We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Whitney Ezell. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Whitney below.

Hi Whitney, thanks for joining us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

It’s March 2021 and my business partner Jay, and I, are visiting Augusta for a quick weekend getaway to relax and reset. We are visiting the museum and we eventually approach the “Prohibition” exhibit. I find it odd that I’m looking at a stuffed tiger that is actually stuffed with a liquor bottle inside and the head is removed. This is one of the ways liquor was hidden during that time. I start to really think about what I’m looking at, and the idea of discretion comes to mind instead of hiding. I mentioned to Jay that I would love to be able to carry my wine or spirits around in a stylish and discreet way. Very similar to those in the Prohibition time needing to be “discreet”. We of course had no desire to go in a stuffed animal direction and knew it should be something classy/luxury that compliments how we dress when we go out. The design of our very fist signature wine case was inspired by my headboard design actually. The plush diamond look was very in and the color black is luxury. That is how we created our original case.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Whitney Jay Atlanta is a luxury gift shop for drinkers. We sell wine cases, insulated wine purses, flask/cigar holders, whiskey glass gift sets, and more. We are luxury because we put tons of thought into the style and design of our items. I’m never going to sell someone anything that I wouldn’t proudly wear myself. We focus on discretion because its different. We really want to focus on elevating the gifting experience. We also focus on convenience. Our products are made for mobility and can be used in so many settings. Take for instance our insulated wine purse. At a homecoming or on a wine tour, you may be allowed to carry around your own wine/spirits. Would you rather a hot glass of wine or a chilled one? Our insulated wine purse keeps your bottle chill on the go. Our vacuum sealed wine stoppers allow you to properly seal and enjoy that bottle at a later date with extended freshness. Our flasks dual as cigar holders. All of our wine/liquor cases include essential accessories to enjoy your wine/spirits at any picnic, festival, or BYOB event. Our cases turn into “luggage for your liquor” as we’ve used them to bring tequila back from Mexico. We’ve even had winemakers use our cases to elevate their wine presentations to fashion designers and other “big wigs”. Our gifts bring luxury, convenience, and elevation to the gifting experience. Realtors use our wine cases as home closing gifts. Corporations use our products as a thank you to a great client. The possibilities are endless really.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

I would definitely say that face time is a great strategy for building clientele. We vend at large events every so often so that the people can get to know who is behind the brand. When they have conversations, and basically are “feeling us out”, they easily realize that this is a brand that they want to support. It also allows them to see and feel the beauty of our products first hand. We have plush velvet inner-lining that feels amazing, and you can’t feel that online. Often times they enjoy hearing our start up story as well. Having face time with customers allows them to see who they are really supporting and once they do, they are usually quick to become a customer.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

In my first year of business I had to learn that I do not have to give away my products for free in exchange for marketing. There was a winemaker who was presenting a bottle of their wine to 2 different fashion designers during New York Fashion Week. They had hired a photographer. She approached us and asked for 2 free cases and of course highlighted that the photography from New York Fashion Week would be great exposure/content for my new brand. At the time, we thought that was an okay exchange and would go under the marketing budget.

When it was all said and done, I got the run around on the whereabouts of the photos until January, and by that time all of the hype from NYFW (September) had completely died down. She only presented our wine to one designer and my 13 year old daughter takes better pictures than what I received of that one designer. She presented the other bottle to the organizer of the event, instead of a second fashion designer, but we got no footage of that.

I learned that people will not always respect my vision and my brand the way that I do, even if we are supposed to be collaborating.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.whitneyjayatl.com/
• Instagram: whitneyjayatl
• Facebook: Whitney Jay Atlanta
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@whitneyjayatl