the blueprint. . .
WHERE IT ALL BEGAN
GMV STARTED AS AN IDEA — A DREAM I’D ALWAYS HAD.
AT THE TIME I WAS UNEMPLOYED, AND ONE NIGHT MY PARTNER PHOEBE TOLD ME TO GO ALL IN AND THROW EVERYTHING WE HAD AT IT. WAS A HARD CHOICE DUE TO ENDURING PTSD FROM PREVIOUS LINES OF WORK AND NOT KNOWING HOW I WOULD GO WORKING IN A SOCIAL RETAIL SETTING THERE WAS FEAR BUT ... SHE BACKED ME AND TRUSTED ME TO MAKE IT WORK. WE HAD TWO KIDS AT THE TIME IT HAD TO WORK.
STARTING WITH ALMOST NOTHING, WE BUILT GMV THROUGH WORD OF MOUTH WITH THE DREAM OF ONE DAY OPENING A STORE.
NOT JUST A PLACE TO SHOP, BUT A SPACE WHERE PEOPLE CAN CONNECT, DISCOVER SOMETHING DIFFERENT, AND WHERE EVERYONE — FROM ALL BACKGROUNDS — FEELS WELCOME.
THE BUILD UP . . .
FROM THERE WE RAN POP UPS AT THE WITCHY NOOK, THE BREW BOX, AND MULTIPLE LOCAL MARKETS — BUILDING THE BRAND AND CONNECTING WITH LONG TIME CUSTOMERS THAT HAVE NOW BECOME FRIENDS ALONG THE WAY.
PUSHING THE SUSTAINABLE MOVEMENT THROUGH NOSTALGIC PIECES FROM ERAS LIKE THE 1980S AND 90S WITH THE INSPIRATION FROM STREET AND URBAN CULTURE.
AFTER THAT, THINGS STARTED TO GROW — LEADING US TO OUR FIRST CASUAL LEASE AT SOVEREIGN PLACE.
TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS . . .
SUPER QUICK WE HIT THE GROUND RUNNING. THERE WAS A LOT OF TRIAL AND ERROR ALONG THE WAY, BUT WE KEPT PUSHING FORWARD.
WE SPENT 4 MONTHS IN THE SPACE LEARNING — HOW TO MAKE BETTER CONTENT, HOW TO IMPROVE OUR MARKETING, AND HOW TO CREATE A BETTER EXPERIENCE FOR EVERYONE WHO WALKED THROUGH THE DOOR.
ALL WHILE RAISING A FAMILY AND FIGURING OUT HOW TO RUN A BUSINESS AT THE SAME TIME.
LIFE THREW A LOT AT US IN THE BEGINNING, BUT WE MADE IT WORK.
IN JUNE OF 25, WE REACHED OUT TO A LOCAL REALITOR COMPANY TO ENQUIRE IN THE SPACE WE ARE NOW IN TODAY.
HOME, COMMUNITY & CONNECTION
AS SOON AS WE WALKED INTO THE SPACE, IT FELT LIKE IT WAS ALWAYS MEANT TO BE OURS. LIKE EVERY STEP ALONG THE WAY HAD LED US RIGHT TO THAT DOOR.
NOW IT’S THE HOME OF GRANDMASTER VINTAGE, CURB LORDZ SKATE SUPPLY, BATTY FANG VINTAGE, CHRISOS TOY SALOON, AND THE FORTUNATE FEW EYEWEAR.
MORE THAN JUST A SHOP, IT’S BECOME A HUB — FOR SKATE VIDEO PREMIERES, ONE-OF-A-KIND PIECES, GOOD LAUGHS, AND A COMMUNITY THAT COMES TOGETHER.
A PLACE WHERE YOU CAN SHOP SUSTAINABLY AND LOOK AMAZING WHILE DOING IT.
WHICH NOW LEADS US TO THE WEBSITE, WHAT IS NEXT FOR GMV, WELL THAT I CAN NOT ANSWER, BUT FOLLOW US ON OUR SOCIALS AND COME ALONG FOR THE ROLL.
MUCH LOVE BRAD AND PHOEBE.
