Check Out Payton Crawford’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Payton Crawford

Hi Payton, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Three years ago we didn’t have a vinyl record player in our home. Payton asked for one for Christmas, along with some Taylor Swift vinyl records. Payton does competitive Irish Dancing and we frequently travel for competitions. Once she got her record player the first thing she would do when we were traveling was search what Thrift Shops and Record Stores were in the area we were visiting. That became a fun adventure for us to visit these places and find records. Payton’s goal initially was to collect every Taylor Swift release. These journeys got Mom and Dad (Kristen and Justin) re-invigorated into Music. We’ve always been music fans but had never really experienced vinyls; as kids we listened to Tapes and then CD’s. Living in and Loving Fuquay-Varina, we saw that there was a gap in Record Stores in our area and the idea to fill that void with our own record store started to grow. Along the way we made some really good finds and had some great friends help us get to where we are (Thank You Robyn, Terrence, Kelly, Mat, Tim, Mike!). Today we operate 3 semi-permanent locations in Fuquay-Varina at Pints Ice Cream and Beer, Revelry Barber and Shave Shop, and Fainting Goat Brewery. We also participate in as many vendor markets as we possibly can. We buy and sell records on a daily basis and all of us in our family contribute to the business in our own ways.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It’s been fun. There’s always some highs and lows but it’s so exciting when we’re selling records and our customers are telling us what a great selection we have. I think the most challenging thing was deciding on a name, our logo and design. We wanted a bit of a “punk” vibe but also a family feel to it. Our name is a tribute to the town we love, no matter what name we were going to be it was going to have F-V as the initials. We worked with a great brand manager, Jenny McAllister, who really helped us hone in on what was most important to us with this business and helped come up with our amazing name and logo. Jenny would come over for dinner 1 night a week and we’d work on this until we came up with something that we were all incredibly excited and happy with.

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?
I think what sets us apart is that this is a genuine family effort. Payton was the inspiration and brain child for this idea. She helps us keep up with the newer stuff and will tell us where/when/why/how to get the newest hard-to-get releases. Our son Colton helps us pick records and has a keen eye for record condition. Kristen and Justin do most of the cleaning, testing, cataloguing, pricing and prepping. You’ll find all 4 of us at most events we do.

What were you like growing up?
Well I think we’re focusing on Payton for this so I’ll tell you about her. She’s a very smart young lady! As a little girl I don’t think there’s a question in the history of questions that she didn’t ask. She gets along with everybody and is a social butterfly. She absolutely loved Frozen as a little girl and her tastes in music have evolved over time. Today her favorite artists are Tate McRae and Conan Gray but she makes old dad real proud when she throws on Guns N’ Roses or Green Day and starts belting out the lyrics!

Pricing:

• Previously loved records typically range from $2-$40 depending on release.
• New records we price according to market. Some are $20 and some go up to $150
• Pricing is all about Scarcity and Condition
• We’ve sold records for $1, we’ve sold records for $350.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.fuqnvinyl.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fuqnvinyl/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61560942818348
• Other: [email protected]