written by: Ashley Szanter
Ogden’s independent record store caters to fans of all ages.
You know the Millennial stereotype: a young person only plugged into the digital world. Well, that’s not Kylee Hallows and Blake Lundell, co-owners of Lavender Vinyl, an independent record store in Ogden.
Digital music has monopolized the industry, but Kylee sees the returning popularity of records as a conscious push back against digitization. “I think this is a rebellion against digital music,” says Kylee. Blake, her business partner, agrees and believes that vinyl never really stopped being popular. “Records have always been there, but the rise of digital music meant some people wanted to bring back physical media,” says Blake. Though many may see the recent comeback of vinyl as a “hipster trend,” it’s so much more than that as even megastars like Katy Perry and Taylor Swift have started releasing albums on vinyl.
The two met criticism for opening what many saw as a dying business, but Kylee claims, “it’s not a dying business.” And she’s right. Forbes showed record sales topped $400 million in 2016 alone and rose to their highest rate of popularity since 1988.
“We opened Lavender Vinyl not only as a record store but as a community. We want to be a part of Ogden,” says Kylee. One example? They established a Lavender Vinyl label where they hope to support local artists by recording and releasing albums.
Ultimately, they just want to build something unique. “There’s a lot of young people interested in this community and rebranding it into something new,” says Blake. And Lavender Vinyl is certainly becoming a classic Ogden staple. lavendervinyl.com.
Fun fact: Josaleigh Pollett, Lavender Vinyl’s first signed artist, has her album Strangers now available for purchase.
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See more inside our 2017 November/December Issue.
