Today we’d like to introduce you to Bre Westry.
Bre, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
If you had told me when I was a little girl growing up in New Orleans that I would have my own business by the age of 23, I would have laughed. One main reason being that I had every intention from age 4 to 19 that I was going to be a veterinarian. In fact, half of my undergraduate career was spent studying Biology on the Pre-Veterinary track. It wasn’t until I was heading into my junior year of college that I realized I was extremely unhappy with the projection of my future. While I still adored animals with every fiber of my being, I could not stand the type of material I was encountering in my classes. After an extremely long and difficult talk with myself, I learned that changing my major and what I wanted to do would ultimately be the right decision to make. It was one that I had put off because I didn’t want to “let younger me down”. So, I did it. I changed my major to Writing and Rhetoric with a concentration in Journalism and Digital Media and that sparked a large piece of dynamite, launching me into the position I am in today. After my switch, I had time to remind myself of the things outside of the classroom that I enjoyed doing. I love fashion and design, so I was able to join my campus fashion magazine, Cabra.
This is also the time that I decided that I was going to start my own vintage store. I had numerous friends who were coming over to go through the excess items I was thrifting and one simply stated, “You should start charging us to do this.” I hadn’t thought of it before, but with the skills I was learning through my digital media classes, I knew I had a good foundation to build a website and create a social media following. Thus, West Crescent Vintage was born. In a few months, I had worked hard enough to gain the recognition of Stardust Vintage and The Electric Lady Coalition, both of whom I partnered with on separate pop-up events.
After graduation, I began a full time position at a tech company here in Austin as their Multimedia Marketing Specialist and videographer while still balancing owning my business. West Crescent Vintage has grown tremendously in its 4 years of operation. We have hosted a live music event, gained pop-up residency at Cosmic Coffee + Wine Bar and Coconut Club, and expanded our inventory to include my handmade artwork. West Crescent has also allowed me to continue my love of videography by creating fashion look books. I am constantly amazed at the growth I see with my business and I am excited to continue my journey with it!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Starting a business is not easy at all. I won’t ever lie and say it is. But, I will say that everything is way more difficult if you haven’t taken any steps to try to make it come to life. Building a website seemed hard until I just bought a domain and began messing with it. Finding a place to have pop-ups felt hard until I started networking and doing my research. Going through the legal processes to make my brand legit in the eyes of law was scary; but I took my time to learn how to do it and I got through. There will also be days where growth feels slow for you and fast for others. You just have to push through and know that every opportunity that is thrown your way is for YOU. Don’t worry about everyone else’s path. I’ll also say that 2020 was a rough year to stay motivated. But, simply getting up and trying to create or do one thing that pushes you towards your goal helps you stay aligned.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Currently, I work both full-time with my business, West Crescent Vintage, as well as freelance media/videography work for both corporate and creative productions. I think the thing that will always make my work unique is my vision. Even if I may do something that is similar to someone else, what I create will always be the refracted light from a prism [my inspiration source] to make the scene I want to make. I constantly churn ideas in my head for concepts for my store, video production ideas, or art, in general. I’m even the type of person to get up in the middle of the night with the urge to write an idea that came to me in between REM cycles. I truly believe that creating for me is like swimming to a shark. If I don’t do it; I’m dead. Being able to meld so many of my passions into a career is so freeing and it’s only up from here.
What’s next?
Ugh, I hate thinking about what’s next because what I learned is that it’s so hard to really plan. You never know what’s going to change and shift. You never know what opportunities are going to present themselves. Of course, I want my brand to grow as much as the world allows it. I also can’t wait to put out more video content. There’s a lot up my sleeve. I believe as long as I live my life authentically to my wishes and aspirations as they come, I can’t lose.
Contact Info:
- Email: westcrescentvintage@gmail.com
- Website: www.westcrescentvintage.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_chef_boyarbre_/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjbqbGlnDsFAC7EB8_pkIbQ?
Image Credits
Josh Perez
