girl crush: lauren naimola
a lifelong vintage collector + curator
I don’t know Lauren Naimola personally, but I know her shop, Dear Golden. As I mentioned in my last post, Ann Arbor has very little retail, but there are a couple, very special shops (like, one-of-a kind special). And one of them is Dear Golden.1
It’s one of those shops where you walk in and immediately know it’s magic—full of possibility—and that you’ll be back again and again. It is, quite simply, my very favorite.
A mix of carefully curated vintage and select modern brands, Dear Golden is truly a treasure, and one that’s not limited to Ann Arbor. In fact, since its inception in 2008, Dear Golden has had an online presence — Lauren first started selling vintage on Etsy. Today, she has a physical location in downtown Ann Arbor, as well as an e-commerce site, and 65k+ followers on Instagram.
With impeccable taste and a love of history, Lauren has been collecting vintage since she was a kid, way before it was “cool” and all over the Internet. I’ve been a fan of hers from afar since moving to Ann Arbor 10 years ago. So when I started the girl crush subset of just a splash, I knew immediately that I wanted to have her on — so I could learn more about her myself!
This was such a fun interview for me because Dear Golden is a big part of my local community. But, I also know you’ll love learning more about Lauren just as much as I did.
Meet Lauren Naimola:
Where are you from & where do you live now?
I grew up in Adrian, Michigan and moved to Ann Arbor in 1993 when I attended the University of Michigan. I live in northwest Ann Arbor facing Bird Hills, a very lovely spot!2
Who (&/or what) lives with you?
I live with my husband and our three kitties, Miso, Mavi, and Marcel.
How do you spend your days? (ie. “What do you do?”)
I am pretty lucky to have very few demands on my time, it took a while to get here but I am certainly making the most of it. I wake up and the first thing I see is usually a kitty, the second thing is the sun coming up over Bird Hills, it’s a view I love every single day of the year. My husband is a very early riser and he makes the coffee & feeds the kitties and yes I know how lucky I am! I do not have a schedule per se, but I do like to work in the morning, emailing, editing photos, working on getting new items on the website. I walk for at least an hour every day and fit it in whenever it feels nice, sometimes midday, sometimes later; oftentimes I walk in the woods (Bird Hills) but sometimes I walk to [my] shop, [Dear Golden], or even do my walk in The Arb3. I go into the shop about 2-3 days a week, always on Mondays as we are closed and I shoot photos on that day.
As a Dear Golden loyalist myself, could you tell us a bit about how you got started way back when, how your business has evolved over the years, and what inspires you to keep going?
A “loyalist” I love that! This is nearly ancient history now since I started DG in 2008. Since I was a kid my mom was dragging me to yard sales and estate sales and when I was a teenager I went to a barn sale that had hundreds of 1930s-1950s dresses & they were all 10 cents a piece. I bought them all and those were basically what I wore in high school. As an adult I kept going to sales and buying up clothing, whether it fit me or not. I just loved “saving” the clothing; taking vintage clothes home, washing it, mending it, ironing it and then a lot of times just giving some to friends.
I started my shop on Etsy in 2008 just selling what I already owned and it took off straight away and soon I was shopping for more stuff to sell. I had no idea at the time that I’d still be doing this 17 (!) years later. I started the shop in my house as it was just online and a few years later moved it to a very cute appointment only shop in Ypsilanti and a few years after that I moved to where the shop is now in downtown Ann Arbor.
It is sometimes crazy to think I have been in that space downtown for 11 years. The shop has evolved into a nice mix of vintage and modern pieces, apothecary and home goods because that’s how I keep myself interested. There are not many places to shop in Ann Arbor and I try to make DG a place that I myself would like to shop!
Pretend you’re speaking to your mentee — what’s one piece of career (or life) advice you would have for them?
It may sound a bit trite but seriously, be yourself. Your life, your business and you do not have to act, look or sound like anyone else. Furthermore, it’s the only way to ensure longevity - trying to emulate other people, other businesses is exhausting and you’ll get tired of the work that takes and you’ll also get lost. Let whatever you do be an extension of you. Allow for evolution, allow for changes - my business doesn’t look like it did 5 years ago or 5 years before that.
Also, a business owner I worked for as an assistant once said to me, “if you never fail, you aren’t trying hard enough”; this has never left me and it’s very much part of my business now.
Could you share one secret to finding great vintage?
I think this answer would have been a lot easier to answer 10-15 years ago, it also would have been different than the answer is now; actually, I do not even know IF there is a secret now…I have collected so much vintage through the years I think I still have more in storage than I will be able to sell in my lifetime so I am not out there hunting it down anymore.
I know from Instagram that you also have amazing taste in interior design and have remodeled your home over the past few years. Could you talk a bit about your process and where you drew inspiration from?
I might say my first passion is interior design and my biggest “hobby” is my home. I can’t stop seeing things I want to change/improve. From 2001-2020 I lived in a 1920s home and spent the years improving it, redecorating, renovating, etc. In 2020 we moved to Ann Arbor, near my husband’s parents (they live next door!) in a 1970s built place I never would have seen myself in, given that my heart loves history and historic homes. But I also have a pretty strong fondness for aspects of late 70s, early 80s design, mostly thanks to the late Terence Conran. In my 1920s home there were limitations because of the history of the house but I felt no sentimentality about this new 1970s build so tearing it up and putting my stamp on it was tons of fun.
What is your favorite room in your home?
My bedroom! Big windows looking out to Bird Hills are what make it great.
Currently reading?
I am reading two books, “Detransition, Baby” by Torre Peters, a book I wasn’t sure I’d like but I found myself engrossed straight away. I am also reading “On Tennis: Five Essays” by David Foster Wallace.
Currently watching?
I am almost always watching a tennis tournament. I also am chipping away at the 2005 doc about Bob Dylan, ‘No Direction Home’, watching The Studio (super clever!) and all the birds at my bird feeders every day.
Three Substacks to recommend?
No Accounting For Taste, an amateur vintage fashion sleuth uncovering forgotten (or not so forgotten) designers, stores and labels that made the clothes we love.
Ken Sakata (Front Office Co), an incredibly detailed, educational and interesting researcher of garments. His Instagram is hands-down my favorite.
The Culturist, pursuing the true, good and beautiful — in history, art and culture.
One thing in your closet you come back to time and time again?
Years and years ago I got this 1970s thick white woven Indian cotton chore-like jacket at an estate sale where I also found the mother load of awesome 1970s natural fiber clothing from India and Greece. The jacket goes on every trip with me. Basically, I always grab some version of a chore jacket.4
One thing you’re lusting over?
[A] completely impractical made-to-order top from Cawley.
One thing you’re looking forward to?
Summer! I love summer. So much outside time - playing tennis, walking, biking, the lake, peaches & thunderstorms. I am looking forward to going to France in June. We recently became members of the Ann Arbor Symphony so I am really looking forward to all the music I will be going to see in the coming year. I just realized the question says, “one thing you’re looking forward to”...I am always looking forward to so much!
What’s your superpower?
Parallel parking & saying no!
Where can people find you? (plug yourself!)
Not me, but my shop, www.deargolden.com and on Instagram, of course.
Bird Hills is indeed, a very lovely spot. Wooded hills + trails.
This does not surprise me — Lauren always has the best vintage chore jackets at DG (both in the shop & online).
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The names of her kittens omg 🥹 I have an intense craving to go to this store immediately! It sounds so charming and right up my alley. And Lauren is COOL. Fantastic interview as always!!!
"Let whatever you do be an extension of you." Love! Also, parallel parking is such an excellent and useful superpower lol, I'm envious!