Loot Rentals

Anna Crelia and Rhoda Brimberry share their story of establishing Loot Rentals, with two locations, in Austin and Fort Worth, Texas. After sourcing specialty pieces for Anna’s own wedding, the pair found themselves with a collection of rental inventory on their hands. You’ll hear these women look back on those early years and explain how they develop their influential rental collections now.

What’s in this episode:

How one of the founder’s own engagement started everything.
Gathering a vision for the Loot collection.
Working with family members.
The importance of the Austin community in Loot’s success.
Investing in artisan and local makers.
Honing fresh styles and sharing them in regular company lookbooks.
Screening future team members and cultivating a company culture.
Managing a business with multiple locations.

Quotes:

“You’ve always heard ‘Don’t go into business with your family or friends.’ I think we knew that was a risk but we were willing to take it.” – Rhoda Brimberry

“I joke sometimes how it’s like a hoarding problem that has turned into a successful business.” – Rhoda Brimberry

“Austin is full of a lot of early adopters…they’ll try something unusual and aren’t fearful about what that is.” – Rhoda Brimberry

“I feel like on the one hand, you’ve really stayed true to an authentic Austin vibe, but at the same time, you’re also creating the Austin vibe. You’re telling people this is what’s cool and this is the style of celebrations here. So you’ve become tastemakers in your city.” – Allison Howell

“I think we listen to our customers a lot. You know, we get requests for things that we don’t have. And so that becomes the forefront of our next buying decision” – Anna Crelia

“What is lacking in the market? What do you need? What are you not seeing?…That feedback is going to guide my purchasing decisions.” – Anna Crelia