Editor’s note: Made in Tarrant is an occasional Q&A series on small businesses started in Tarrant County. Submit your business here.
Dancing Heart Iglesias, 31, is the CEO and co-founder of Flipstone Vintage & Thrift at 2700 White Settlement Road in Fort Worth. She and her husband founded the business originally as an online furniture refinishing store. In May of this year, Iglesias expanded Flipstone to a brick-and-mortar thrift and furniture business.
Contact information:
Website: https://flipstonevintageandthrift.com/
Email: flipstonefurnishings@gmail.com
Instagram: @flipstone_vat
The Fort Worth Report spoke with Dancing Heart Iglesias about Flipstone’s history, its business model and why it’s important for her to advocate for other Native American businesses in Tarrant County. This interview has been edited for clarity, grammar and length.
David Moreno: What inspired you to launch Flipstone Vintage & Thrift?
Dancing Heart Iglesias: When we started Flipstone, we would get stuff off the curb, restore it, and sell it on Facebook Marketplace for extra cash. We did this under the name Flipstone Furnishings for several years.
Then it became this joke about opening the thrift store, because I would just love to have a thrift store. Every time we would drive by a building that was for rent, I’d be like, “That’s my thrift store.” After a while, I started pitching the idea to my sister. I told her, “Let’s actually do this, because there is something missing in Fort Worth and there’s a big opportunity, because it doesn’t exist locally.” We came to this building and we signed the lease. It just went from there and became Flipstone Vintage & Thrift.
Moreno: What specifically drew you to this location?
Iglesias: White Settlement Road has its ties back to Native Americans. I’m one of those people where everything has to have a meaning, so for this area to tie back to our history, I actually really liked that.
Moreno: What sparked your interest in vintage and thrift shopping?
Iglesias: My husband and I have lived secondhand, that is part of our lifestyle. We went down the rabbit hole of learning furniture, learning what quality furniture was, and different designers. Also, with vintage, there’s this appreciation because these items have lived whole lives before us.
Moreno: One thing I find really fascinating about Flipstone is you have a unique price model here for clothing. When new clothes arrive, it’s all marked at $10 and then the item’s price drops. Why did you decide on that model?
Iglesias: For the clothing, we want to take the pressure off of shopping at thrift stores. You don’t really know what to expect when you go into some of them. You don’t know if they’re going to be crazy expensive or cheap. We wanted it to be easy, so we only restock once a week and everything comes out the same price. Then, an item will go down in price if it’s here long. On Mondays, we do $1 shopping, so we keep items moving out. Our focus is to push out as much as we can to fight fast fashion. If you’re pricing really high, you’re not slowing that down.
We do have some vintage stuff on the wall that’s priced higher, but I source that.
Moreno: What has been people’s reaction to seeing the pricing?
Iglesias: It’s been good, because thrifting is not only just a necessity anymore. It’s more about being conscious of how you’re spending your money.
Moreno: How have you been able to grow your customer base? Does social media play a part in your growth?
Iglesias: Oh yes! In the last two months, our social media has actually doubled with the store. That’s been fun. People think content creating doesn’t help, but it definitely helps create an identity for the store. It’s also nice to post, because we are a family. My mom, husband and sister work here.
Moreno: As a small-business owner, have there been any challenges or obstacles you have had to overcome?
Iglesias: A ton. When we started Flipstone, we couldn’t afford to have the business and our home. My husband and I actually moved into an RV for a few years to grow the business and invest in it. Living is expensive, so we took that cut. After two years, we did buy a property and then we built on it and all that.
When you’re an entrepreneur, you’re pouring every bit that you can into making sure that seed can grow. When you’re not coming from money, that means that you’re making a lot of sacrifices.
Moreno: What are some goals you have for the future? Where would you like to see Flipstone?
Iglesias: Our main goal for Flipstone is to build and support small businesses by aiding them in the thrift world. That includes upholstery, seamstress, tailoring, restoration, lacquer and similar businesses. We want to pull all those together and have them inside the store. But, right now it’s a lot of work to find those people. We’re working on it.
Moreno: Anything else you would like to mention?
Iglesias: I do like being able to say that we’re an Indigenous business, so other Native American people can see that they can be seen. That’s a sensitive subject, because growing up we did not see that. I think that’s starting to change. If you look up Indigenous businesses in Fort Worth, you might find a few. I’m determined to let my kids see that you can be successful.
David Moreno is the health reporter at the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at david.moreno@fortworthreport.org or via X.
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