Issue 039 - Featuring River & Riot
Shop: River & Riot
Owner: Jenny Costello Facebook: River & Riot VIP Website: www.riverandriot.com Instagram: @River_and_Riot
“I want [my daughter] to know that she has the ability to become anything she wants if she sets her
mind to it!” -Jenny Costello, Owner
Although River & Riot is a very new shop, it entered the small shop world with a bang! Having just opened on March 1, 2022, the shop's Facebook group already has over 300 members and continues to grow each day. Weekly Saturday drops of their custom-made, hand-dyed T-shirts keep the group active and the customers always looking for their next "new favorite shirt."
The goal of the owner, Jenny Costello, is to create custom shirts for the whole family! Her hand-dyed and acid-washed graphic tees are totally customizable to the customer's liking. As a customer, you can pick the graphic, the color, and whether you want it acid-washed or not. The volume of images and colors available make this shop an easy one-stop shop for all your graphic tee needs.
River & Riot is named after Jenny's daughter whose middle name is River. Riot is on the list of names for their next child so it was only fitting to call the shop River & Riot. Jenny opened the shop because she has always supported small shops and her family's favorite clothing item to wear is, you guessed it, graphic tees. After having her daughter, Teagan River, Jenny decided to open a shop to share her unique, a little edgy, totally comfortable, and one hundred percent customized style with other like-minded families!
The Costello family is big on inclusivity, equality, and diversity so their shop, River & Riot, reflects those values. Jenny said about the shop, "We wanted to create a safe space and community where we can all grow, learn and rally together to support causes we are passionate about." You can see the passion she brings to her shop in every piece she offers. Jenny hopes to bring awareness to many human, civil, and women’s rights with her products while creating a welcoming and safe community for all people and families to express and embrace their individuality!
True to Jenny's style, she has put her own twist on opening a shop after having a child. Many shop owners attest to the inspiration their children bring them and their shop. For Jenny, her daughter is her main inspiration also. She has completely made Jenny change her entire life perspective. She has given her so many reasons to grow and work on herself. She has empowered her mom to be the woman and mother that she deserves. Jenny said, "I want her to know that she has the ability to become anything she wants if she sets her mind to it!"
So why shop at River & Riot over other tee shops? Jenny offers a very inclusive and edgy community. She loves making one-of-a-kind shirts that create genuinely happy and totally unique customers. Her favorite item to make is the hand- dyed tee. She loves that her shop allows her to connect with customers in a way that creates a family-like feeling. Jenny has similar interests outside of her shop which proves her shop is an extension of herself. She enjoys quality time with friends and family, being outdoors, and feeling connected to nature!
1. Are you more of a hunter or a gatherer? Gatherer
2. You’re a new addition to the crayon box. What color would you be and why? Mystic, it would be a mystery type color that changes from black to pink to purple to green. Because why not be a little different! My motto is to stay weird!
3. You find a lottery ticket that ends up winning $10 million. What would you do? Immediately start traveling
4.What do you think about when you’re alone in your car? Mostly my daughter, my world literally revolves around her.
5. What’s your favorite ’90s jam? Anything Nirvana!
6. If you could be any animal in the world, what animal would you be and why? An elephant, they have amazing memories & communities.
7. What was the last gift you gave someone? I bought my daughter a new Nugget Comfort
8. What were you like in high school? Emo, I am now an Elder Emo
9. What’s the last thing you watched on TV and why did you choose to watch it? How I Met Your Father, I chose to watch it because I loved How I Met Your Mother
10. Any advice for your previous boss? I truly hope they value their employees
11. Tell me something about your last job, other than money, that would have inspired you to keep working there. The people, honestly I loved them like family.
12. What is the funniest thing that has happened to you recently? Well my threenager said “ why you so salty mama?” I said “do you even know what that means?” her reply: “yeah, when peoples are mad”... not sure when my toddler knew how to properly use slang but dang, she got me!
13. What is your dream job? Would be nice to have my own Travel Show. I loved Anthony Bourdain. 14. What inspires you? My friends & family.
15. What’s your food/drink guilty pleasure? Dr. Pepper
16. What are you known for? Being weird.
17. What do you work toward in your free time? Photography
18. What’s the most interesting thing about you that we wouldn’t learn without asking this question? I think I'm very creative, I love all things artsy. Photography, interior design, graphic design, painting, music... you name it and I probably wish I could do it full time!
19. How would you rate your memory? Pre kids: Like an elephant, post kids: I don’t know what I ate for lunch today haha
20. If you woke up and had 2,000 unread emails and could only answer 300 of them, how would you choose which ones to answer? Definitely by importance
21. What pizza topping best represents you? Artichokes, have you had mellow mushrooms philosophers pie?!
22. Describe the color green to somebody who is blind. The soft grass under their bare feet, the flexible leaves of a house plant. Use touch to show this and tell them this is green, green means these things are living and that’s what green is like.
23. If you were to get rid of one state in the U.S., which would it be and why? Mississippi, I have yet to find anything I’ve enjoyed in MS. Sorry to my MS folks!
24. What is your favorite tv show to watch when you’re alone with the remote? Definitely Dexter or the Mick, they need to bring that one back!
25. Are you now who you thought you would be ten years ago? Honestly no, I thought I would be in a totally different point in my life. But, I’m so very glad to be exactly where I am!
