A love for music, art, and each other prompted Jeremiah and Bree Highhouse to open Vinyl Isle, San Luis Obispo's County's newest vintage record store and art gallery.

• PHOTO COURTESY OF LARRY S. RHODES
• VINYL FANTASY : Jeremiah and Bree Highhouse want locals to find something new in their vintage record store, which doubles as an art gallery.

# The multi-use shop, located at 740 Morro Bay Blvd., will hold its grand opening on Oct. 5, offering free appetizers and live music.

Though Jeremiah, a Paso Robles High School graduate and current Hearst Castle employee, recognizes that SLO County already has quite a few used record stores and many art galleries, he's confident that consumers will discover something new in his shop.

"I honestly believe that we have more talent in this 400-square-foot building than anybody with the same size building on the Central Coast," he said. "We can't possibly compete with giant record shops, but give us a few years and we'll be on par."

While Jeremiah plans on eventually offering a big-store selection, he never wants to develop that big-store feel.

"Vinyl Isle is a different scene. The galleries in town are very stuffy, much like a museum," he said. "This is a little more homey, more comfortable vibe. We have a little bit of everything for everybody."

The store will showcase local artists' sculptures, photos, woodworking, hand-blown glass, and scarves, as well as other pieces. To that end, bringing attention to local artists is a top priority for Jeremiah.

"In this Wal-Mart society that we live in, [local artists] are not going to get the attention they deserve," he said. "This gives artists a place to display their stuff and get the attention they deserve."

Vinyl Isle will be open Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and on Sunday from noon to 7 p.m. For more information, call 772-1103.

This week's Strokes and Plugs was compiled by Staff Writer Kai Beech. Send your business news to [email protected].