Austin Way Magazine - GreenGale Publishing - There is a place beyond the crowds, beyond the ropes, where dreams are realized and success is celebrated. You are invited.
Issue link: http://digital.greengale.com/i/367813
photography courtesy of by george/casey Dunn (store); opposite page: photography by Matthew Mahon (culMos) "I buy thIngs that don't have expIratIon dates. I have never been Interested In trends. I lIke thIngs that have value... I want to make sure people are happy wIth whatever they buy." —katy culmo launch of an e-com- merce site—the stylish pair ref lect on how they arrived here. In 1979, when she was just 26, Katy purchased By George—the green-shag-carpeted little shop in the Dobie Mall on the University of Texas campus— from its original owner, former Austin City Council member George Humphrey. It cost $26,000. "I was making $800 a month, and George cosigned the bank note for me. It was the best opportunity of my life," Katy recalls. "I was so scared. But I knew how to work hard, and I knew how to do paperwork, and that's really what business is—making agreements and fulfilling them, paying your bills, and being nice to people." Katy's editor's eye and knack for buying just the right pieces from a collection were present from the beginning. By George thrived under Katy's leader- ship. She was guided by a philosophy she still follows: "I buy things that don't have expiration dates. I have never been interested in trends," she says. "I like things that have a value. People work hard for their money, so I want to make sure they are happy with whatever they buy." In 1987 she met her husband, Matt, whom she credits with helping to develop her brand. It was Matt's idea to open a men's store and to move By George closer to downtown after outgrowing loca- tions on the Drag and on 29th and San Gabriel. In 1999 they enlisted their favorite fine artists and designers to work on the new Sixth and Lamar space. They immediately knew they were on to something when sales increased 500 percent. "We moved all the merchandise from San Gabriel down to Lamar and spent all night merchandis- ing," Katy remembers. "Everyone who came into the store thought it was all brand-new merchandise, and it sold out within a week." After years of selling contemporary lines, enter- ing the world of high-end designer goods became the next natural step. Matt remembers trying to persuade designers to sell to one of their stores in Austin in 2007. "It was a negotiation," he says. "Every designer wanted to know who they were going to hang with. We got to the point where I said, 'One of you needs to take a stand here.'" And they did: Balenciaga, Bottega Veneta, and Marni made the first buy to fill the store with new products. Then within a year, the economy dropped out. As the retail world panicked, they stayed put and bought for the next season. Katy and Matt sold the Guadalupe store in 2006 and opened the more casual South Congress satellite store in 2007. When Katy looks back on some of her favorite moments, she still vividly remembers walking up the steps of the grand Lanvin headquarters in Paris for her first buying appointment, the article that contInued From page 41 from left: Katy Culmo at By George; Tibi designer Amy Smilovic with Katy and Sea of Shoes blogger Jane Aldridge. Matt Culmo is credited with bringing menswear labels to By George. 42 austinway.com STYLE Arbiters of Taste