The Kingdom 2023 vendors: Meet The Southern Songbird Boutique

If you’re looking for T-shirts that only the fans will really understand, The Southern Songbird Boutique was one of the musts at The Kingdom 2023.

There are always some great vendors at Sasnak City events, with offerings of something for everyone. The Southern Songbird Boutique offers T-shirts, but not your usual fandom type ones. This goes a step further than adding the faces or logos of characters and shows.

Instead, the shirts connect to various characters within the show. They’re fun and quirky, with something that only the fans of The Last Kingdom would really get.

We sat down with The Southern Songbird Boutique to find out how it all got started and how they became a vendor at Sasnak City events.

Meet The Southern Songbird Boutique at The Kingdom 2023

Claire & Jamie: How did you get started with The Southern Songbird Boutique?

The Southern Songbird Boutique: I manifested with bath bombs with my daughter, at first. She wanted to go to the American Girl store back when she was nine, and I said she’d have to make some money because it’s very expensive.

This was around Valentine’s Day, and we looked at Pinterest to see what she could do and we came up with bath bombs. We put them on Facebook and sold some, so she had money for what she wanted. So, then I thought we could make a store out of this, but there wasn’t much profit.

My sister-in-law had a little boutqieu in town and I looked at what T-shirts were selling for. There was a lot more profit in that, so I started designing things. I’m not a graphic designer, so I taught myself. I loved how cute the shirts looked.

C&J: How did you get into the world of Outlander and The Last Kingdom. This isn’t just from seeing a few photos.

TSSB: While doing this stuff, I ended up in a book club. I’m not much of a reader, but my friend convinced me to read Outlander. I do the audiobooks mostly and the usually want an episode.

I found out they were coming to Sasnak City’s The Gathering, and they talked me into coming. I looked at it and thought ‘I want to be a vendor for that.’ So, I came up with the Outlander designs. Then I found out about The Kingdom, and I watched that show and made up those designs. My friends and I collab on ideas. The Last Kingdom was a little more difficult than Outlander.

C&J: And now it’s not just T-shirts. You’ve got bracelets and wine stoppers. I love everything.

TSSB: Oh, yeah. I tend to do things that I really like and hope that other people like them too. I love wine and bracelets, so I added them.

My business partner in my hometown and I have bought a building we’re in the middle of remodeling. We’re going to turn it into a boutique wine bar kind of thing. And we’re going to move the T-shirt printing in-house, so instead of me ordering out the transfers, I’ll print everything myself.

C&J: You have a website where people can visit in between events, right?

TSSB: I do. I have everything there. I also have a Sasnak True section and I’ll have a TLK True section soon. But I do have a lot of other items. I do a lot of sportswear for my hometown and some cute clothes and accessories for people to order.

C&J: Will it being in-house help with the turnaround time?

TSSB: That is kicking my butt. People want orders now, and I’m like two weeks out people are ordering so much. I’m definitely going to crack down on the turnaround time.

If I sell out at these events, I’ll give people a coupon for 20% off and they can order on the website.

C&J: I do see only T-shirts. Will you move into different types of tops?

TSSB: I don’t really want to because not so many people will buy them. I don’t want to be stuck with something that won’t sell. But I will order something special if you want. You can reach out to me and I can definitely customize for anyone.

Check out The Southern Songbird Boutique online for all the amazing shirts, bracelets, and more.