Williamsburg musician Emmy Wildwood has figured out one of the last remaining ways to make a living in the music industry — peddling vintage clothing on the side.
Wildwood subsidized the addition of new artists on her label Tiger Blanket Records last month by opening a stylish, second-hand clothing store on Graham Avenue.
“The clothes will keep the money flowing through the label,” said Wildwood. “Nobody makes money making music.”
The great thing about clothing isn’t just the fact that it can’t be downloaded for free — running a store is also the perfect way for Wildwood to promote her stable of musicians.
“The idea in starting the store was to create an avenue to talk about bands,” said the 28-year-old, a rocker herself who plays in the groups True North, Velta, Stone Lonesome, and Guns ’N’ Hoses, and also has a solo project. “It’s the most amazing way to meet people and find out about other people’s bands.”
For now, the Tiger Blanket store carries a handful of Wildwood’s releases and a selection of vintage clothes including old concert T-shirts, prom dresses, and motorcycle jackets.
Wildwood plans to press 200 copies of a seven-inch record by a different Brooklyn band each month. The first one will be by her band, Velta, and she’s deciding between a couple of acts for the January pressing.
“It depends on who pulls it together first,” she said.
She’s also planning to have regular in-store performances.
Zach Jones, who has collaborated with Wildwood on a handful of projects, said it’s vital that Brooklynites can buy their music in person — even if they do it in a place that’s also stocked with vintage clothes.
“The physical spaces associated with records is valuable and it’s almost non-existent these days,” said Jones. “Hopefully, people will walk in off the street to browse clothes and end up walking out with a couple of records.”
