Kelly Gunn: Vintage Vibes and a Bold Reinvention After 50

For Kelly Gunn, her second act inspires fans of vintage treasures and those who yearn to make a late-in-life change.

At 54, Kelly Gunn made a daring choice: she left behind a 25-year career as a sales and marketing executive in the wholesale gift and apparel industry to pursue her passion for vintage picking full time.

“I was traveling 80% of the time and missing key family moments,” Gunn explains. “I raised two daughters who now had families of their own, and my youngest just had my first grandchild. I knew if I didn’t make an extreme professional change, I’d miss my grandchildren growing up.” Though the decision wasn’t easy, Gunn was ready to rewrite her story.

Her foray into vintage began as a very part-time hobby. She started a Facebook and Instagram page called Part-Time Pickers, selling vintage treasures found at estate sales and thrift stores. “I had built a small following of about 5,000 vintage-loving folks,” she says. “I asked myself, ‘What if I took all my sales and marketing skills and focused them on Part-Time Pickers? Could I possibly turn that hobby into the income needed to support my family?’ I didn’t know the answer, but I was so unhappy and felt out of control of my life, so I had to take the risk.”

The path to reinvention was filled with challenges and learning curves. “I’ve always believed that businesses should walk and talk the way they want to be, not necessarily the way they are,” Gunn shares. “I put practices and policies in place to create the foundation to support the business I wanted to be in five years and let that be a road map for all I did.” That vision guided every decision she made in those early days.

Gunn’s transition from corporate life was gradual but decisive. She left her job in late 2018, spent 2019 learning and building the business, and by 2020, Part-Time Pickers was generating six figures annually. “Making the hard decision to leave the stability of my job was the best thing I ever did,” she reflects.

A key factor in her success was treating the business with real professionalism. “I no longer treated Part-Time Pickers as a hobby – it was a real job and needed to be treated that way. I got up every morning and ‘went to work.’ I learned from doing and was never afraid to make a mistake. I figured it out as I went, paying attention to my followers’ interests and feedback.”

The results speak for themselves: today, Kelly Gunn and Part-Time Pickers have nearly 700,000 followers across social platforms, including over 500,000 on Facebook and over 146,000 on Instagram. “At 60 years old, I’ve become an influencer, a role I barely understood a few years ago,” she laughs. “People like the page because it allows them to remember and reflect. It’s all about nostalgia, and it makes people feel good inside. It’s become a ‘happy place’ for folks, giving them comfort, and that brings me a lot of joy.”

Gunn’s nostalgic content resonates deeply. One of her most popular viral moments was a short video showing her scheming to reach a coveted set of 1970s Arnel Mushroom canisters in a crowded thrift store. “That 15-second reel received over 10 million views,” she recalls, amused.

The family dimension is central to Gunn’s journey. “My husband recently retired and joined me in the picking business, which has been more than I could have hoped for,” she says. “My daughters and grandchildren are involved behind the scenes – sewing handmade accessories, pointing out vintage finds, and learning the craft themselves. My family has been my motivation and support every step of the way.”

Looking to the future, Gunn’s ambitions are as vibrant as ever. “I feel like I’m just beginning, even in my 60s,” she says. “I love what I have created but want to do more to empower other seniors to embrace their second chapters. I would welcome the opportunity to inspire them with my story.”

Her biggest dream? “My pie-in-the-sky goal is to be the vintage expert whom television producers call when they need someone for their show. I’d love to bring Part-Time Pickers to TV in some form. It’s a big dream, but why not? I’ve learned I’m capable of doing way more than I ever thought possible.”

To anyone contemplating a similar reinvention, Kelly Gunn offers powerful advice: “Seniors should have the same confidence in themselves at this stage of life as they did 30 or 40 years ago. Many assume retirement means slowing down or stopping, but this could be the opportunity to chase a goal or dream that may have gone dormant. It’s all about mindset. Once you create mental space for what you want, the possibilities are endless.”

From corporate executive to social media influencer and vintage entrepreneur, Kelly Gunn’s story proves that reinvention after 50 isn’t just possible – it can be wildly successful, deeply meaningful, and a lot of fun.