a collective.

THE WE CAN ERA.

What started as an I can era became a we can era.

Today, Holy Thrift brings together over 25 independent vintage sellers and designers, sourcing one-of-a-kind pieces and small-batch fashion from around the world.

Unlike open resale marketplaces, our sellers are carefully selected. We work together, share insights, analyze performance, and help each other grow. Because building a successful independent fashion business shouldn't mean doing everything alone. We believe collaboration is more powerful than competition, and that scaling a fashion business shouldn't require sacrificing individuality or resorting to mass production.

SO WHO THE F*CK ARE WE?

We're a curated fashion marketplace for the girls who know the difference between finding clothes and finding the piece. Rare vintage. Independent designers. Archival treasures. The kind of clothes you think about long after closing the tab. Our international collective sources the pieces worth hunting down, bringing them together in one place so you don't have to spend six hours digging through the internet.

Bangers only.

Our mission is simple: make shopping vintage and independent fashion as seamless as shopping from your favorite major retailer, without the mass production. Because they really don't make 'em like they used to.

THE GIRLS BEHIND IT.

Nada Alkadi — Founder & Media Buyer

Nada founded Holy Thrift in 2015 with a vision to build something bigger than a traditional vintage store. With a background in digital advertising, media buying, and consumer behavior, she has led the brand's evolution from a solo resale business into an international fashion collective, overseeing its creative vision and paid growth strategy.

Jessica Rowe — Partner, Digital Strategy & Operations

Jessica joined Holy Thrift as an independent vintage vendor in 2020 before moving into merchandising and business strategy. Today, she leads the company's digital growth and operations, overseeing e-commerce strategy, analytics, and the development of systems that support the marketplace and its sellers.

Holy Thrift. Independent by nature. Collective by design.