About Velvet Umbrella Records
A Home for the Underdogs, the Overcomers, and the Sound of Becoming
Velvet Umbrella Records began with a simple belief.
Creativity deserves a safe place to grow.
Founded by Tea Kinsington (Studio TeaZilla) and Mickey Fingers of Gala Violet, Velvet Umbrella was born from years of songwriting, storytelling, artistic reinvention, and the stubborn conviction that independent creators deserve to own their work and tell their stories on their own terms.
What began as a small independent record label has grown into something wonderfully unexpected.
A home for original music, independent radio, illustrated fiction, creative experiments, and entire imaginary worlds.
Today, we're focused on creating and releasing our own music, building immersive storytelling projects, and finding new ways to connect artists, listeners, readers, and curious wanderers.
Our projects don't always fit neatly into traditional categories.
An album might become a story.
A story might become a radio broadcast.
A fictional character might develop a rather inconvenient habit of rewriting the ending.
And somewhere along the way, an entire world begins to take shape.
We're especially excited about our expanding Masquerade of Shadows universe, where music, fiction, visual art, and interactive storytelling come together.
We're also continuing to release original music through Bandcamp, produce our independent radio shows, and create new experiences for the people who support our work.
While our primary focus is on our own creative projects, we still believe deeply in helping other independent artists find their voices.
For creators looking for encouragement, creative direction, or a supportive place to begin, our door remains open.
Because Velvet Umbrella has never been about fitting into someone else's idea of success.
It's about making something meaningful.
Something unexpected.
Something entirely your own.
We reclaim the mic.
We remix the myth.
And we make room for wonder.
About the Founders
Mickey Fingers is a musician, producer, engineer, writer, performer, remixer, and occasional creative firestarter.
Tea Kinsington is an artist, writer, vocalist, designer, and creative world-builder, also known through her work as Studio TeaZilla and Celeste Violet.
Together, they create original music, illustrated fiction, independent radio, visual storytelling, and an ever-expanding collection of wonderfully strange creative projects.
Their shared philosophy is simple:
What if we stopped waiting for permission and started making the things we wanted to see in the world?
Turns out, that's a pretty interesting place to begin.
our story.
Our Mascot: The Opossum
Opossums “play dead” to survive — and so have many of us.
Shut down. Silenced. Told to stay small.
But here, we don’t play dead anymore.
We rise up. We make noise. We reclaim the mic.
That’s the Velvet Umbrella way.
Why We Exist
Many of the artists we work with have survived what the music industry won’t talk about:
• Rape, abuse, gaslighting, misogyny
• Chronic illness and disability
• Toxic bandmates, gatekeeping, and burnout
• The unbearable pressure to be shiny, marketable, or palatable
Some were told they weren’t good enough.
Others were never even given a chance.
But we know the truth:
✨ You don’t have to be “perfect” to be powerful.
✨ You deserve to own your work.
✨ Art is sacred — and so are you.
This is a place for the tender and the loud, the weird and the weary,
the ones still learning to trust their own voice.
We’re not here to make hits.
We’re here to make meaning.
And to build a soft rebellion.
One song at a time.
A Soft Place to Land. A Fierce Place to Rise.
We met a long time ago… in a galaxy filled with mixtapes, messy notebooks, and late-night lyric swaps. Back then, we were just two songwriters finding our voices in the margins — quietly sketching melodies between life’s louder demands.
Years later, we found each other again. This time during the stillness of COVID — where one of us said, “Hey, want to join my Artist’s Way group?” And something clicked.
Old songs stirred. New stories woke up.
And from that spark, Velvet Umbrella Records was born.
Our Story
We’re two Spoonies, survivors, and stubborn dreamers — building something soft and strong from the pieces the world tried to scatter.
Velvet Umbrella Records was created as a refuge — for the misfits, the burned-out, the ones who lost their voices in trauma, illness, or industry noise.
Founded by Gala Violet and Studio TeaZilla (Tea Kinsington), we’re an indie label devoted to helping artists release their music without losing themselves.
This isn’t just about music.
It’s about healing through creation,
rewriting the rules,
and reclaiming joy in our own damn voices.
What We Offer
We support artists in bringing their vision to life, with:
• Help publishing & distributing music
• Album art & design support
• Bandcamp & streaming setup
• Posters, graphics, promo materials
• Gentle coaching through the hard stuff: trauma, illness, imposter syndrome, or artistic burnout
We’re collaborators, cheerleaders, layout nerds, and lyric midwives. We help you get it out, get it right, and get it heard.
our artists.
Each Voice a Universe.
Step inside Velvet Umbrella Records, where every circle is a portal — into a world of sound, soul, and sacred storytelling.
Our artists aren’t just musicians.
They’re dreamers, survivors, and spell-casters — each with a story worth hearing and a voice that refuses to be silenced.
Gala Violet paints in dream-pop and defiance, layering grief, joy, and slow-burning hope into every note.
More voices are gathering… weaving their own sonic spells.
Some are healing.
Some are rising.
Some are just beginning.
And the empty circles?
They’re holding space.
It could be you.
Currently Beneath the Umbrella
Music, Stories & Worlds in Progress
There's always something happening beneath the Velvet Umbrella.
Sometimes it's a new album.
Sometimes it's a radio broadcast.
Sometimes it's an imaginary world that becomes a little more real every time we visit.
And occasionally, someone knocks from the other side of the story.
Here's what we're creating.
MASQUERADE OF SHADOWS
An Illustrated Musical Mystery
An elaborate gothic world of music boxes, velvet curtains, broken mirrors, secret histories, and characters who may not be telling us everything.
What began as a musical narrative has evolved into an illustrated story, an expanding collection of artifacts, and a mystery that refuses to stay inside its original ending.
The book is in development, the music is part of our growing Bandcamp plans, and the story continues to unfold through our creative projects and radio broadcasts.
And then there's the Puppet Master.
We're still deciding what to believe about him.
THE PUPPET MASTER RETURNS
Some Characters Refuse to Stay Fictional.
While revisiting the world of Masquerade of Shadows, something unexpected happened.
A character began suggesting changes.
Different playlists.
Different endings.
A different version of the story.
He claimed to be the Puppet Master.
Now his version of events is unfolding through a series of interconnected radio broadcasts, behind-the-scenes accounts, and mysterious artifacts.
Was it a creative experiment that became something more?
A story within a story?
Or simply an elaborate invitation to follow the thread?
You decide.
VELVET UMBRELLA RADIO
Independent Radio. Wonderfully Unpredictable.
From Eclectic Wonderland and After Hours to Petals & Hooks and PUNK AM!, our radio universe continues to expand.
Discover independent music, curated playlists, original storytelling, unexpected collaborations, and the strange little adventures that happen between the tracks.
ORIGINAL MUSIC & BANDCAMP RELEASES
The Soundtracks to Our Imaginary Worlds.
Our music lives somewhere between dream-pop, alternative, experimental soundscapes, cinematic storytelling, and whatever happens when curiosity takes over.
We're building our Bandcamp catalog with original albums, musical stories, and releases that connect to the larger Velvet Umbrella universe.
Beyond the Music
Stories, Studio Notes & Beautiful Creative Chaos
Velvet Umbrella Records was officially established in 2025.
But the creative collaboration between Mickey Fingers and Celeste Violet (Tea Kinsington)?
Well, that story goes all the way back to the last century. Literally.
Long before Velvet Umbrella had a name, there were songs to write, stories to tell, mixtapes to make, and wonderfully strange ideas scribbled in notebooks.
Somewhere along the way, two creative minds found themselves asking the same dangerous little question...
“What if...?”
Decades later, we're still asking.
Only now, those ideas have grown into original albums, independent radio shows, illustrated stories, imaginary worlds, and an ever-expanding collection of creative adventures.
And the notebooks?
They're still full.
Welcome to the stories behind the music.
From Mickey's Corner to our radio show notes, this is where we invite you into the creative process, the unexpected discoveries, the happy accidents, and the beautiful chaos that happens beneath the Velvet Umbrella.
Pull up a chair. The coffee's probably still warm.
Mickey's Corner
Backstage Banter, Sonic Secrets & Creative Chaos
Come behind the scenes with Mickey Fingers
and Celeste Violet.
Discover songwriting adventures,
production experiments, creative journals,
musical discoveries, artwork, and the little
moments that turn ordinary ideas into extraordinary projects.
Not everything happens according to plan.
Actually, very little does.
But that's usually where the interesting stuff begins.
Show Notes & Stories
Four Shows. Endless Frequencies. One Wonderfully Strange Universe.
The Velvet Umbrella universe doesn't stop when the microphones go quiet.
Explore the playlists, stories, behind-the-scenes adventures, and ongoing mysteries from our independent radio shows.
From the whimsical rabbit holes of Eclectic Wonderland to the midnight corridors of After Hours, the uncensored adventures of Petals & Hooks, and the gloriously rebellious frequencies of PUNK AM!
There's always another story waiting between the tracks.
And occasionally, a fictional character who refuses to stay fictional.
Follow the music. Wander through the stories.
Stay for the beautiful chaos.
The coffee's still warm.
And the door is always open.
Follow the music. Wander through the stories. Stay for the beautiful chaos.
The coffee's still warm. And the door is always open.
Velvet Umbrella Records | Est. 2025
Making beautiful noise together since the last century.
Join the Umbrella
A Soft Place to Land. A Fierce Place to Rise.
Are you an artist with a voice that’s been hiding?
A half-finished song? A dream buried under burnout?
Velvet Umbrella Records offers one-on-one support, creative tools, and real encouragement to help you bring your music to life — at your pace, in your voice. Whether you need a Bandcamp page, cover art, a lyric coach, or just someone who believes in what you’re making… we’re here.
Because sometimes, all you need is someone to say:
“I hear you. Let’s do this together.”
Come in from the storm. You’re not alone anymore