A VINTAGE clothing enthusiast has converted his small student enterprise into a global business which sells to Urban Outfitters and Lush.
John Hickling started selling his charity shop finds on eBay about 12 years ago and now runs a company which employs 14 people and operates a 23,000 square foot warehouse and distribution centre in Barnsley.
Sales at Glass Onion Vintage have increased ten-fold within the last six years, and look set to increase again as John and his team expand their customer base and court new suppliers as far afield as the USA.
John said: “Recycled clothing is becoming big business globally – vintage has evolved over the years and interest in good quality rescued or re-fashioned garments has become more mainstream.
"It wasn’t a business as such, we just loved doing it and it was a way of making a bit of beer money instead of getting a bar job or something like that."
