Wednesday, July 3, 2024
Businesswoman Karen George wakes up each morning and tells herself “Do you and let God take care of the rest.”George has been the owner of Vintage Royalty for over 17 years. Vintage Royalty is known for its’ Aztec blankets, goat milk soaps and lotions, western clothes, and children’s clothing.
Her journey in retail began after she retired from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice with 25 years of service and started her own gift shop called Diamond Kay Gifts in her husband Kevin’s store.
Later, she had the inkling to travel with her husband, so they purchased a travel trailer. In 2008 she sadly realized traveling wasn’t in the cards anymore when she shattered her ankle, and for four and a half years she was in and out of a cast.
Several years later, her nephew decided to start building on the land where she grew up. The building was used for the boutique and the name was changed from Diamond Kay Gifts to The Ranch.
“We felt like the name was more fitting for where we moved to,” George said. “We started out like a big western and feed store, had boutique items, and just a little bit of everything.”
Later down the road her husband had an idea to construct a new building for their drug store. When it was finished, she moved The Ranch over and changed the name to Vintage Royalty.
She said that without a shadow of a doubt, she wouldn’t be where she is today if it wasn’t for her faith in God.
“That’s what has kept me going for the past 17 years, because without God in my life and my business, and everything else, it’s just not going to work,” George said.
She also shared that in every corner of her building she has Bible verses listed for spiritual warfare.
She has had the help of various people throughout her shop in addition to her employees; Miranda Allison, Candice Vazquez, and Dee Ann Howard.
“I’ve got the three best employees that I think I could ever ask for,” George said.
As times change, her employees help her stay up to date with all the latest fads. George also researches constantly, travels to the Dallas Market, and reads magazines. She stated that when she worked under Peggy Vaden in high school at a retail store, Vaden taught her everything she now knows.
She makes a point to give back to the community in many ways, including by lending her parking lot and store for fundraisers to be held, making several donations throughout the community, and traveling to the 4-H auction each year to help the kids.
For the past two years she has attempted to get boutiques around the area to come together so surrounding communities can see what Gatesville has to offer. From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, May 6, George will put on a fashion show called Rock the Runway. The show aims to support all local businesses and restaurants.
Giving back to Gatesville is what she does. One way of giving back is by keeping low prices for her customers. She holds sales throughout each week, including her three T-shirts for $30 that are up in the store daily.
“I want anybody to be able to walk in through the door and walk out with something that they like,” she said.
One special thing that makes Vintage Royalty separate from the rest, is that she has never had any vendors, except for a select few. The entire store selection has been chosen product by product, by George alone.
She changes the store often, so her customers have something new to look at when they walk in. Her brother, Terry Blanchard has helped make her dreams come true by building cabinets, shelves, and anything that is needed in the boutique.
The most rewarding part of her career with Vintage Royalty is looking back through the past on all she has overcome.
“Through the years of watching the store grow and knowing how far it has come from where it’s started is a reward in itself,” George said.
Vintage Royalty is located at 2401 South Highway 36, Suite 100 in Gatesville.
