Today we’d like to introduce you to Morgan Walker.
Morgan, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
It basically all started in 2012 when I took a retail entrepreneurship class at The University of Georgia where I first learned about non-traditional retail, which included fashion trucks and pop up shops. That same day after class, when I got to my part-time job at a tuxedo shop in Athens, I started to tell my co-worker and friend, Kendall, about fashion trucks. We both fell in love with the idea and agreed it was something we could see ourselves doing! We were even googling trailers and looked at a horse trailer on craigslist that same day at work. Fast forward a couple of years and I graduated from The University of Georgia and completed an internship at Nordstrom but decided not to pursue a career there. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to pursue. I made a last minute decision to move back to Athens and manage the tuxedo shop while I figured it out. That same month, an opportunity to purchase inventory from a store closing fell in my lap and I called Kendall to see if she still wanted to start a fashion truck with me. In a month, we had researched all trailers and box trucks but fell in love with airstreams and ended up purchasing one not long after. It took us 10 months to renovate with the help of her dad while we both worked and she went to school. We currently do festivals, events and pop up shops with our trailer all over the state while selling online as well.
Great, 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?
Not at all. While we were extremely lucky with finding out airstream so quickly, the renovation process was a huge project where we had to research and learn as we did everything. The same thing with finding events and places to park, it seems easy but a lot of festivals are strictly handmade only or don’t quite understand the concept. Most of the time we can email even coordinators and work it out but it can be discouraging in the beginning. We would also love a permanent spot to park in Atlanta but haven’t come across the perfect area yet since mobile retail is still such a new concept in the south.
The Rolling Runway – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
We are a mobile boutique operating out of a 1963 Airstream that we renovated by ourselves. We handpick everything, we sell from clothes to jewelry to handmade artwork made by fellow entrepreneurs. We strive to make fashion fun and affordable for our customers while creating a unique shopping experience that inspires. We always hear, “oh my gosh, I love this idea. I wish I could do something like this!” and we say, “You can!” We love that we can inspire other people to pursue their dreams of owning a business or even just purchasing an antique camper.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
I was a very shy child and did not like talking to people I didn’t know – which is crazy because that’s basically what I do 80% of the time when I work! I loved art camps and reading and making up dance routines with friends. I also loved drawing clothing designs even though, I wasn’t very good. In 4th grade, my teacher wrote a poem about all of the kids in our class and it said something unique about all of us and mine was something about wearing a pair of cork wedges and how I was a fashionista but I didn’t even realize it at that time, I thought I was a tomboy (because I wanted to be)!
Pricing:
- Everything we sell is under $100!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.rollingrunway.com
- Phone: 478-919-9255
- Email: morgan@rollingrunway.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rollingrunway/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/therollingrunway/
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQidsyTj3WDqTLHwopjMuWg
Getting in touch: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
