Today we’d like to introduce you to Justina Gil and Cayman Carroll.
Justina and Cayman, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Whiskey River started as a side project by Cayman Carroll and Monica Skinner.
Cayman: After moving in together in the summer of 2017, Shotgun Willie was the soundtrack to our neverending slumber party. I remember the day Monica walked into my bedroom and said, “My dream is to have a vintage store called Whiskey River” and I said, “fuck it, let’s do it.” The rest was history. A few months later, we brought Justina on board, and her drive and big dreams molded our company into what it is today.
Cayman & Justina: When we started out, we mostly had impromptu photoshoots with our friends, doing each other’s makeup, and using sheets as backdrops. This past year, we’ve had the chance to collaborate with many talented and creative models, makeup artists, photographers, and other creatives. We also worked side-by-side on a massive project with local photographer Francesca Blue which was published in Toksick Magazine.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There was a bit of a rocky start for us since we all worked full-time and/or were students when we started the shop. What began as a side-hustle quickly grew into much more. We knew that we had to match the energy of the momentum that we were gaining, and sacrifices had to be made. In 2019 Cayman decided to withdraw from school at Texas State to pursue her passion for vintage and illustration/ tattooing. Recently, Justina cut her hours working as a full-time bartender in order to devote more time to growing the shop. There are definitely growing pains that come with building a business from the ground up. We don’t have investors, Cayman and I are both service industry workers and have no professional training in business and marketing. We are always learning and challenging ourselves.
A huge conflict in our business is maintaining a balance between upholding moral integrity as creatives and transitioning to a model where part of our income relies on business from the shop. Keeping prices low has always been important to us, and we will continue to do all that we can to make our clothing accessible at all price points. We also want to have an internet presence that fosters community, not competition. There is always a push-and-pull between trying to sell our products online but not wanting to put big dollars into advertising. We believe that the advertising industry promotes an unhealthy environment between small businesses and consumers.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
We are a small vintage shop specializing in affordable, unique vintage clothing ranging from the 1950’s-1990’s. Living in a town like Austin, we are surrounded by many similar businesses and feel that it is important for us to establish our own identity. Where others marked up items to be inaccessible to all, we worked to keep our prices affordable while maintaining a quality selection from the very beginning. Part of maintaining the vision for our brand comes down to sourcing all of our items ourselves. It takes time, patience, and practice to find and choose unique pieces for our shop.
We are most proud of the work that we have done as creatives to challenge the status quo of what it means to be in the vintage business and fashion industry as a whole. Something that has always set us apart is the variety of styles that we showcase with our photoshoots. Diversity in representation is central to our vision, and unlike many other brands who use the same two to three models, we strive to work with as many different minds and creative individuals that we can. Moving into 2020, we are hoping to take on more projects that challenge us as creatives.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
Last month, we hosted a joint anniversary party with a good friend and fellow small business owner– Abby of Black Willow Chain Co. at Whiskey River Vintage. The event started as a celebration, but as the news of wildfires quickly engulfing Australia reached us, we decided to take the opportunity of community gathering to raise money and awareness. Along with the help of the participating vendors and our friends, we curated a successful raffle and were able to make a sizable donation to WIRES in Australia. Seeing the venue packed end to end, and friends come together for a good cause made us realize the positive effect that we could have on not only our immediate community but the world around us.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.depop.com/shopwhiskeyriver
- Email: shopwhiskeyriver@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whiskeyrivervintage/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shopwhiskeyriver/
- Other: https://toksickmagazine.com/belt-of-the-heavens-the-zodiac-by-photographer-francesca-blue/
Image Credit:
Owner Photo
Photographer: @eliowinter
Additional photos
Photographer: Francesca Blue @missfrancescablue
Makeup Artists: Xochitl Gonzalez @xochitlsocheel and Mariam Ali @mariamaliart
Jewelry Designer: Muestwoseven Design @mues.two.seven
Models: 1 (Owners), 2 Gabriela Garza @saint_gabriela, 3 Lesley Carroll @lescarxx, 4 Felix Lenz @sir_felix, 5 Billie Green @girlwhocanfight, 6 Quentin Arispe @thatbitchquentinarispe, 7 Fabiana @fffabianita, 8 Amy Deanna @amy.deanna
Suggest a story: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
