Walking into the store, it’s difficult to know where to look. An ivory mannequin suspended from the ceiling greets you at the door, while Playboy magazines line the shelves on the left side and Bette Davis’ likeness hangs from the right. The space already looks lived in, overflowing with coats, trinkets and candles, despite it being only a month since its opening.

Story by Kristina Nguyen

Photos by Miranda Chiechi

“How much is the home health book?” an employee asks on the phone as she sits on the olive green couch next to a life-size, wooden dummy.

Self-described as a community of “cultural gifts,” I Luv Vintage operates differently  from other retailers. The space holds items from 30 Austin-based vendors, specializing in categories from suede skirts to watercolor paintings of celebrities. Some of the vendors are vintage curators, while others create their own collections. Although there isn’t a set layout, the left corner of the store is home to Playboy magazines, DVDs, and vinyl records, while racks of clothing dominate most of the space. The surroundings are just as whimsical as everything else, with unique decor that includes wooden puppets, larger-than-life posters, and a copper disco ball.

Despite its young age, the business has already exceeded expectations, boasting strong sales numbers from both locals and tourists, and a waiting list of potential vendors. The grand opening alone brought in 300 people. In the beginning, the owners maintained a sense of flexibility and didn’t stick to a rigid plan, describing its success as “serendipitous.”

The owners, Conrad Bejarano and John Dorgan, started out as friends at Eastwood High School in El Paso, Texas. Two years after graduating, they decided to go into business together. While Bejarano deals mostly with the artistic direction of the store, Dorgan handles the administrative responsibilities. Their love for local businesses and their passion for keeping the Austin culture alive has culminated in several successes, including Spider House Cafe and Ballroom and I Luv Video. Their extensive entrepreneurial experience eventually allowed them to create their own vintage wonderland.

“I’m really excited, because it’s been in the back of my mind forever,” Bejarano says. The idea came to him years ago, but his interest in fashion and junking go back further into his childhood. At a young age, Bejarano sewed pajamas for his GI Joe dolls, and eventually had a job dressing mannequins at a clothing store when he was 18. “I would say [he] probably started the whole, ‘Keep Austin Weird’ thing,” says Divinity Veloz, who serves as the store’s general manager.

Although Bejarano denies this, his years in the “culture business,” or the business of keeping Austin weird, alongside Dorgan have been cultivated by their love for the city. He hopes the store will provide some cultural salvation and preservation in the campus area, where he believes corporate businesses have become dominant. “Nothing’s cookie cutter, it’s all very organic,” says Dorgan about the shop in comparison to other retail stores surrounding the campus.

Its close proximity also makes it easy for students to swing by and the wide spectrum of prices cater to everyone’s budgets. Along with opening up a halal restaurant next door, they are also in the process of obtaining a beer and wine license to turn the shop into a social gathering site to host more community events, such as garage sales.

In terms of expanding the store, they hope to include a men’s section and sell merchandise such as buttons or eco-friendly custom belts made from recycled giant freeway banners. Alongside employing an in-store seamstress, they also plan  on hosting a fashion show with the vendors.

In addition to their emphasis on customer satisfaction, they also place significance on respecting their staff and vendors, letting them express their own identity. “One of the big distinctions, for us, from a lot of vintage stores, is we let our vendors have our branding,” Dorgan says. “We want vendors to have their own identity, because that’s how vendors grow their business and eventually have their own stores.” As an employee, Veloz also notes how being in the space has given her inspiration in her work as a stylist, referencing Amberlin from Skeleton Breath Vintage as a curator she admires.

Even the walls are up to the vendors’ discretion, in which  they are allowed to decorate their respective areas. Many have taken advantage of the artistic opportunities the space provides. “It builds a lot of extra creativity too, being around creative people. It feeds off of each other,” Veloz says.“The vendors, they talk to each other, and they’ve used some of the stuff and ideas that they throw off each other,” Veloz says.

Although Buffalo Exchange is just across the street, they aren’t worried about the competition. Veloz explains that the two stores send each other customers, so both are excited about sharing the same neighborhood. “There’s room enough for people in the world to do kind of the same thing, but a different vision,” she says. Bejarano believes that having similar businesses next to each other brings many people to the area.

I Luv Vintage is a cultural chameleon, a site of limitless creativity where people and things are constantly cycling in and out. Despite its changing nature, the shop has a steadfast dedication to creating a place for people to come together and keep Austin weird. Like Bejarano says, “In being part of this creation, I realized that it’s not a shop. It’s a community.”