Vinyl collectors rejoice: a record store is returning to Okotoks.
Jaica Tipper is opening the new and improved Tipper Records, now at 18 McRae St., this Friday.
Tipper started the business in 2022 at the age of 17, before closing the storefront location and purchasing the Beatnik Bus to take her vinyl sales on the road.
"I got into this business when I was 17, so I graduated high school a semester early," said Tipper. "My official graduation ceremony was two days before I opened the first store here in Okotoks, so yeah, I was 17, I didn't really know what I was doing, but I kind of dove headfirst into it and I'm glad that I did."
According to Tipper, the music scene is prominent in Okotoks, driving demand for a brick-and-mortar record store.
"I know personally a lot of people here in Okotoks who are super into the music scene," said Tipper. "They have bands, they want to perform somewhere, they want to buy records, they want to get into music.
"I think it's important for them to have a place that they can go to. They're not judged for liking certain things, they're not judged for being into a certain kind of music or anything and they can just come here and they can listen to music and have fun."
She said thanks to her years of experience in the vinyl business, the new location will be one-of-a-kind.
"We have pretty much everything," said Tipper, who is a diehard music fan. "We have rock, a lot of country, we have hip-hop, we have funk and soul, we have disco, we have pop, we have modern records as well, so your Adele and Pink and Taylor Swift and all that fun stuff, so pretty much everything that you can think of."
The Beatnik Bus will continue to operate alongside Tipper Records, she added.
"We have some pretty big things planned in terms of where we're going with the Beatnik Bus as well, so just hope that we keep growing and we keep expanding and we keep getting cool records," said Tipper, who is always on the lookout for new inventory and encourages people to bring in their records to sell.
Tipper Records' opening is set for 10 a.m. on March 29 at 18 McRae St.
