How Courtney MacDougall ’19 Grew Her College Thrifting Hobby into a Successful Business  

Courtney MacDougall ’19 studied communication arts at Gordon and now runs her own thrifting business, That’s the Tea Boutique. Started in her college dorm room during her senior year, MacDougall’s business has grown to a successful online shop and at one point was part of a shared storefront in Gloucester, MA. We sat down with her to ask about the thrifting industry and life as an entrepreneur.  

How did That’s the Tea Boutique start? 

Honestly, I had a bunch of extra clothes. . . and I knew a lot of my fellow students really like to go thrifting. I saw other Instagram thrifters selling clothes online by doing merch drops and decided to try it myself by making an Instagram account. It was really easy for shoppers, especially since they didn’t have to leave campus to find new clothes. Once I lived off campus it was more complex to navigate shipping, but Instagram helped me connect with people outside of New England, even in Iowa and Idaho!  

Once the Covid-19 pandemic hit no one was thrifting in person, and that’s when my business took off. People still wanted secondhand clothes for cheap. I started doing online sales and drops and buying clothes from random Plato’s Closets in Florida or Michigan. After the pandemic wound down, I wanted to connect with more people in person, so I started doing pop up events locally. For a few weeks in fall 2024 I shared a retail space through Project Pop Up and Actioning with two other small businesses, and we all took turns running the store. 

Why are you so passionate about thrifting? 

In 2020 I dealt with chronic illnesses, gained weight and couldn't shop at the stores I loved. . . because they didn’t have clothes in my size anymore. I want to use my business to create a space where women of all sizes can find things they love, and the plus-size clothes aren’t separate from everything else in the store. Other stores usually have separate sections for plus sizes, and even then, they usually only have styles in business casual, not always cute or stylish. I wanted to blend cute and stylish together. . . and my whole store is curated that way. My goal went from trying to make a few extra bucks to providing an intentional space where ALL girls can have a positive thrift shopping experience.  

What’s an average day like as a thrifting entrepreneur? 

Half the fun for me is the hunt! I love going to places like Savers, Goodwill or thrift stores near me to find items I know my audience will love. I also sell my friends' clothes for consignment. When it comes to managing my store, I enter each item and its price into a point-of-sale system through Square so customers can buy them at the store and keep things organized.  

When I was running the storefront, it was pretty time-consuming taking photos of each item, tagging them and transporting them from one thrift store (or my friends' apartments) to my apartment to my own storefront. I tried to bring in 20-40 new items each week so customers always had something new to look through. I also had to plan and keep running my online Instagram store as well, managing new item drops and sales while making sure every picture stayed within my brand’s aesthetic. 

What are some trends in the thrifting industry you’re seeing right now? 

Clothing thrift stores have been overflowing. People don't realize most of what they see will end up in a landfill if it isn’t bought. Resellers are trying to keep clothes from ending up there, but they’re oversaturated with donations that are not always the best quality. I want my shoppers to get the best secondhand clothes possible without having to leave their dorm room. Since most of my customers are college students who do not always have access to a car to go thrifting, I provide free drop off to the Gordon mailroom.  

What is one valuable lesson you’ve learned as a Christian business owner?  

Being an entrepreneur isn’t easy—nothing is guaranteed. But thanks to Gordon and my faith, I’ve always had a supportive community as a huge part of my life. I’ve learned I need to give my business to God and not worry. I put in my own work and trust God to provide the rest. He gave me this passion. I’m putting the work in to follow through and follow him.