Today’s Retro Talk is with Miriam, one of the owners of the vintage store WhateverBetty. I knew I wanted to have an interview component to my blog, and I found the perfect business for my first interview. WhateverBetty, a small family-run vintage store business headed by two sisters in Southern California. In full transparency and disclosure, I am related to the owners, Miriam and Azenath. Miriam is my mom, hi Mom! And Azenath is my aunt, hi Azenath! Customers to the store are always greeted with the bright lights and warm smiles from Miriam and Azenath. The music selection that plays at the store is a mix of oldies, disco, 90s R&B, and classic rock. Customers at WhateverBetty can always count on fun music playing throughout their shopping experience.
What is WhateverBetty?
WhateverBetty is a vintage store in Redlands, CA. The owners are Miriam and Azenath, two sisters who grew up in Southern California. They started by renting a booth space in a small vintage store in Pomona, CA, where they quickly learned the art of reselling. From there they moved to a bigger vintage store where they also rented a space in the store’s basement located in Riverside, CA. Their sales grew, and they moved from their basement space to the upper fourth floor where they occupied the entire sales floor. They also opened a second location at the vintage store’s Redlands location, where the occupied the entire basement. After settling on selling vintage clothing, and their network expanded.
WhateverBetty Evolution
They started using social media for their customers to see upcoming sales and updated information. After a couple of years they opened their own storefront, a standalone men’s vintage store in Riverside, CA. They ran all 3 locations, their fourth floor location, their basement location, and their men’s store for a year before closing the men’s store. They moved to a standalone storefront for their entire Riverside location. As luck would have it, they found a location in downtown Redlands that was empty and looking for occupancy. The sisters decided to concentrate on Redlands for the sole and final location of their store. Redlands had been a constant throughout the years for WhateverBetty, and the community in Redlands already had a positive relationship with the vintage store.
Which brings us to their current and final location in Redlands. They merged all of their locations together and opened up their storefront in Redlands in a historic part of downtown. Their building is almost 150 years old and features beautiful architecture. It is one of the last classic Victorian storefronts built in Redlands. I love the combination of having a vintage store in a historic building. There is a lot of history flowing through the walls of the store, which adds to the vibe and the overall ambiance of the vintage store.
Street Views. Image via Instagram
Sidewalk Sign. Images via Instagram
Long View of The Store. Image via Instagram
Vintage Blankets And Hats.
What’s Next For WhateverBetty?
Miriam and Azenath do not intend to move locations again. While they continue to stock their store with beautiful vintage clothing and shoes, they also do their own reworked clothing. They take clothing that needs to be repaired, and rework them into wearable art pieces. Their reworked clothing is also sold in their store. Since each reworked piece holds pieces sewn together, each one becomes a one of a kind article of clothing. Miriam and Azenath plan to continue working on their reworked clothing pieces, regardless of where their physical location is. They both are seamstresses, a skill they learned in their childhood. Customers at their store can often see them behind the counter working on a reworked piece with their sewing machines. Sustainability is an important aspect of WhateverBetty’s values, and it shows in the way they care for the clothing and bring some of them back to life.
How to Follow WhateverBetty?
Want to follow along with WhateverBetty’s journey? Interestingly, they have two Instagram accounts. Their first Instagram handle is https://www.instagram.com/whateverbettyvintage/, and the second one is https://www.instagram.com/whateverbetty.vintage/. Both of these accounts are active and regularly post new stories. Heads up, they are toying with the idea of deleting one of their Instagram accounts to consolidate their social media, so it would be a good idea to follow both Instagram accounts.
You can also visit their store. Their hours, address, and current schedule are updated on their Instagram accounts.
Retro Talk With WhateverBetty
Enjoy the retro talk with Miriam and Azenath of WhateverBetty!
Retro Talk With Miriam of WhateverBetty
- What is (or what would be) your go-to karaoke song? Flowers
- What is the best gift you have given to someone? Made my mom a grandma
- If your theme song played every time you entered a room, what would the song be? Where is the Love from Black Eyed Peas
- Someday I want to… Travel out of California
- Which decade best represents your vintage or retro style? Why? I admire the 1970s style, and fashion, it was a good time
- What is something you like to collect? Vintage handmade items
- Tell me about the last time you laughed until you cried… every time my sister and I are together, we laugh until tears are rolling
- What sound do you love? Rain
- What was your first car, and did it have a name? It was a Monte Carlo, beautiful honey brown with sparkles. No special name.
- What is your earliest happiest memory? I was given a ride on a bike at age 4 and we started to fall and I grabbed my my moms cousins hair trying not to fall and pulled of her wig trying to balance myself … so funny seeing her wig fly.. and yes we fell down hahaha
Retro Talk With Azenath Of WhateverBetty
- What is (or what would be) your favorite go-to karaoke song? Every Breath you take- The Police
- What is the best gift you have given to someone? A car to my mother that didn’t have one at the time
- If your theme song played every time you entered a room, what would the song be? *No answer given. Instead, Azenath answered by saying her signature scent would be Fame by Lady Gaga.
- Someday I want to… Retire in Mexico
- Which decade best represents your vintage or retro style? Why? 90s garage grunge
- What is something you like to collect? Anything and everything art medium
- Tell me about the last time you laughed until you cried… every day with my sister
- What sound do you love? The sound of my family
- What was your first car, and did it have a name? *No answer given. Instead, Azenath answered by saying her first creation was an outfit she made out of a sock for her doll.
- What is your earliest happiest memory? My fondest memory is of my grandmother playing with my hair while telling me a bedtime story about the farmer and the rabbit.
