LAVINIA REEDย /ย 29ย /ย OWNER OF GOLDEN HOUR RECORDS
THE WARMTH OF SMOOTH GROUND ESPRESSO WITH A HINT OF VANILLA, SUN-FADED SNEAKERS AND OVERSIZED SWEATERS, THE MUFFLED SOUND OF MUSIC PLAYING FROM THE NEXT ROOM OVER. [ย deer valleyย ] โ [ย playlistย ] โ [ย aestheticย ]
&. BASICS
full name: lavinia isla reed
nicknames: lav, reedย
age / D.O.B.: 29 / 18.09.1996
sexuality: bisexual
place of birth: kinross, scotland
gender: cis woman
neighborhood: downtown, moved to deer valley 3 months ago
&. MORE BASIC INFO
accent: scottish, specifically east lothian
languages: english, some italian
education: bachelor of music in composition from juliard
occupation: owner of golden hour records
transportation:ย an ocean wave green mini cooper s
tattoos: a lavender sprig on her left wrist, vines curving across her sternum, piano keys on her right inner forearm, and a small 's' on her ankle for her mother
drinks, smokes, & drugs: yes, rarely, once
relations: shona reed (mother, deceased), zeke reed (younger brother)
pets: a six year old miniature schnauzer named george, after georgia o'keeffe
&. PERSONALITY
zodiac sign: virgo
mbti: infj-tย โ the advocate
likes: old records, modern art, classic rock, die hard
dislikes: loud chewing, invasive questions
secret talent: she's really good at fixing things, especially small trinkets. she'll watch a tutorial once and then figure it out from there โ she's fixed record players, jewelry clasps, camera parts, door hinges... when she says that golden hour was a labor of love, she means it literally.
hobbies: piano, sketching, reading
prized possession: her father's watch โย the only memento she had of his growing up
fears: being a disappointment, cockroaches
five positive traits: observant, charismatic, creative, intentional, independent
five negative traits: sardonic, evasive, nihilistic, meticulous (bordering on perfectionistic), escapist
&. BACKGROUND
tw: familial illness and death
lavinia was named after her great aunt lavinia, a poet. her uncle, a jazz musician, liked to point out that her name sounded like lou reed, and declared early on that she was destined to be musical.
she grew up in a small house beside a lavender field with her mother and younger brother, zeke. her mother was a music teacher, and started her on piano before she could walk.
music was a common thread throughout her childhood. it wasnโt unusual to find post-its with song lyrics stuck to cabinets, dog-eared books with songs scrawled in the margins.
she had her heart set on becoming a concert pianist, and got her first real shot at when she was accepted to juilliard. the family turned the drive to the airport into a proper sendoff, their suv stuffed with suitcases and too many bags of crisps; zeke cried when they dropped her off.
a car accident the summer of her sophomore year cut her dream short. she was in the passenger seat when a drunk driver plowed through a red light. her wrist was shattered, but she was lucky to be alive. it took three surgeries to repair the fractures, and a year of physical therapy to regain function of her right hand. still, her dexterity was far behind what it needed to be for performance.
she changed majors and became a music tutor in her spare timeโ helping with sight reading, scales, and fundamentals. tedious, but it was an excuse to spend a few hours on a piano bench.
after graduation, she tried commercial composing but found herself stalled in front of blank staves. music was about movement, notes falling off the page and across ivory keys. on paper, it felt fixed. predictable. lifeless.
she kept playing anyway. late nights in a dimly lit office with a desktop keyboard, forcing her fingers through pieces she used to know by heart. it became something closer to compulsion than discipline, playing until her wrist ached, as if repetition alone might restore what sheโd lost.
she took a job at a recording studio, mostly small things at firstโ logging sessions, organizing tracks, sitting in on recordings when allowed. live music was unpredictable, which had captured her love in the first place, but preserved sound had its own kind of magic. vinyl, especially.
a groove cut too shallow, plastic warped from heatโ each record was unique to itself, carrying its own imperfections. if she couldn't share her love for music through her fingertips, maybe there was another way.
her mother died after a short illness a year ago, leaving lav and her brother with one request: that they make her proud. unable to follow through on her motherโs original dream for her, she resolved to make second best work.
lav took her inheritance and cashed in all of her savings to buy a shopfront in colorado, which a few months of diy tutorials would turn into golden hour records.
bold which habits your muse has
nail biting |ย throat clearingย | lying | interrupting |ย chewing the ends of pensย | smoking | swearing | knuckle cracking | thumb sucking |ย muttering under their breathย | talking to themselves | nose picking | binge drinking | oversleeping | snacking between meals |ย skipping mealsย | picking at skin | impulse buying | talking with their mouth full | humming/singing to themselves | chewing gum |ย leg jigglingย | foot tapping | hair twirling | whistling |ย eye rollingย | licking lips | sniffing | squinting | rubbing hands together |ย jaw clenchingย |ย gesturing while talkingย | putting feet up on tables | tucking hair behind ears |ย chewing lipsย |ย crossing arms over chestย | putting hands on hips | rubbing the back of their neck | being late |ย procrastinatingย |ย doodlingย | shredding paper |ย peeling off bottle labelsย | forgetfulness |ย running hands through hairย | overreacting | teeth grinding | nostril flaring | slouching |ย pacingย |ย drumming fingersย |ย fist clenchingย |ย pinching bridge of noseย | rubbing temples |ย rolling shoulders
&. HEADCANNONS
she prefers to go by lav โย "lavinia sounds like someone's granny."
her accent has dulled since moving to the us, but slang still creeps into her vernacular, and she can become harder to understand when she drinks.
she's rarely seen without her dog, george. he's the resident mascot at golden hour and is often the first to greet customers
she adds handwritten notes to the sleeves of her favorite records. sometimes they're disclaimers about a skipped track on an old pressing, and others denote facts about the artist.
lav loves her car. thereโsย a tiny stitched emblem of a bundle of lavender on the passenger seat headrest, and the windowsย are always rolled down, filtering whatever alt-rockย cdย sheโsย playing through the streets.
she can be a bit sarcastic, but often the sardonicism is undercut with a smile.
&. CONNECTIONS
make it a double twist of fate. unlikely friends. theyโre the one person she never thought sheโd tell anything to, let alone befriend. the way they listen without judgment, the little jokes they share, the quiet evenings talking about everything and nothingโฆ she would never admit it, but she trusts them more than anyone sheโs known in years.
there she goes again. this is someone who's a regular at the shop. she makes a point of setting aside albums she thinks they'd like, and listens to their recommendations in turn.
kiss the demons out of my dreams. this is someone she is hesitant to admit it but has left a permanent mark on her. a forever 'what if'. they could have been great, she's sure of it, has dreamt about it. and that terrifies her.















