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, lightning 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 so the retail store and online options are speaking the same language. As it turns out, running a brick and mortar shop AND keeping up with listings online is quite overwhelming. The best selection is found in store but we are trying to get caught up with showing our most special items to our online customers as well. 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:
Our brick and mortar store opened May 3rd of 2024 right in downtown Logan Utah at 7 N. Main Street right at the northwest corner of Center and Main Street. Interacting with customers in person has been an absolute delight. It is so satisfying to see people have that magical reaction as they touch and try on the vintage items I have so carefully curated and restored. As I mentioned, the best selection by far is found in our physical store. However our instagram is a very easy way to see what's new and we are always willing to sell through DM's if you see something you like.
Another thing to know is that we do buy vintage from customers at our shop. It's good to note that you could get a lot more than we are able to pay selling items on your own, but this is a timely process that requires a lot of knowledge and it's not for everyone. Another important consideration is that we don't usually buy vintage that is newer than 80s. Our shop is more focused on older things, the older the better! There are shops and people we can connect you with to sell 90s and 2000s items but our shop prefers pre-80s.
Come by and see us! Our shop hours are as follows:
Monday - Thursday 11:00-6:00
Friday - 11:00-8:00
Saturday - 11:00-6:00