By Rohan Mattu
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
When Sara Autrey moved to Baltimore nine years ago, she brought with her dreams of being a rock and roll musician, alcoholism and a strong disregard for authority.
“I kind of got fired from every restaurant in Baltimore,” Autrey said. “I always got fired because I always thought I was the boss.”
Today, 31-year-old Autrey is known in Charles Village as the audacious, shaggy haired and sober owner of Get Shredded, a carefully curated subterranean vintage shop. “It’s awesome because now I’m the boss, and I’m not crazy and I’m not an idiot,” Autrey said.
Now that she has transformed herself, she is looking to transform the way small businesses are seen and heard in Baltimore. Disruption from a Johns Hopkins University streetscaping initiative led to the closure of several neighborhood businesses this year, and threatens even more — including Get Shredded.
Construction began in May on St. Paul Street to create pedestrian-friendly walkways, bike paths, improved lighting and more parking spots. Fences, road closures, and concrete dust have clogged the surrounding streets and sidewalks since.
Hopkins estimates that the project will be complete in nine months. Since the construction started, Ledo’s Pizza, Niwana Restaurant, Pizza Studio and Red Star Charles Village have closed down.
Carma’s cafe, located just a few blocks from Get Shredded, has seen a steep decline in business since May.
“I’m not sure how long we’ll be able to sustain ourselves,” said Carma Halterman, owner of Carma’s cafe.
Autrey immediately noticed a decrease in visitors once construction began. Fences and detours led to a sudden decrease in foot traffic on what was once a busy street.
“My income was choked off by about 80 percent,” said Autrey.
Autrey met with Bob McLean, Hopkin’s vice president for facilities and real estate, and other university officials to explore venues for small businesses to eventually benefit from this project.
On a main street increasingly lined with corporate entities, Autrey asked for first Friday programming, a neighborhood street fair, intended to promote small businesses in Baltimore.
Autrey envisions neighborhood initiatives that utilize the revamped street to promote local businesses, musicians, and organizations.
“It’s so important to have small businesses in a city, because it keeps the money local,” Autrey said.
The meeting with Hopkins officials was inconclusive concerning the future of First Friday programming, but Get Shredded might be considered a scale model for the monthly event.
In the center of the space is a clothing rack tagged ‘made in Baltimore.’ Records and tapes from local bands lay in between vintage home goods, and a display of locally sourced jewelry and body products occupies a mid-century shelf.
Autrey gets the rest of her goods from various sources throughout the country, both physically and online. She looks for unique textures, shapes, and colors in clothes to sell. String lights adorn the walls and mix with sunlight that streams through the thin basement windows.
A framed portrait of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez sits on a cluttered windowsill behind the counter of the shop. Much like AOC, Autrey isn’t afraid to take up space and speak her mind when it comes to social issues, or anything really.
“What a queen,” Autrey said.
Autrey signed the lease for the space in May 2018, and opened it the next month. She had no prior experience running a business, except for some success selling vintage clothes at a market.
“I had absolutely no experience, no collection, no LLC, nothing,” Autrey said. “I came in and started painting it, and dreamt it up as I was painting it, then I bought s—.”
After just over a year in business, Baltimore Magazine named Get Shredded the best vintage shop in their 2019 Best of Baltimore roundup.
“Sara’s just like, a force,” said Caroline Surak, Autrey’s only employee. “She’s so influential, and people know she’s serious as f—.”
Autrey is a force not only socially but physically. Usually androgynous, but never boring, Autrey’s style is fit for a vintage queen.
“For somebody who’s snow-blind to clothes all the time, I feel like I have to keep upping my dosage to feel something,” Autrey said. “So, it gets crazier and crazier.”
Autrey grew up in a conservative family in Hampton Roads, Virginia. There, she felt alienated as someone who had a flair for art and fashion.
“I never felt at home until I lived elsewhere,” Autrey said. “I had style but nobody knew it.”
After high school, Autrey left for Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, but dropped out her sophomore year after developing a drug habit. She moved back home where she worked as a waitress until she followed a boy to West Virginia.
“I used drugs to cope with my anxiety, but it quickly turned into something much different,” Autrey said. “I started using drugs just to feel bad, otherwise I felt horrible.”
In West Virginia, Autrey met various touring musicians from Baltimore, and she knew that was where she wanted to be to pursue music. A 21-year-old Autrey moved to Baltimore in 2010 and joined Wing Dam, the band in which she performed as a vocalist for seven years and where met her husband Austin.
Autrey struggled with addiction until 2016, when she joined a 12-step program and quit drugs and alcohol cold turkey. At the time, she was working as a bartender.
“I’ve been sober for four years, and I feel like that’s part of the reason I’m so passionate, because I have all this extra energy from not being wasted,” Autrey said.
Autrey now directs her extra energy into community acts, such as pop-up shops with local artists in the store. All of her efforts are aimed at building one thing: community.
“I can’t change the world but if I can help make even a neighborhood in Baltimore cooler, then that could be something that makes people want to come to Baltimore,” Autrey said.