Mary Borton, owner of Travel Through Time Vintage Bus shares where her love of 60s and 70s fashion comes from and how you can shop the traveling boutique.
Visit the Travel Through Time Vintage Bus website.
What types of products or services do you offer?
We specialize in 1960s Flower Power and 1970s Disco Era clothing, decor items such as vintage kitchen items, art, linens, and barware. Although these are our main areas of focus, we also love items from the 1950s and prior. Being teenagers in the 1980s, we have a soft spot for that era as well.
We not only sell, but we also buy vintage items! We prefer large quantities of clothing or decor instead of a piece-by-piece buy, and hope to find sellers in the area who will use this service. Our main goal is to keep vintage items out of landfills and circulated among other vintage lovers. We hope members of the community will keep us in mind when cleaning out closets, attics, and basements. We’ll be glad to chat with anyone who wants to know more!
How do you help your customers?
We are mobile, so we can accommodate a shopper’s schedule. We also love making appointments for a private shopping experience and can open our doors at any time requested. If we need to travel to you, we just need some time to set up once we arrive. Our merchandise from our shelves is packed away when we drive!
We carry all sizes in our shop and all-season clothing. You can still find that perfect summer dress for your Hawaiian vacation you’ll be taking this winter! Our clothing has all been pre-measured, and measurements are provided on each garment tag. Additionally, we have measuring tapes on each rack as well as a pop-up dressing room!
We also strive to keep our prices affordable so that shoppers are able to purchase multiple pieces. We don’t want to keep the same inventory for too long. It makes us happier to circulate the vintage!
How did the business get started?
Travel Through Time initially started in 2022 after leaving my career in education behind. I have been selling casually since 2001, and decided to make it my full-time job. For me, the items I sell remind me of my childhood. I grew up in the late 70s where the clothing and decor of the time were colorful and unique and made a statement. I wanted my business to focus on this time period because it sparks joy in people, and the nostalgia allows us to travel through time.
In 2023, I began selling on Whatnot, which is a live, auction-style platform. I sold Vintage Christmas items year-round (I still do!) and gradually started selling in other categories. A clothing collection from an estate sale changed my focus to mainly vintage clothing. I love learning about the history of fashion, fabrics, and iconic styles. When I do a show, I wear pieces that I eventually sell.
In early 2025, I decided it was time to take my small business to the next level. I wanted a place where people could shop, take their time, and find a variety of unique vintage items at an affordable price. I decided that a mobile shop was my goal so that I could experience different places and shoppers. I found a vehicle online and went to see it. It was perfect, and was already converted from a 12-passenger short bus to a boutique. It was equipped with shelving and built-in clothing racks! I acquired the bus in May, and have since been filling it with amazing, colorful vintage clothing pieces, accessories, and decor items.
I now feel ready to share my mobile vintage shop with people in the Akron area and beyond!
What is your business’s relationship with the city of Akron and Akronites?
Next year will mark 20 years of living in the Highland Square area! We love Akron and wanted to bring a unique shopping experience to the community. Our favorite event is Porchrokr, and we are so excited that it’s in our neighborhood again next year! We hope more Akronites can come aboard and experience the Travel Through Time Vintage Bus. We hope to be a place where people can find unique vintage and nostalgic gifts for family and friends.
We also love supporting other small businesses in Akron, and are hoping to participate in some collaborative events with other shops and vendors in the area. We want to add to Akron’s strong vintage community, and look forward to sharing our mobile shop locally.
How do you see your business growing into the future?
We see our business expanding to other areas of Ohio and surrounding states. We’re working on developing a website to reach customers from other areas so that we can maintain connections from other cities we have visited. Our inventory constantly changes, so we want to be sure to keep an updated site with current items.
We hope to be known as a year-round mobile vintage shop, and hope shoppers will contact us at any time throughout the year! Since we can open our doors at any time, we hope to do events from where the bus is currently parked in Highland Square to do theme sales, private shopping appointments, and Saturday sales. We really enjoy our family time, so these sales would be about 4 hours long so that we still have time to hang with the animals.
We hold a transient vendor’s license which allows for more pop-up events. We’d like to pop-up in areas that will generate excitement for our shop and make connections with vintage lovers around the city. We would like to be known as a fun and affordable place to buy true vintage pieces and want our customers to return for more treasures.
How can people support your business?
People can mainly support us by getting the word out! Word of mouth is a powerful tool for small business. We are active on social media and will announce upcoming events there. We want to generate excitement and hope others will love our vibe! Sharing our posts and liking our posts is a gigantic help. We are brand new to mobile business, and appreciate this kind of support!
We want shoppers to have fun and love our items! The best way to do this is by requesting a private shopping appointment where shoppers have the bus to themselves and can take their time on board. The bus comfortably fits about 5-6 people at a time during events, so a private shop would allow for more space and time with the items.
Visit the Travel Through Time Vintage Bus website, and follow on Facebook and Instagram. Reach out via email or call or text (330) 422-8335.
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