Hello! We are the Library Vintage, part vintage store, part community space. We are a local small business in Fayetteville, Arkansas who has served as a safe space for the queer and trans community. We are a "library" for clothes, offering rental subscriptions so people can rent and buy clothing, creating less fashion waste. Our motto is "hot people share clothes." We also serve as a community space with a crafting area and free section.

As a physical space, The Library is a haven for creativity. Since opening our doors February 16th, 2024, The Library has been established as a pillar of the community. We have identified a huge unfilled need in Fayetteville - an inclusive place to gather and learn.

We have hosted over a hundred events and collaborated with community partners on dozens more. We've hosted queer sex-ed classes, documentary screenings, anti-oppressive teach-ins, community meetings, holiday parties, maker's markets, pride potlucks, screen printing workshops, creative reuse workshops, bookclubs, plant clubs, drag shows, mutual aid fundraisers, anti-Walmart craft nights, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) craft nights, slumber parties, lesbian fashion nights, top surgery fundraisers, fundraisers for community members facing deportation, and hosted other groups who put on poetry readings, Nakba day commemorations, tarot reading workshops, bazaars, glass mirror etching nights, art therapy workshops, sober recovery groups, knitting nights and more.

We also host and sell local artists' and designers' work. Our team at the Library Vintage designs many of the clothes and accessories we sell, often from upcycled materials, from Barbie doll shoe earrings to handmade crocheted items. We are a low-waste, sustainable, creative reuse sanctuary.

We also have a free section where we offer free Plan B, free COVID tests, HIV tests, overdose prevention supplies, shoes, clothes, beauty items, and more. In our community reuse space in, folks are always welcome to come in, craft, and grab a free drink from the fridge. We have a mutual cash jar that supports houseless folks in the area. Community members from children to elders are often found crafting in the back, making special creations from beads to painted boxes. It is our joy to do what we do, and we need your support in helping our space stay open.

We are both a retail store and a community center, providing social services from free Plan B in a state that has barred access to reproductive support to hosting fundraisers for gender affirming care, carving a safe spaces for trans youth who are under attack in our state. We create spaces of collective joy and resource redistribution during a climate of fascism.

We have experimented with many different business models to stay open--we opened an online store, ship wholesale orders to other shops around the country of our original stickers and merch, sell our items at pop-up vintage markets, expanded what we sell, and worked closely with community partners. We deeply appreciate the support of our members who have rental subscriptions, our main source of income.

Sadly, despite all of our efforts, we reach a deficit each month, even with growing sales, due to our ballooning credit card debt.

When we first opened the store, no bank would provide us a business loan. We fundraised a Kiva loan for $15k which has been the only loan we've been able to access. Our Kiva loan has completely been used to pay down our credit debt. Using credit cards were the only way to launch the store, allowing us to buy fixtures, furniture, inventory, marketing, and more.

Still with these models, we face an insurmountable and growing debt. Last year from November to December 2025, we ran a successful debt relief campaign thanks to your support. We were able to pay $4,920 of our $34,000 of credit card debt. That number has since grown to $45,439 due to the interest rates. We are maxxed out on several credit cards and don't qualify for 0% APR ones. We do our best to pay down our cards, paying $2k-3k each month.

We have applied for over 25 small business grants, and were delighted to receive the Weavers' Award for Northwest Arkansas visionaries, which we will use to continue to support our community hub and programming.

We're now at the point where we have to face the reality of our ballooning debt: either we humbly turn to our community to ask for support, or close the space. If each over our 10.4k instagram followers could offer $4 each, we could end our debt forever and start to move forward on expanding our space. Our community members describe the space as "a marvelous place and it truly is one of the most unique stores in Fayetteville," "comfortable, accepting," "healing," "brought joy, appreciation for fashion and my body, and a tiny bit more appreciation for my hometown." They share that "there is truly something for everyone and the supportive staff and community reflect that," and that they "love the community, and always feel welcome."

We are so grateful to everyone who continues to show up, donate, and who believes in our gay little dreams!! Thank you all!!