I want to tell the story of how Ramblin' Rose Co. started so here is the short version. After all, Rome wasn't built in a day ;)
I didn't come up with the idea to have a boutique in a trailer. I was inspired by other artists in Austin, Texas. When I saw this was becoming a thing, kinda like food trucks, I immediately knew that I was going to be a part of the retail trailer movement. I started imagining what I would have in my store. One of my best friends since moving to Austin, Mickey, started making jewelry and I knew I would sell her jewelry.(It is now called Station 19...she's one of the most talented jewelers I have ever seen.) I pictured what my customer would wear and I pictured vintage and vintage-inspired clothing. I pictured how I would merchandise the store. Most importantly, I pictured an Airstream trailer...THE SILVER BULLET. Before I even had a trailer, I reached out to a few real estate folks about finding a spot to park my trailer (that was being renovated...hehe). When I saw the trailer shops at The Picnic on Barton Springs, I fell in love. I started emailing the property manager about getting on the waitlist and we kept in touch over the next few months.
In November 2016, I went home to Louisiana for Thanksgiving and as I was driving in, I noticed an old Airstream trailer sitting in a yard near my parents' house. That Saturday, I told my parents' about my little dream and what I had in mind. Mom loved it and that was all I needed to get Dad on board. Dad told me who owned the house that the trailer was parked beside. That night, the magic began. I went to my friend's birthday party. They had a keyboard set up for me to play some tunes so I was already excited to see my friends and laugh. My friend happened to be marrying Julia, whose yard the trailer was sitting in. I said "Julia, what's going on with the Airstream trailer in your dad's yard? Is that for sale?" She said "Oh my gosh, my brother bought that and they are trying to get rid of it. He's here. Go talk to him about it." So I ran outside and made an offer. Everyone thought I was joking until the next day when I woke up and ran to get Dad so we could go see my DREAM STORE! He came with me and we took a look and I will say, the inside was not pretty. When I walked in, I kinda thought "EHHH...this would take a miracle", but I didn't express that to Dad. I already knew he was thinking in cuss words. Within a week or so...Dad hooked it up and brought it over to his shop and started taking everything out. They were sending me pictures all along the way and it was such an exciting time.
Mickey and I started looking for lines to carry and we met up one night at The Whip In to have some beers and brainstorm names. Mickey and I worked together in retail and I think we really started hanging out when we realized we loved the same music and loved all the same clothes. She showed me all the cool spots around Austin right when I moved here. So we started thinking about bands that we both love and of course...we were thinking about Grateful Dead. She kept saying "Ramblin' Rose" and I wrote that one down and realized nothing would ever be better than that. So that was it. I said...should we add "Co. on the end" and she was like yep and that was it... Ramblin' Rose Co. was born.
So while Dad was working his magic on the trailer, I did a little research on what types of permits we would need to be in business. We got those lined up then we went to market in Dallas and picked out some fun stuff from some brands we liked. I had already had some ideas of brands I wanted to carry but those would take a little time and persistance. I have to say that was one of the most exciting times of my life. We blared Grateful Dead tunes to Dallas and back, went in market, got overwhelmed, had to go eat pizza and drink a beer to clear our heads, then went back in and placed orders. Boxes of clothes starting coming in and the vision was coming to life. Dad was sending me pictures of the trailer and before we knew it, it was March and the trailer was a store. I went home for Easter and invited my friends to come see before it headed west to Austin. When I put the clothes in the trailer, I cried happy tears... it was real. Oh and did I mention that about the time my trailer was finishing up, a spot opened up at The Picnic on Barton Springs...MAGIC!
Then, the day came...and all Dad had to do was drive a 1972 Airstream trailer from Louisiana to Austin...hehe...we were all a little nervous. At one point, some metal (old bathroom parts) fell out of the bottom and dad had to literally SAW it off on the side of the road. A soldier stopped to help him...AMERICA! No but really that guy was an angel...and of course my Dad is THE BEST DAD IN THE WORLD. So they get to Austin and all we had to do was squeeze a 27 foot Airstream in between a tree and another trailer...hehe...We had to wait until about midnight that night to finally park it and OF COURSE...Dad nailed it. ...I honestly to this day do not know how he did it.
I opened up for business the next weekend and my friends were coming by and me and Mickey were popping champagne bottles...and that was the start of Ramblin' Rose Co. I have attached the song for you to rock out to.
Did you say your name was ramblin' rose? Ramble on baby, settle down easy Ramble on rose.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmdwZZx8CSE