Custom Vinyl Records on Etsy
Photos by Joe Schmelzer/Treasubite Studio Inc.
I can't quite recall how I stumbled upon this idea, but once I did, I knew it had to happen. My best friend, Nick, is an avid vinyl enthusiast, and his partner, Joe, is a talented photographer, so putting this project together was an easy decision. While there are a few sellers on Etsy who offer this service, I chose Caracas Vintage, who was incredibly helpful, patiently answering all my questions about artwork, shipping, and more.
As for the track list, I knew I had to include Chappell Roan since she’s Nick’s favorite artist at the moment. I tried asking him (very stealth-like) which songs he’d take to a desert island, but he couldn’t settle on a list (honestly, I’m not sure I could either). However, in a separate conversation, he did mention his top 5 favorite albums of all time. I went back to that list and used it as the foundation for the track selection. And, of course, I added a Mary Chapin Carpenter song because I know he loves her too.
I created a mock-up for the artwork and showed it to Joe, hoping he could send me high-resolution versions of the photos I needed. To my surprise, he provided several previously unused photos for me to choose from. After some back-and-forth, I finalized the images I wanted for the front, back, and center labels. I was so excited with the result that I ended up ordering a copy for myself as well. 🤣
Then came the waiting game. I placed the order on September 24th and was set to head to Los Angeles on October 19th. Would it arrive in time? Thankfully, it did. Getting it safely to LA was my next task—and I treated it as if I were transporting my own child.
After arriving in LA, I needed to find a place to wrap the gift. Gift wrapping isn't my strong suit—I usually opt for a gift bag—but this needed proper wrapping. Eventually, I discovered that Paper Source offers gift wrapping services, and they did an amazing job.
Once I picked it up, I called him to see if I could drop by because I was too excited to wait until the next day.
I've always considered myself a great gift-giver, but this is probably the best gift I've ever given to someone. He loved it.
