Living in a college town full of ambitious students has its perks when looking for new small businesses. While every business created by an Aggie deserves your support, it can be hard to find businesses that cater to specific tastes. If you're looking for low-price, high-quality vintage, the search is finally over.

Enter, Bygone Vintage. Junior Tristan Nigos first had the idea to sell thrifted clothes after he and his friends spent countless hours scouring for the perfect vintage pieces. They wanted to give students the opportunity to obtain cheap thrifted clothes without using tremendous time and energy – something students can’t afford. Once created, their business blew up throughout their high school, allowing them to deliver affordable pieces to new faces almost every night. Tristan, similar to most small business owners, suffered when COVID-19 hit and was forced to pause the business. However, once at A&M, he knew students would rave about the low-priced vintage pieces. Thankfully this prompted him to get “back to work collecting vintage clothing from all over Texas, and [I] was finally ready to launch my new business, Bygone Vintage, in Jan. 2022.” Because of his new location, Nigos had to leave behind the original name, Sugar Land’s Finest. The relocation caused Nigos to, once again, tackle the first challenge of entrepreneurship; thinking of a good name. He explained the process of “trying to find a good word that fit the idea of a ‘vintage business.’ Words that came to mind were ‘decade’, ‘era’, ‘throwback’, ‘retro” and others.’” Once he heard the term ‘bygone’, referring to an object dating from an early time, he knew he had found the perfect title.

Once the name was established, Nigos held Bygonevtg’s very first pop-up in his own apartment. Starting from scratch and with little to no resources, he knew he had to grab people’s attention somehow. Luckily, after the first pop-up, he was presented with the chance to work with Carport Coffee, a local cafe. Since then, pop-ups have been hosted around College Station at various locations: Carport Coffee, Tavo Coffee, POV Coffee, Destination Bryan, and The Local. Ever since, the vintage pop-up has become an event students look forward to every month, deeming the community his favorite part of owning his business. He elaborated, “They’ve been so kind and are always looking for something new to do,'' allowing him to continue to have an audience. Along with several other vendors, their most considerable success was the spring semester back-to-school Backyard Bash. Nigos teased his plans for the future, but shared he was “absolutely excited for the things my business will bring (and continue to bring) to students in College Station.”  

As a full-time computer science student, it can be difficult to find a balance between pursuing passions such as small businesses and school. Nigos tracks the amount of hours and tasks spent working on his business per week in order to stay organized. Because Bygone is Nigos’ passion, he is determined to find a way to keep his priorities balanced. With a team of four to help carry some of the load, he is able to lean on them for support. When Nigos is occupied with school, they’re trusted with holding down the fort, allowing Nigos to maintain a healthy school and business balance. Along with keeping the balance, Nigos is surrounded by a great support system including girlfriend Liane Nguyen, A-Line Magazine’s very own social media member. He explains how Liane has a “motherly spirit in that she always wants the best for me and my business, and she is not afraid to share her ideas also,”  which naturally puts her in a managerial position for the business. Liane supports but also grounds Nigos when his ideas get caught up in his imagination. He admitted that keeping the balance comes at the cost of pursuing new projects, knowing they would shake his focus. Nigos made us all blush when he shared “I always feel better when she’s around.” 

Over the course of the past year, Nigos has learned plenty about owning a business. One piece of advice he offered was to “treat your business as a passion or a creative outlet”. Nigos prioritizes innovating and providing something new to the community. Additionally, he loves to collaborate and explore new creative outlets such as photography. He expanded on how he utilizes social media for this, “to try out my photography skills, try out graphic design with the flyers I make, and challenge myself with marketing my business in the way I like.” Nigos is always looking for new ways to improve and is never afraid to challenge himself because “that’s what makes life worth living and a business worth owning.”

If you're interested in shopping from College Station’s fastest growing vintage business, they’ll be releasing their very own A&M merchandise on vintage sweaters, dropping after spring break. Mark your calendars for the end-of-the-semester Backyard Bash to catch them at their next big event!

Written by Maddie Townsend, Photography: Tyler Pfeil , Social Media: Liane Nguyen