Today we’d like to introduce you to Ken Weber.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I went to school for costume design, but my passion was fashion history. Upon graduating, I jumped into the film business working on commercials, films and television shows. My resume included projects ranging from commercials for Pepsi-Cola and MTV, TV shows including Walker Texas Ranger and Barney & Friends (at that time starring Demi Lovato & Selena Gomez) and feature films starring Dennis Hopper, Martin Sheen and Kathy Bates. During this time, I began collecting and renting vintage clothing through my rental warehouse.
“Vintage Martini” came about when Greg (an international transportation manager) & I decided to start selling part of the collection for “play money”. As addicts are, we couldn’t stop buying vintage. Eventually we became vintage clothing “dealers”. We set up at local flea markets and shows but eventually branched out to other “specialized” clothing shows around the country. At the same time, we started selling online with what was then a small auction company known as eBay and we were then part of the first wave of vintage clothing websites in the late 90’s.
VintageMartini.com was created in 1999. With the popularity of the website and the continued growth of our inventory, we knew the next step was opening a brick & mortar location. This came to fruition on December 7, 2007, with the opening of our store in downtown Carrollton, TX. It was difficult in the beginning because the recession hit, but thankfully the Dallas Morning News gave us a full-page article that dropped on December 26, 2008. We were swamped with customers wanting to buy wonderful vintage. At the same time, people began bringing in their modern, designer items to sell. We couldn’t afford to purchase all of the wonderful gems people were bringing in, so we incorporated the contemporary, luxury consignment portion of our business. The decision to integrate consignment into our business plan has allowed us to grow Vintage Martini to what it is today and later guided us to changing our name to Martini Consignment.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
The idea of fashion is different for everyone and our goal is to direct our customers in finding their own style. It may be vintage or contemporary but we help everyone figure out how to mix the two. When people ask about who we are, the easiest thing to say is “We sell the best in fashion regardless of the year”. We have Chanel from last year and Chanel from the 1950s. Many consumers tend to shy away from vintage thinking it’s out of date or looks too much like a costume. What they don’t realize is that most designers shop vintage for inspiration. Sometimes they use a print, a button or they just copy the entire thing. So, when you’re shopping at the mall, you may be buying a copy of a vintage 1950s or 1980s dress and don’t even realize it.
It’s amazing the amount of publicity and exposure we’ve gotten without even asking for it. Our biggest surprise was being featured in Vogue magazine. A friend called me up and said, “Hey, you’re in Vogue Magazine”. And I said, “Whatever”. It was such an amazing afternoon. We’ve also been featured in several television shows over the last ten years and people still come in because they saw me on “Big Rich Texas” or “Frock Stars” years ago. They remember.
Contact Info:
- Address: Martini. Consignment
2923 N. Henderson Ave, Suite A
Dallas, TX 75206 - Website: www.vintagemartini.com
- Phone: 469-334-0584
- Email: martiniconsignment@gmail.com
- Instagram: vintagemartini
- Facebook: vintagemartini
- Twitter: vintagemartini1
Image Credit:
Gregory Martini, Danny Campbell
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