When Style is Critical: Local website provides curated version of Kijiji

Kate Ross’s downtown Halifax apartment is a treasure trove of vintage Eames chairs, old cameras, card catalogue drawers, and even a payphone. Every piece has a story.

“I love finding something that makes my heart start to race when I see it,” says Ross. “That feeling when click on something on Kijiji in public, and instantly look around to make sure no one else caught a glimpse because it just seems too good to be true.”

The freelance designer put together a website called Style is Critical (styleiscritical.com) that curates the coolest secondhand treasures in Nova Scotia. It went live late at night, just two weeks ago. Ross woke up the next morning to see that the site had racked up hundreds of unique visitors — and reached thousands within the first few days.

Ross buys a lot of secondhand items herself — “some might say too much,” she jokes — and says that’s a necessity of her aesthetic.

“I like authentic mid-century modern stuff and industrial pieces, and you can’t really go to the mall to buy a 60-year-old chair,” says Ross. “Even if you could, I’d want the one with the story and the patina.”

Among her friends, she’s the go-to person when someone needs a really fun, unusual, or hard-to-find item — always ready to go out on an adventure with her Jeep.

“The thrill of the hunt is half the fun,” says Ross. “Plus, my apartment is completely full, so this site is sort of my version of the old hunter that trades in their rifle for a camera.”

She says buying secondhand items on sites like Kijiji gives the experience “a human element.”

“With Kijiji, your vintage Eames chairs aren’t just incredibly good-looking — they also probably have a fun story about the person you met when you picked them up, and maybe the road trip to get there,” says Ross.

Her curation process for Style is Critical is simple — “If it’s cool, it’s in” — and the items appear in the website’s modern grid, showing visitors a brief description of the item, the cost, and where it’s located. Click on an item for more detail, and you can read the full description and then link over to the original posting to contact the seller.

Describing her site as “a field guide,” Ross explains that it’s easier to browse Style is Critical than it is to hunt for items on Kijiji.

“The photos are so tiny — you’re constantly clicking on stuff that isn’t what you’re looking for,” says Ross. “If you care about what things look like, and you’re into cool/modern/vintage/eclectic/industrial stuff, we’ll show you only those pieces.”

Dalhousie University masters’ student Julia McMillan was delighted when she came across Ross’s site on social media.

“I thought ‘This is a brilliant idea,’ because it can be daunting to go through Kijiji and sort through the junk to find the things you need — which is why I don’t often use Kijiji,” says McMillan, who is moving into a new apartment in the next couple of weeks. “It’s so much easier to go straight to Kate’s page and see only the best stuff.”

Ross says some people have expressed surprise at “how much cool stuff is actually on Kijiji,” and her site has motivated them to make purchases.

“Even if they don’t know me, they can kind of look around at the other ads I’ve picked out and see that I like good stuff,” says Ross. “It somehow reinforces that the item they’ve picked is actually cool.”

Currently, Style is Critical only includes items from Nova Scotia, but Ross plans to expand by adding items for sale across New Brunswick and PEI — as well as locally-made Etsy items.

“It’s fun to think that I’m potentially helping people find cool stuff that they love and have a real connection to,” says Ross. “It also makes the time I spend on Kijiji seem a little more legit, and slightly less like procrastination.”