We recently connected with Kye Hallows, Blake Lundell and have shared our conversation below.
Kye Hallows, Blake Lundell, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.
Music always spoke loudly to us as individuals in a way that was beyond just an average teenager. In high school each of us began working in independent music stores and felt suddenly connected to a world we didn’t know existed. Record shops were a place where weirdos and freaks and alternatives could connect and bond over music of all kinds- and the cultures associated with them. Being a part of the record store culture paved a path that connected us to people who were like us and people who we could learn from. It drastically shaped our worldview and our politics and gave us a a power in unity with other people who used their music to speak their minds and share their messages. Feeling like a part of a community for the very first time and developing serious connections and bonds with coworkers and customers alike felt addictive. It was like a family that was there to support and uplift and make mistakes with. Without reservations. This sense of belonging and community wasn’t something we were willing to give up or miss out on. We both were a part of this record store family for over 10 years and saw many of our dearest friends “grow up” and get more lucrative jobs with benefits and wages that could support themselves and their growing families. For us it wasn’t an option. We needed to be in the role where community can come together and connect over the universal language of music. We saw bridges built because of music and saw an opening in our community to continue to cultivate that family vibe we felt in our jobs. It quickly became clear that the only way to be able to continue in that life was to build our own business where we could set up a chance to make a viable living and offer our very own brand of record store community.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
Lavender Vinyl was established on Ogden’s Historic 25th street in July of 2016. We are a community focused record store with many different collaborative efforts within our own neighborhood. We’re proudly trans and queer owned and offer a safe space for all. Along with buying and selling used and new records, we also deal in vintage audio gear and a lot in the local music scene. We love to offer our local musicians a place to sell their own bands releases no matter what the format is. We have an in store queer publication called the LQ which we fund through the record store as well as grant funding. Our publication pays all of it’s queer contributors and highlights the amazing work they contribute to our community. Many of our contributors are first time publishees and we’re honored to give their work a home. Lavender Vinyl also hosts a yearly pride event with the LQ as well as a yearly record swap with other record stores within our area. We love to support mutual aid through fundraising for our queer siblings, and believe in using our visibility to highlight successful stories of queer people leading open and happy lives.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Communication skills are the backbone of being a successful community engaged small business. Getting to know other small business owners and being able to ask them questions opens up your network to each of those people’s skill sets and individual networks. Being able to communicate effectively means being able to ask questions, admit your own short comings and lack of knowledge and being open to learn from others experience and knowledge. It also means being able to present our own business and brand in a professional way while still being authentic to our identities and using our platform to vocalize our values. Being a loudly queer owned business in the state of Utah has come with its challenges and being able to communicate clearly and intentionally has kept us afloat. It also keeps our partnership in check and our friendship in tact while meetings the demands of running a small business together.
I encourage people to get to know others in their community- whether that means hanging out at the local record shop or coffee shop or brewery- spend time getting to know the people who are making things happen in your area. Chances are, getting to know them will open doors to more people, more skills, and more opportunities to connect and find common ground.
Who has been most helpful in helping you overcome challenges or build and develop the essential skills, qualities or knowledge you needed to be successful?
The most helpful people in our lives are the people who we are in community with. There’s been so many times when I’ve reached out to another small business owner for advice on anything from accounting to instagram engagement to marketing strategies. We even had a fellow business owner help us negotiate our very first lease arrangement to help push us out of our own imposter syndrome. Getting to know other small business owners, city council members, the licensing folks and other active members of your town gains you access to so much information and support. Lean on the other people who you see stepping up to lead change- we all have so much to learn from each other, and so much more in common then we are led to believe.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://lavendervinyl.com/
- Instagram: @lavendervinyl
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lavendervinyl
Image Credits
Eden Buxton.
Kye Hallows.
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
