A BIT ABOUT CAROLINE:
My name is Caroline King, founder and owner of Kings Finest Vintage. I am passionate about old things, and maybe because my Father was a historian, I have always felt this way. I grew up in Salt Lake City, sugarhouse area, in a historic home with wonderful parents, brothers and always a big dog. My parents instilled in us a love and appreciation for good architecture, art, and design as well as a passion for the performing arts which is still very dear to me today.
After high school I went to the University of Utah which seemed like the only natural choice as I had a snowboarding habit that put me on the mountain at least 5 days a week. At the U I studied organizational communication, this was a good fit for the business side of fashion I was interested in. All through college I worked at a skate and snowboard shop called B.C. Surf and Sport which established my deep love of retail. In addition to my studies at the U I attended the Salt Lake City community college where I completed the fashion design certificate program. I knew I wanted to work in fashion and the U didn't offer a fashion design degree so I added this to learn as much as I could about the business of fashion.
After college I moved from the retail side of the skate and snowboard industry to the wholesale side. I had a very successful and super fun career working for many brands such as Globe, RVCA, Ride Snowboards, DC Shoe Co, and at the apex of my wholesale career I was the the national sales manager over apparel for Burton Snowboards. When I had my first child it was clear that I could no longer work in a field that required so much travel and time away from home. After staying home with her for a year or so I began working for ShopEatSurf.com - a very well read business to business news and information website focused on action sports. That was a great part time way to stay connected to my industry and keep my sales skills sharp. While working for them I started my vintage business and by the time SES was sold in 2020 I was able to put my main focus into this growing vintage business.
My friends would describe me as someone with a lot of energy (maybe too much?) and passion for life. I adore my 3 amazing children, they are the coolest people I've ever met! I am a full tilt extrovert - I LOVE people, and I am a high achiever/goal crusher. I also fill my cup with dancing, music, baking and of course collecting all the old things I can find!
A BIT ABOUT KINGS FINEST VINTAGE:
I started collecting vintage at a very young age. In the photo at the top of this page I am wearing an amazing 1950's gold with cream lace halter dress to my junior prom. By the time I was in my early 20's I was deeply devoted to vintage fashion, 1950's in particular. In 1999 my girlfriends and I first attended the Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekender - and we were SMITTEN!
It was the perfect venue to show off and buy more for our vintage collections. We loved the music and had become friends with quite a few dancers and musicians over the years which gave the annual event a kind of reunion feel. We have been attending VLV ever since that first year - with a few years off here and there to have kids and important things like that. But this weekender is still one of our favorite places to go, see our old friends, dance with the best in the country, and wear and buy the best 1950's vintage around. In addition to Viva my close group of friends and I mix vintage into our busy lives every day and attend other rockabilly events locally keeping up with the 1950's loving crowd wherever we go.
By the time I started my family in 2009 I had amassed quite the collection, but by the time I finished having kids, NOTHING FIT! This was how Kings Finest Vintage was born. I was so excited to be heading back to Viva Las Vegas after taking off quite a few years to have my 3 kids but I needed new vintage that fit my post kids body. In order to have the budget to buy a new collection I had to sell the one I had. This process begin in 2016, very much on the side of the many other things I had going on. I was selling on Etsy and have continued to sell on Etsy for the last 8 years. What began as a very part time side hustle selling vintage grew and grew as the years went on. One of the reasons KFV grew was because it allowed me the flexibility to be home meeting the needs of my young family but when I could carve out time for the business I was doing work I truly enjoy. One of the things KFV is well known for is restoration. I really dislike the term "as is" - items purchased from my store are cleaned, repaired, and made as perfect as possible before they are presented to the customer. Flaws are carefully described and I got to great lengths to restore these beautiful works of art so they can live the longest life possible in your care. This is a part of my dedication to the customer, I want everyone who interacts with my brand to have a wonderful experience. This commitment to customer experience is how KFV has become well established on Etsy. I've earned the star seller status every single month since they started the program. I have an overwhelming number of 5 star reviews that rave about my quick shipment, lightening fast response, and the quality of my products and packaging. This high standard continues on KingsFinestVintage.com.
The main reason I changed from Etsy to my own website is because I am opening a retail store here in Logan Utah in May of 2024. With a brick and mortar space I need my inventory to live in one place instead of having items on Etsy and in store. Of course it is also true that Etsy takes a significant percentage of each sale which is something difficult to pay as the overhead of a shop lease will be taking more of my margins. In addition to these reasons I want shopping to be easier. On KFV.com you can shop by size, decade, print, category - it gives you a lot easier ways to filter to exactly what you're looking for. I hope you enjoy your shopping experience and I am eager for your feedback on how to improve.
A BIT ABOUT WHERE KFV IS NOW:
The plan to open a brick and mortar shop is not a new idea. I have actually been talked out of this for decades! But I'm finally making this dream come true. I put a plan of action together in January of 2023 to start this course of action and have a shop open by the Spring of 2024. This did not happened by luck, I worked extremely hard participating in 4 large vintage markets, 3 smaller pop-ups and posted to my socials every day to save money and grow my little brand. I also did a GoFundMe for my birthday in January and was humbled to exceed my goal in just one weekend with the amazing generosity of my friends and loved ones. I hired my first part time worker in August of 2023 and Ariel will be working with me in the shop.
I'm thrilled to announce I have finally found a retail space and I will be starting the buildout April 1st with an opening date of early May 2024. The shop will be located on 7 Main Street in Logan Utah. Right downtown in the very center of the city! I CANNOT WAIT!
