Vintage items available for rent in Iowa City

Those looking to add a touch of vintage to their event or photography session don't necessarily need to visit an antique store.

Macy Bell, 22, of Iowa City recently launched Borrow My Vintage, which rents out items such as mason jars, wine barrels, and china.

'Growing up I loved everything old,” said Bell, who also owns Macy Marie Photography and works as a medical assistant at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. 'I loved going through my grandma's house looking for stuff.”

Bell has used vintage items in her photographs and said people often would ask to borrow them, so she decided to start renting them out last February.

Bell said a lot of her clients come from Des Moines, Ames, Iowa City, Coralville, and North Liberty.

Bell said among the items she has on hand are more than 200 pieces of dinnerware, empty frames, teacups, teapots, tins, crates, candlesticks, vases, and burlap table runners. Prices range from 50 cents for mason jars to a working vintage popcorn maker for $45.

Bell said 99 percent of her stock comes from thrifting. She said she probably buys a new box of vintage items a week, looping through stores such as Potentially Yours, ReStore, Goodwill, the Salvation Army, and Houseworks.

'I have three sheds in the backyard full of stuff, all of the closets in my house are full, and my boyfriend's parents shed is full as well,” she said. 'I just moved (into my house) six months ago and it's insane how full it is.”

Bell said she doesn't have plans right now to purchase a storefront.

'My dream would be to live on acreage with a barn and redo the barn and make that the vintage shop ... but I don't know if that's going to happen anytime soon,” Bell said. 'I'm playing it by ear and not going anywhere soon, so I'm just going to keep buying more sheds.”